HBO has long been a home to high-quality prestige TV, but there is one 2019 miniseries that deserves more attention and recognition than it’s received up to this point. When it comes to storytelling, HBO is one of the most reliable studios due to its incredibly high bar for the type of projects it produces.
Not only does HBO recruit some of the best talent in the industry and ensure that everyone in every position is up to the task, but the way that they shape their shows makes space for the audience to get inside the emotion of the characters. And while many of HBO’s shows already get recognition for this, there is a miniseries based on true events that has gone slightly under the radar.
What HBO’s Chernobyl Got Right
Chernobyl is a five-part miniseries exploring the harrowing events of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. As such, the show is based on the true events that occurred and the considerable fallout that followed this incident, with different parties pushing to handle things in various ways.
Like any other HBO show, the casting is immaculate, with Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård in leading roles, but more than simply having a strong cast, this series set out to explore a specific story, and it covered those events in incredible detail.
Across five episodes, Chernobyl unpacks the politics and morals of many people who played a role in making decisions after this tragedy, and it effectively builds out each argument while maintaining tension and never losing sight of the disaster at the heart of the story.
HBO Didn’t Hold Back With Chernobyl
For many, the idea of Chernobyl is something that happened far away and long ago, with little to no consequences for the present. But the truth of the situation is so much darker and terrifying. Not only for those who were directly impacted by the event, but the world as a whole has never experienced a disaster like Chernobyl.
The HBO miniseries effectively turned this distant idea into a present reality, with the horrors and suffering of those events depicted in gruesome detail. As a result, Chernobyl stands out for its realism, intensity, and the way the story is captured, which feels authentic and profound.
It’s no wonder that the series stands out on Rotten Tomatoes with a 95% score from critics, and an even higher 97% from the audience. As confronting as the series is, it covers one of the most important events in recent human history, and indeed the history of the entire world. Evidently, Chernobyl has well and truly earned its status as a masterpiece.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2019
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Craig Mazin
