Our take
It’s a near-impossible feat to turn something as tragic and devastating as the Chernobyl disaster into a gripping and enlightening tale, but the HBO miniseries does just that. Through insightful storytelling, affecting performances, and sharp dialogue, Chernobyl the show stuns viewers into awareness and, at its best, galvanizes them into action.
It’s a well-crafted five-hour series that does just enough in the way of humanizing a distorted reality, bringing to light the all-too-relevant consequences of power plays and placing the interests of the political elite and national image over real, human lives.
What it won
Golden Globes
2 wins · 3 noms
BAFTA
1 win
SAG Awards
2 noms
DGA
1 win
WGA
1 win
The story
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.
Elsewhere
"It's hard to imagine a more despairing portrait of humanity's continuing capacity to ruin itself than this account of a disaster that's three decades old."
— Matt Zoller Seitz
"Each nauseating moment, be it a shot of decaying human flesh or a decision made for the wrong reasons, has a purpose - and pays back the viewer for their investment. "Chernobyl" is a stunning dramatization, and one worth admiring on many levels."
— Ben Travers
The details
Toxic Town
Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War
Patrick Reams
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth
Jim Swire & Peter Biddulph
Chief of War
A Friend of the Family
Mary Ann Broberg & Nick Antosca
The Patient
Joe Weisberg & Joel Fields
The Fall of the House of Usher
Mike Flanagan
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist
Shaye Ogbonna
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
