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Season 1 – Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown Mar 2026 Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Spanning the scope of the catastrophic collapse of the Chernobyl reactor, the Soviets' cover-up and the present-day fallout with revealing interviews with survivors.

Critics Reviews

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Christopher Campbell Nonfics (Substack) Feb 27
Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown is your standard look back at what, when, and how. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Tom Cook

Producer

David Dugan

Executive Producer

Amy Entelis

Executive Producer

Lyle Gamm

Executive Producer

Katie Hinman

Executive Producer

Carlo Massarella

Executive Producer

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Mar 1, 2026 Inferno On April 26, 1986, a massive explosion rips through a reactor during a safety test at a power plant in Ukraine, triggering the worst nuclear accident in history; within 24 hours, a lethal radioactive cloud starts to circle the globe. Details Episode 2 Aired Mar 1, 2026 Cover Up The day after the incident, helicopter crews brave deadly radioactive smoke to extinguish the fire raging in the reactor core. As 50,000 locals evacuate, Soviet authorities try to conceal the scale and human cost of the accident. Details Episode 3 Aired Mar 8, 2026 Sacrifice In the weeks following the meltdown, workers battle lethal radiation to clear debris and construct a protective tomb around the destroyed reactor. Amid speculation, Soviet scientists reveal what they can about the cause of the catastrophe. Details Episode 4 Aired Mar 8, 2026 Fallout As the USSR collapses, an investigation uncovers the cause of the accident and scale of the Soviet cover up. Today, Chernobyl's toxic legacy persists as the nuclear exclusion zone becomes a war zone, raising fears of another disaster. Details
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Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown — Season 1

Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown View more photos

Season Info

Executive Producer
David Dugan, Amy Entelis, Lyle Gamm, Katie Hinman, Carlo Massarella, Carolyn Payne
Network
CNN
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date
Mar 1, 2026