This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

WGN America's new drama "Underground" is an excellent program that's both engaging and disturbing.

It is not, however, an easy show to watch precisely because it is so upsetting.

"Underground" refers to the underground railroad. This series is set in the pre-Civil War South, and centers on a slave, Noah (Aldis Hodge, "Leverage"), who is organizing an escape from a plantation owned by Tom Macon (Reed Diamond), who is aiming for the Senate.

Very early in tonight's premiere — which airs without commercial interruption at 8, 9, 10 and 11 p.m. on WGN America — you get a feeling for how brutal this series is. When a white man threatens to beat a young black child, the boy's older sister, Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell, "Friday Night Lights") steps in and takes the blame — and the beating.

It's brutal. It's savage. It's horrifying. And that's just one instance of the physical and psychological abuse the slaves endure — which is hard to watch.

And the frequent use of the N-word — historically accurate though it might be — will make many viewers cringe. (One would hope it would make ALL viewers cringe.)

Creators/executive producers Misha Green ("Sons of Anarchy") and Joe Pokaski ("Heroes") definitely do not back away from anything in this 10 episode season.

There are multiple storylines that sometimes run parallel and sometimes intersect. It's not all about the bad white slave owners and their abused slaves. There is a pair of abolitionists (Marc Blucas of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Jessica de Gouw of "Dracula"), and most of the white characters are more than caricatures, although Macon's pregnant wife, Suzanna (Andrea Frankle), is very much a cartoon. If she was a man, she'd be twirling her mustache and tying damsels to train tracks.

And not all the slaves are onboard with plans to try to escape, although some — like Rosalee — change their minds after they're brutalized.

In addition to the drama, "Underground" features perhaps the finest musical score of any show on television today. John Legend is one of the executive producers, and the score includes music from Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and more. Yes, it's contemporary — but it works.

So does "Underground." It gets off to a great start and it's well worth watching.

Just be prepared to be challenged by what you're seeing.