Based on the real-life tragedy of the Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. This mini-series portrays the sufferings and the truth behind this explosion. Directed by Johan Renck , this series has won several awards like the Primetime Emmy Award, and many more.
In April 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union suffered the worst nuclear disaster in the history of humanity. The plot unfolds, when on a seemingly quiet night, a huge earthquake-like shiver attracts the attention of the city people. Unaware of the consequences and curious of the whereabouts, people left their homes to see the blast site at the nearby power station. The fate of the residing people was fatal as they were exposed to life-threatening radioactive radiations. A huge population suffered from deadly diseases like cancer due to extensive exposure to radiation.
The roles of several scientists were shown, thereby portraying them as the heroes who saved people from the after-effects of the disaster. The typical setting of the location and the nearly perfect acting by the actors make this TV series a modern day master piece. The Chernobyl disaster also symbolizes the downfall of the Soviet Union, and the downfalls of the government is accurately depicted.
In the final few scenes of the series, Valery Legasov, one of the chief scientists involved in disaster management, explains the main reasons why this huge explosion took place. The cruelty of the government in hiding the true facts and using cheap material was also blamed for this disaster. Legasov also explains how a nuclear reactor works in simple language and all the underlying flaws in the current nuclear power plant models.
The screenplay does justice to the actual disaster. How a large-scale nuclear disaster changes the lives of the involved people forever is correctly portrayed. This series also involves a heart-touching side story of a firefighter and his wife, and how brutal it was for the wife to see her husband getting decomposed in front of her eyes. Though this series might be traumatizing, it is necessary to know that how a simple small-looking flaw can cause life long scar on thousands of lives.
Written By: Sneha Baidya
Editor and Team Lead: Ashutosh Sharma
About The Author(s)
Chemistry major with self-proclaimed good taste in Books and Music.