TV SERIES · 2019–2019 · UK
Chernobyl
- Created by
- Craig Mazin
- Network
- HBO
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 5
- Studio
- SISTER, The Mighty Mint, Word Games
181 archived facts 7 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.
181 Interesting Facts About Chernobyl
Interesting Facts (45)
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Remarkably, after Reactor No. 4 blew up in 1986, Chernobyl's other three reactors kept running, staff and all. Reactor No. 2 was shut down after a fire in 1991, Reactor No. 1 went offline in 1996 under pressure from foreign governments, and Reactor No. 3 closed in 2000. Decommissioning, the slow work of dismantling the site until it no longer needs radiation protection, was still under way in 2024 and is not expected to finish until 2065, 79 years after the disaster.
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Pripyat, roughly 1.2 mi / 2 km from the plant, still looks almost exactly as it did when it was left on April 27, 1986. At about 14:00, Soviet authorities gave residents just three hours' notice of what they called a temporary three-day evacuation and told them to take only vital personal belongings. Expecting to be back soon, people simply walked away and left the city as it was. During the clean-up, most of the furniture, cars and other belongings were illegally looted and hauled out of the exclusion zone, and the looting has gone on ever since.
- #006
Former Soviet General Nikolai Tarakanov (Ralph Ineson), gave several interviews about the series, which fascinated the Russian public upon its release. Tarakanov took issue with a few small details but otherwise praised the series and its depiction of the events, and stated he was portrayed accurately. Tarakanov, 85 in 2019, suffers from chronic disease related to radiation exposure from his time in Chernobyl.
- #007
In the Blu-Ray special features actor Jared Harris explains the importance of a scene in Episode 2, during which his character Valery Legasov lies by telling a worried couple at the hotel bar that nothing is wrong at Chernobyl. According to Harris, this is the moment that Legasov ceases to be an innocent bystander and from that moment on feels directly responsible for the outcome of the disaster.
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According to Jared Harris, the part he played, Valery Legasov, was originally intended for Daniel Day-Lewis, who announced his retirement from acting a month before the miniseries was announced. The two worked together in Lincoln (2012), Harris playing General Ulysses S Grant to Day-Lewis's Abraham Lincoln.
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Actor Alexej Manvelov, Who played the role in The Happiness of All Mankind (2019) as "Garo" one of the soldiers tasked with killing local animals to prevent spread of radiation, went on later to rendition his own voice for one of the OST Tracks Titled: "Black Raven". You can find this on Youtube.
- #014
Part of the cast is related with the Harry Potter franchise: -Adrian Rawlins played Harry's father James Potter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). -Paul Ritter played Eldred Worple in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). -Ralph Ineson played Amycus in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). -Although Jared Harris was not in the movies, he is son of Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), on that same token Sam Troughton who plays Aleksandr Akimov is the cousin of Harry Melling who played Dudley Dursley throughout the Harry Potter saga.
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One of the most chilling segments in the series occurs when three men - Alexei Ananenko (mechanical engineer), Valeri Bespalov (senior engineer) and Boris Baranov (shift supervisor) - volunteer as divers to enter the contaminated water in the reactor building in order to open gates that will prevent a further catastrophic nuclear meltdown. Many had suspected that they'd almost certainly die from severe radiation exposure. It transpired that all three survived after a period of hospitalization, and two were still living to the release of this series. Baranov died of a heart attack in 2005.
- #017
In the first episode a congregation of people are shown standing on a railway bridge observing the catastrophe unfold as wind-borne radioactive particles float gently down over them. Unaware of the danger, they simply wallow innocently in the 'joyous' spectacle. The man and his baby are later seen again in a hospital scene begging for treatment. The last episode's epilogue state the location became known as "Bridge of Death" because none of them survived. Others have dismissed the story as an urban legend, as most residents slept through the event.
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The series is structured on an overarching loop linking end to beginning: * The last character we see in Episode 5 (before the archive footage) is Valery Legasov, just as he is the first one in Episode 1; * Episode 5 ends on his words: "What is the cost of lies?", which is the opening line of Episode 1 by the same Legasov; * Episode 5 last flashback in the nuclear plant ends in the control room seconds after the reactor explosion, whilst Episode 1 first flashback in the same place picks up at the same moment.
- #020
Nikolai Tarakanov, the former Soviet general played by Ralph Ineson, gave a string of interviews about the series once it aired, and the Russian public hung on every word. He quibbled with a few small details but otherwise praised the show and how it told the story, saying he himself had been portrayed accurately. Tarakanov, 85 in 2019, has lived with a chronic illness tied to the radiation he absorbed at Chernobyl.
- #021
The three volunteers are the heart of one of the most chilling episodes: Alexei Ananenko (mechanical engineer), Valeri Bespalov (senior engineer) and Boris Baranov (shift supervisor) dive into the flooded, contaminated reactor building to open the valves that would stop a further catastrophic nuclear meltdown. Plenty of people expected them to die from the radiation. Instead, all three pulled through after time in hospital, and two lived to see the series premiere. Baranov died of a heart attack in 2005.
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Jessie Buckley plays Lyudmila Ignatenko, pregnant wife of the doomed firefighter Vasily Ignatenko (Adam Nagaitis); her story had already been told in the Swedish documentary Ljudmilas röst (2001). Married in 1983, the young couple had planned to set off for Belarus on the morning of Saturday, 26 April 1986, to visit Vasily's family. By the time the series premiered, radiation poisoning had taken her husband and her daughter, and Lyudmilla was living in Ukraine with her son.
- #025
In search of a sound nobody else had, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir went to Ignalina, the decommissioned Lithuanian power plant where many of the scenes were shot, together with sound recordist Chris Watson and music producer Sam Slater, to capture its ambient noise. Back in the studio they combed through hours of recordings and sampled from them, and most of the score grew out of that material.
- #026
Pripyat, about 1.2 miles / 2 km from the plant, stands almost exactly as it was on 27 April 1986. Around 14:00, Soviet authorities announced a temporary three-day evacuation with only three hours' notice and told residents to bring nothing but essential personal belongings. Sure they would soon return, people left the city just as it stood. During the cleanup, most of the furniture, cars and other possessions were illegally looted and carried out of the exclusion zone, and that looting has never really stopped.
- #027
Surprisingly, Reactor No. 4's explosion in 1986 did not shut Chernobyl down: the remaining three reactors kept operating with full crews. Reactor No. 2 was taken offline after a fire in 1991, Reactor No. 1 in 1996 after foreign governments pushed for it, and Reactor No. 3 in 2000. As of 2024 the plant is still being taken apart to the point where it will no longer need radiation protection, and that decommissioning is not expected to wrap up before 2065, 79 years after the disaster.
- #028
- #029
On the Blu-Ray extras, Jared Harris points to a scene in Episode 2 where Valery Legasov reassures a worried couple at the hotel bar that nothing is wrong at Chernobyl, a lie. For Harris, that is the moment Legasov stops being an innocent bystander; from then on he feels personally responsible for how the disaster plays out.
- #030
When characters speak on screen, the actors use English in their own accents, but anything heard through a device is in Russian: radio traffic, recorded emergency calls, Soviet television news and public address announcements. That rule let the producers reuse genuine archival recordings of the fire operation officers.
- #031
- #032
Craig Mazin wanted the characters to address one another authentically, but he chose not to always use the correct Russian formal address, in which a colleague or superior is called by first name and patronymic instead of title and surname. Legasov, for instance, would properly call Shcherbina Boris Yevdokimovich rather than Comrade Shcherbina. Accurate as that is, Mazin felt it would distract Western audiences and leave them confused.
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Pro-Kremlin media still play down the scale of the Chernobyl disaster as exaggerated, and state outlets wave away the many leukemia cases as "myths." Parts of the Russian government disliked the miniseries so much that the state channel NTV made its own "patriotic" version of events, a wholly invented story built on a conspiracy theory that a CIA agent was at Chernobyl to sabotage the plant.
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Harry Potter connections run all through the cast. Adrian Rawlins was Harry's father, James Potter, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). Paul Ritter played Eldred Worple and Ralph Ineson played Amycus in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). Jared Harris never appeared in the films, but his father, Richard Harris, was Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002); and Sam Troughton, who plays Aleksandr Akimov, is a cousin of Harry Melling, Dudley Dursley across the whole Harry Potter saga.
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Production Story (35)
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Pro-Kremlin media keep insisting the Chernobyl disaster has been blown out of proportion, and state-run outlets sneer at "myths" such as the large number of leukemia cases. Some segments of the Russian government were so unhappy with the miniseries that the state TV channel NTV set about producing its own, more "patriotic" take, a wholly fictional plot built on the conspiracy theory that a CIA agent was in Chernobyl to sabotage the plant.
- #048
- #049
After each episode aired, HBO put out a matching installment of "The Chernobyl Podcast," in which creator and writer Craig Mazin talked with Peter Sagal about the writing and production, and went deeper into the real history and people behind each episode. Because lies are the show's underlying theme, Mazin made the podcast specifically to address where history and fiction part ways, spelling out which elements were invented and why.
- #050
- #051
Craig Mazin aimed for authenticity in how the characters speak to each other, yet he decided against always using correct Russian formal address, where a peer or superior is called by first name and patronymic rather than title and last name. Strictly speaking, Legasov should call Shcherbina Boris Yevdokimovich, not Comrade Shcherbina. Mazin judged that this accuracy would pull Western audiences out of the story and sow confusion.
- #052
Jared Harris has said the role of Valery Legasov was first meant for Daniel Day-Lewis, who announced his retirement from acting a month before the miniseries was announced. The two had worked together on Lincoln (2012), with Harris as General Ulysses S. Grant opposite Day-Lewis's Abraham Lincoln.
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Pro-Kremlin media continues to deny the extent of the disaster at Chernobyl, saying it has been exaggerated, with state-run media scoffing at the "myths," such as large numbers of leukemia. Segments of the Russian government were so unhappy with this mini-series that state TV channel NTV is producing its own more "patriotic" account of the events, involving a wholly fictional storyline based on a conspiracy theory that a CIA agent was in Chernobyl to sabotage the plant.
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In parallel with each episode of the series, HBO released a podcast titled "The Chernobyl Podcast." Creator and screenwriter Craig Mazin spoke with Peter Sagal about the behind-the-scenes of the production and writing process, the historical facts, and the stories behind the characters. Because of the theme of lies underlying the series, Mazin aimed with this podcast to explain the differences between historical facts and fiction and why certain elements were changed.
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Although Craig Mazin sought authenticity in the way characters address one another, he chose not to always use the formal form of address in Russian. In Russian, a superior or peer is addressed by first name and patronymic rather than by surname; for example, Legasov would say "Boris Yevdokimovich" to Shcherbina, not "Comrade Shcherbina." Mazin thought this accuracy could be confusing for Western viewers.
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Behind the Scenes (49)
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Shooting started on May 13, 2018, in Fabijoniskes, a residential district of Vilnius, Lithuania, which doubled for the Ukrainian city of Pripyat because it still had a genuine Soviet feel. At the end of March, the production moved to Visaginas, Lithuania, to film inside and outside the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, a decommissioned station sometimes called "Chernobyl's sister" because it looks so similar and runs on the same reactor design as Chernobyl, the RBMK nuclear power reactor.
- #083
Hildur Guðnadóttir wanted a score unlike any other, so she went to the decommissioned Ignalina plant in Lithuania, where much of the show was filmed, and recorded its ambient sounds with sound recording specialist Chris Watson and score producer Sam Slater. Back in the studio they spent hours listening to the recordings and sampling them, and most of the soundtrack's music was built from those sounds.
- #084
The actors speak English in their own natural accents, but any voice that comes through a machine is Russian. Radio chatter, recorded emergency phone calls, Soviet television news and announcements over public address systems are all in Russian, a convention that allowed the makers to rebroadcast real recordings of fire operations dispatchers pulled from the archives.
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Filming began on 13 May 2018 in the Fabijoniškės district of Vilnius. It was chosen to stand in for the Ukrainian city of Pripyat because it retains an authentic Soviet atmosphere. At the end of March, the crew moved to Visaginas for interior and exterior shoots at the decommissioned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, known as 'Chernobyl's sister' for its visual similarity and identical RBMK reactor design.
- #098
- #099
The city of Pripyat, about 2 kilometres from the plant, stands as it was left on 27 April 1986. Around 14:00, Soviet authorities ordered a temporary evacuation with only three hours' notice, telling people to take only their most essential belongings. Residents, believing they would soon return, left the city as it was; during the subsequent cleanup operations, most of the furniture, cars and other belongings were looted illegally, and that looting continues today.
- #100
To create an original score for the series, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir went to the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania, where most of the filming took place. Accompanied by sound recordist Chris Watson and producer Sam Slater, she spent hours recording the plant's distinctive ambient sounds. Back in the studio, these recordings were listened to and sampled, and Guðnadóttir composed most of the series' music from these sounds.
- #101
In the series, the actors speak English on screen in their natural accents. But all speech heard through artificial means — radio, emergency telephone recordings, Soviet television news and loudspeaker announcements — is in Russian. Thanks to this choice, the producers were able to use real firefighter radio recordings taken from the archives directly.
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In the episode The Happiness of All Mankind (2019), Alexej Manvelov, who plays Garo, one of the soldiers culling animals in the area to prevent the spread of radiation, later appeared with his own voice on the track 'Black Raven' from the series' soundtrack album. You can find that recording on YouTube.
- #106
Soviet General Nikolai Tarakanov appreciated the way the series handled the events and its historical accuracy. Tarakanov, who struggled with radiation-related health problems, acknowledged the production's overall success even though he held differing views on some minor details. Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, meanwhile, stated that he found the series 'masterful', while pro-Kremlin media preferred to produce alternative narratives such as a CIA sabotage, claiming that the effects of the disaster were exaggerated.
- #107
Filming of the series began in 2018 in the Fabijoniskes district of Vilnius, Lithuania. After this area, chosen to recreate the atmosphere of Pripyat, the production moved to the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which has the same RBMK reactor design as Chernobyl. Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir recorded the real ambient sounds inside the power plant and included them in the soundtrack to create the series' eerie atmosphere.
- #108
Although the series' creator, Craig Mazin, based the script on the testimonies of survivors, he deliberately avoided the Russian patronymic naming tradition and artificial accents in order not to tire the viewer. The team, which worked with Ukrainian consultants to ensure period accuracy, detailed the process with the 'The Chernobyl Podcast' series.
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Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bespalov and Boris Baranov, who volunteered to open the reactor's water drainage valves, survived, contrary to the widespread belief that they would die immediately after the disaster. Baranov died of a heart attack in 2005, while the other two were still alive at the time the series was released.
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The cast of Chernobyl has a network woven with giant productions in television history. While names such as Michael McElhatton, Jamie Sives, Josef Altin, James Cosmo, Donald Sumpter and Ralph Ineson came from the Westeros of Game of Thrones; Stellan Skarsgård had experienced different faces of nuclear tension in The Hunt for Red October, and Donald Sumpter in K-19: The Widowmaker. Jared Harris and Adam Nagaitis, meanwhile, came together again at the center of a disaster after The Terror.
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The cast's connections to the Harry Potter universe present a striking coincidence. While Adrian Rawlins, Paul Ritter and Ralph Ineson appeared in different films of the series; Jared Harris, as the son of Richard Harris, who brought Albus Dumbledore to life, and Sam Troughton, as the cousin of Harry Melling, who played the character Dudley Dursley, are part of this magical world.
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Characters & Cast (21)
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Former Soviet General Nikolai Tarakanov (Ralph Ineson) gave several interviews about the series, which gripped the Russian public when it came out. Apart from a few small details he took issue with, he praised the series and its account of events and said he had been portrayed accurately. Tarakanov, who was 85 in 2019, suffers from a chronic disease caused by the radiation he was exposed to at Chernobyl.
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On March 19, 2018, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson joined the main cast, reuniting for the first time since Breaking the Waves.
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Ralph Ineson, who played the former Soviet General Nikolai Tarakanov, gave several interviews about the series, and these drew great interest when they were published in Russia. Although Tarakanov objected to a few small details, he generally praised the series and its handling of the events and stated that he was portrayed accurately. Tarakanov, who was 85 in 2019, is battling a chronic illness caused by radiation exposure during his time at Chernobyl.
- #140
Lyudmila Ignatenko, played by Jessie Buckley, is the pregnant wife of firefighter Vasily Ignatenko (Adam Nagaitis), who died in the disaster, and she was the subject of the 2001 Swedish documentary "Ljudmilas röst". The young couple, who married in 1983, had planned to travel to Belarus on that fateful morning, 26 April 1986, to visit Vasily's family. At the time the series aired, Lyudmilla was living in Ukraine with her son after losing her husband and daughter to radiation poisoning.
- #141
In the Blu-Ray special features, actor Jared Harris explains the significance of a scene in episode 2: the character Valery Legasov lies to an anxious couple at the hotel bar, telling them there is no problem at Chernobyl. According to Harris, this moment is the turning point at which Legasov ceases to be an innocent bystander and begins to feel directly responsible for the consequences of the disaster.
- #142
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The role of Valery Legasov, played by Jared Harris, was originally considered for Daniel Day-Lewis; however, Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting a month before the miniseries was announced. The two had worked together on the 2012 film Lincoln, with Harris playing General Ulysses S. Grant and Day-Lewis playing Abraham Lincoln.
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Part of the cast is connected to the Harry Potter series: Adrian Rawlins played Harry's father James Potter in the seven films beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and ending with Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). Paul Ritter was Eldred Worple in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). Ralph Ineson played Amycus in the same film. Although Jared Harris did not appear in the films, he is the son of Richard Harris, who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films; also, Sam Troughton, who played Aleksandr Akimov, is the cousin of Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter series.
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Easter Eggs & References (6)
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A good part of the cast has ties to the Harry Potter franchise. Adrian Rawlins played Harry's father, James Potter, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Paul Ritter was Eldred Worple and Ralph Ineson was Amycus. Jared Harris was never in the films, but he is the son of Richard Harris, the Albus Dumbledore of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Sam Troughton, who plays Aleksandr Akimov, is a cousin of Harry Melling, Dudley Dursley throughout the Harry Potter saga.
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Deeper Meaning (22)
- #157
In the Blu-ray special features, Jared Harris singles out a scene in Episode 2 in which Valery Legasov tells a worried couple at the hotel bar that nothing is wrong at Chernobyl. That lie, Harris says, is where Legasov stops being an innocent bystander; from then on he feels directly responsible for the outcome of the disaster.
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The popularity of the miniseries was credited with a 30 to 40 percent spike in tourism to Chernobyl and Pripyat in the months following the premiere. Chernobyl Exclusion Zone became a popular "dark tourism" destination, particularly after 2011, attracting thousands annually to see the abandoned city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. While tours were popular, they are currently halted due to the war in Ukraine (as of 2026)
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In the first episode, a crowd gathers on a railway bridge to watch the catastrophe unfold while radioactive particles drift gently down on them in the wind. Blind to the danger, they innocently soak up the "joyous" spectacle. A man from the bridge and his baby turn up again later in a hospital scene, begging for treatment. The last episode's epilogue says the spot came to be called the "Bridge of Death" because none of them survived, though others dismiss the story as an urban legend, pointing out that most residents slept through the event.
- #163
Contains a major spoiler — show
The series is built as one big loop that ties its end to its beginning. The last character we see in Episode 5, before the archive footage, is Valery Legasov, who is also the first one we see in Episode 1. Episode 5 closes on his question, "What is the cost of lies?", which is exactly how Legasov opens Episode 1. And Episode 5's final flashback inside the plant ends in the control room seconds after the reactor explodes, the very moment where Episode 1's first flashback in that room begins.
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The first day of shooting was 13 May 2018 in Fabijoniskes, a residential district of Vilnius, Lithuania, which played the Ukrainian city of Pripyat because it still had an authentic Soviet atmosphere. At the end of March, the production moved on to Visaginas, Lithuania, to film the exterior and interior of the decommissioned Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, sometimes nicknamed "Chernobyl's sister" for how much it looks like Chernobyl and for sharing its RBMK nuclear power reactor design.
- #166
The miniseries' success was tied to a 30 to 40 percent jump in visitors to Chernobyl and Pripyat in the months after it premiered. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone had become a popular "dark tourism" destination, especially after 2011, with thousands coming every year to see the abandoned city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Popular as they were, the tours are on hold because of the war in Ukraine (as of 2026).
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One of the series' most chilling moments comes when three men – machine engineer Alexei Ananenko, senior engineer Valeri Bespalov and shift supervisor Boris Baranov – volunteer to wade through contaminated water in the reactor building to open the valves that would prevent a larger nuclear meltdown. Many believed they were facing almost certain death from severe radiation exposure. In the end, all three survived after time in hospital; two were still alive when the series aired, while Baranov had died of a heart attack in 2005.
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Surprisingly, after the explosion of Reactor No. 4 in 1986, the other three reactors at Chernobyl continued to operate and to be staffed. Reactor No. 2 was shut down after a fire in 1991; Reactor No. 1 was taken offline in 1996 under pressure from foreign governments, and Reactor No. 3 in 2000. The decommissioning process, which involves dismantling the facility until it no longer requires radiation protection, was still ongoing as of 2024. It is estimated that the work may not be completed until 2065, 79 years after the disaster.
- #171
The popularity of the miniseries led to a 30 to 40 percent increase in tourism to Chernobyl and Pripyat in the months following its release. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone became a popular 'dark tourism' destination, particularly after 2011, drawing thousands of people each year to see the abandoned city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Although the tours are popular, they are currently suspended (as of 2026) because of the war in Ukraine.
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In the first episode, a group of people is seen standing on a railway bridge watching the disaster as radioactive particles carried by the wind drift gently down on them. Unaware of the danger, they are caught up in the innocent charm of this 'pleasant' view. The man and his baby appear again later in a hospital scene, pleading for treatment. The epilogue of the final episode notes that the spot became known as the 'Bridge of Death' because none of those present survived. Some, however, call the story an urban legend, arguing that most residents were asleep at the time.
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Pro-Kremlin media continues to deny the scale of the Chernobyl disaster and to claim it was exaggerated; state channels mock 'myths' such as high leukemia rates. Some parts of the Russian government were so unsettled by the miniseries that the state television channel NTV produced a more 'patriotic' narrative, with an entirely fictional story based on the conspiracy theory that a CIA agent was at Chernobyl to sabotage the plant.
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The series is built on an overarching loop that connects its beginning to its end: the last character we see in Episode 5 (before the archival footage) is Valery Legasov, just as he was the first character in Episode 1. Episode 5 ends with his line 'What is the cost of lies?', which is the opening line of Episode 1, spoken by the same Legasov. The final flashback at the nuclear plant in Episode 5 ends in the control room seconds after the reactor explosion, while the first flashback in the same place in Episode 1 picks up from exactly that moment.
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Career & Awards (3)
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Tourism to Chernobyl and Pripyat rose by 30 to 40 percent in the months after the premiere, a spike credited to the miniseries. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was already a popular "dark tourism" destination, particularly after 2011, drawing thousands a year to the abandoned city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The tours were popular, but they are currently halted due to the war in Ukraine (as of 2026).
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