What is The Underground Railroad's IQ Score?

The Underground Railroad has an IQ Score of 163/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Masterclass tier. The score breaks down to 44/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 37/50 Educational Value, and 41/50 Craft & Quality.

Is The Underground Railroad educational?

The Underground Railroad is strong on educational value, 37/50 on TVI's rubric, which covers academic content, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, life skills, and knowledge transfer.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's IQ Score is calculated as round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers: Masterclass (≥160), Stimulating (≥130), Competent (≥100), Passive (≥70), and Numbing (<70). The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

The Underground Railroad , IQ Score 163/200

Name: The Underground Railroad
Genre: drama
Rating: 163

The Underground Railroad has an IQ Score of 163/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-06-17·Methodology

drama

163/ 200

Masterclass

Measurably increases domain knowledge or cognitive capacity

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

Cinematic Score/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.2

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,338 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. We accept no studio money. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions. Our reviewers see no sponsor data, no affiliate revenue, and no screener access in exchange for coverage. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

A black woman escapes slavery through a magical underground railroad. Educational about slavery and freedom.

Cognitive engagement from the magical realism. Entertainment from the fantastical premise.

Where to Watch

Stream

Amazon Prime Video

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