Miniseries – Chernobyl

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2:28

May 2019

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

103 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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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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Scott Bryan

BBC.com

Jul 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.

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Graeme Blundell

The Australian

Dec 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.

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Allison Keene

Collider

Dec 4, 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.

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Geordie Williamson

The Saturday Paper

Sep 3, 2026

t is perhaps the first instance in which a modern environmental uncanny, a vision of our world that is at once similar yet disquietingly mutated, has been brought to screen.

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Sarah Ward

Concrete Playground

Jun 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.

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William Schwartz

Book & Film Globe

Mar 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.

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Maarten B

@MPikeNL 3 days ago

Fantastic how they made it. It will suck you in the whole series.

B P

@Bradster69 Sep 3, 2026

Definitely Recommend It

Lela H

@Lelalo Sep 1, 2026

I don't know why it took me this long to watch it as I'm fascinated with the nuclear disaster and heard it had really good reviews. I can definitely say it's living up to expectations at the moment.

Cinema S

@cinema_sensei Aug 20, 2026

This is one of the most powerful miniseries I've watched. The atmosphere is terrifying, the performances are phenomenal, and the production feels incredibly authentic. Its greatest strength is showing how lies, denial, and human mistakes can turn a disaster into something far worse. Some events and characters were dramatized for TV, but the emotional impact never feels diminished. A haunting, unforgettable masterpiece.

Flantrey T

@RT62341720 Aug 11, 2026

Perfect, The setings, ambience, details. Almost like a documentary

Patsy B

@Patsy488 Aug 11, 2026

Powerful and sobering, with an excellent cast.

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Jared Harris

Valery Legasov

Stellan Skarsgård

Boris Shcherbina

Emily Watson

Ulana Khomyuk

Paul Ritter

Anatoly Dyatlov

Jessie Buckley

Lyudmilla Ignatenko

Adrian Rawlins

Nikolai Fomin

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.

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Episode 3

Aired May 20, 2019

Open Wide, O Earth

Lyudmilla Ignatenko, a Pripyat resident, ignores warnings about her firefighter husband's contamination; Valery Legasov lays out a decontamination plan, complete with human risks.

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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.

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