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Miniseries – Chernobyl

Play trailer 2:28 Poster for Miniseries – Chernobyl May 2019 History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 102 Reviews 97% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Brave men and women act heroically to mitigate catastrophic damage when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffers a nuclear accident on April 26, 1986.
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Chernobyl — Miniseries

Chernobyl — Miniseries

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Chernobyl rivets with a creeping dread that never dissipates, dramatizing a national tragedy with sterling craft and an intelligent dissection of institutional rot.

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Critics Reviews

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Scott Bryan BBC.com 07/15/2020
What is so good about this drama ... is that it has a cast of British actors but none of them are trying to do a terrible Russian accent. Go to Full Review
Graeme Blundell The Australian 12/17/2019
...created with an awesome attention to historical accuracy and detail, brought back that harrowing event with frightening clarity and a superbly orchestrated sense of danger and dread. Go to Full Review
Allison Keene Collider 12/04/2019
5/5
Chernobyl is a series where you will have to remind yourself to unclench your jaw and un-tense your shoulders while watching it. It is heartbreaking and intense, and a hell of a thing to watch the day afterGame of Thrones. But it's also necessary. Go to Full Review
Sarah Ward Concrete Playground 06/25/2022
As masterful as it is haunting and shocking — which is exactly what a show about such a dark chapter of recent history should be. Go to Full Review
William Schwartz Book & Film Globe 03/25/2022
That methodological approach gives the HBO Chernobyl series a distinct impression of truthiness despite factual errors, almost all of which were unsubtly designed to make the Soviet government look bad. Go to Full Review
Carey-Ann Pawsey Orca Sound 01/06/2022
4/5
Chernobyl is a winner in many ways. The acting, the direction and the fact that it brings to light a story that the world should know more about. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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D. A @Dominique814 11h It was a master work, the kind of series that when you are finished watching it, there is a chasm left in your life when it’s over. You don’t stop thinking about it, you keep replaying scenes in your head, and eventually, a couple years later you go back and watch it again because it was just that good. See more Carter C. @RT43347084 May 30 just a masterpiece. no other words needed. only minor flaw is episode 4 should've had a little more use in the finale. See more Mr S @Jotaro May 21 Watch it if want to waster your time. See more ROFIDA M @RT02507853 May 10 The best series in history. While watching it, you feel like you're an expert and understand everything. It's truly a realistic series in a difficult way. See more Jim S @Sharkmiester Apr 21 A deeply interesting and informative series. I already knew a lot about Chernobyl, but I didn’t fully realize just how dangerous and deadly these ticking time bombs—nuclear power plants—can be. It really brought that into focus. See more JORGE ANTONIO M @GeorgeguyMG Apr 20 The HBO miniseries Chernobyl was created and written by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck. Its main cast includes Jared Harris (Valery Legasov), Stellan Skarsgård (Boris Shcherbina), Emily Watson (Ulana Khomyuk), and Paul Ritter (Anatoly Dyatlov). In terms of summary, it is a movie based in true historical events, where it explains in the most detailed way the incident of Chernobyl (Ukraine). Legasov was a Soviet inorganic chemist with the mission of finding solutions to prevent the massive spread of radiation worldwide with his comrades Shcherbina and Khomyuk. This series succeeds in interpretating reality, the fear, tension, and terror of a possible loss of millions of people. It highlights how Soviet Union tried to minimize the situation due to its clear presence of nationalism in the state. It focuses and explores the different perspectives of the incident and it expands our way of seeing this incident. Overall it is a movie that must be considered to watch. See more Read all reviews
Chernobyl — Miniseries

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired May 6, 2019 1:23:45 Plant workers and firefighters put their lives on the line to control a catastrophic April 1986 explosion at a Soviet nuclear power plant. Details Episode 2 Aired May 13, 2019 Please Remain Calm With untold millions at risk, nuclear physicist Ulana Khomyuk makes a desperate attempt to reach Valery Legasov, a leading Soviet nuclear physicist, and warn him about the threat of a second explosion that could devastate the continent. Details Episode 3 Aired May 20, 2019 Open Wide, O Earth Lyudmila Ignatenko, a Pripyat resident, ignores warnings about her firefighter husband's contamination; Valery Legasov lays out a decontamination plan, complete with human risks. Details Episode 4 Aired May 27, 2019 The Happiness of All Mankind Valery Legasov and Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Boris Shcherbina consider using lunar rovers to remove radioactive debris; Ulana Khomyuk faces government hurdles in determining the truth about the cause of the explosion. Details Episode 5 Aired Jun 3, 2019 Vichnaya Pamyat Valery Legasov, Boris Shcherbina and Ulana Khomyuk risk their lives and reputations to expose the truth about Chernobyl. Details
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Season Info

Director
Johan Renck
Executive Producer
Craig Mazin, Carolyn Strauss, Jane Featherstone
Screenwriter
Craig Mazin
Network
HBO
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
May 6, 2019