Everything you need to know about Chernobyl
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union suffered a massive explosion.
What followed resulted in multiple horrendous deaths as the result of radiation poisoning and a national cover-up of the world’s worst man-made accident in history.
In this gripping five-part miniseries, Chernobyl tracks the moment of the early-morning explosion through to the chaos and loss of life in the ensuing days, weeks, and months.
It delves into the lives involved in the disaster, what caused it, and the first responders who risked their lives to save who they could.
Based in the Soviet Union, the story is based on the book Voices of Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich, a Nobel laureate who collated the tales of Chernobyl locals and their experience of the disaster.
The series launched in 2019 to international acclaim for its depiction of this real-life event.
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Who stars in Chernobyl and where have we seen them before?
- Jessie Buckley (Wicked Little Letters, Fargo) as Lyudmilla Ignatenko
- Jared Harris (The Crown, Mad Men) as Valery Legasov
- Stellan Skarsgård (Good Will Hunting, Nymphomaniac) as Boris Shcherbina
- Emily Watson (Gosford Park, Red Dragon) as Ulana Khomyuk
- Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner, Quantum of Solace) as Anatoly Dyatlov
- Adam Nagaitis (The Terror, The Commuter) as Vasily Ignatenko
- Con O'Neill (Our Flag Means Death, Happy Valley) as Viktor Bryukhanov
- Adrian Rawlins (Breaking The Waves, Mary And George) as Nikolai Fomin
- Sam Troughton (The Lazarus Project, Litvinenko) as Aleksandr Akimov
- Robert Emms (Andor, His Dark Materials) as Leonid Toptunov
- Karl Davies (Happy Valley, The Tower) as Viktor Proskuryakov
- Alex Ferns (The Batman, EastEnders) as Andrei Glukhov
- Ralph Ineson (The Jetty, The Witch) as Nikolai Tarakanov
- Barry Keoghan (Banshees of Inisherin, Saltburn) as Pavel Gremov
- Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones, The Long Shadow) as Andrei Stepashin
Find out more about the cast and the characters they play here.
How many episodes of Chernobyl are there?
Chernobyl runs for five episodes, each running between 60 to 70 minutes long.
Billed as a mini-series and based around a real-life event, there are no plans for season two, with the story being considered complete.
A documentary on the disaster, Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes, is also available on Sky Documentaries and NOW.
What is the age rating of Chernobyl?
The official rating of Chernobyl in the UK, as certified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is 15 for the overall series.
This means the show has been deemed not suitable for children.
Reasons for this rating include:
- Full frontal male nudity in a non-sexual capacity
- Extreme, graphic depictions of injury and effects of acute radiation poisoning including burns, sores, and skin necrosis
- Frequent depictions of vomit some may find unsettling
- Violence towards animals
- Depictions of smoking and drinking
- Consistent frightening and intense tone throughout the series
- Depictions of suicide
How successful is Chernobyl and what awards has it won?
Chernobyl, according to IMDb, has been voted one of the best TV series of all time.
Ranking at a 9.3/10 after 884,000 ratings by users, it is only bested by Breaking Bad, Planet Earth, Planet Earth II and Band of Brothers.
It beats a number of other highly ranked shows including The Wire (#6), The Sopranos (#9) and Game of Thrones (#13), all of which are available now on Sky Atlantic.
This was reflected during awards season, with the show picking up 85 awards including 10 Primetime Emmys, two BAFTAs and two Golden Globes.
How to watch Chernobyl in the UK
Chernobyl is available to watch now.
Sky is the UK’s exclusive home of the Chernobyl series, so it is not available on any other service.
The show is available on HBO in the US.
You can watch the series on Sky Atlantic, on demand via Sky Go or by streaming on NOW.
