Chernobyl
1:23:45
Season 1, Episode 1 · Aired 2019-05-06
Synopsis
April 26, 1986, Ukrainian SSR. Plant workers and firefighters put their lives on the line to control a catastrophic 1986 explosion at a Soviet nuclear power plant.
Pilot desk note
From the desk: Chernobyl opens its catalog run with “1:23:45” (2019-05-06). Peak limited-series craft; made disaster bureaucracy terrifyingly watchable. Accuracy debates, accent discourse, and "what should I watch after this void?" threads.
In the series
This episode is part of Chernobyl (2019) on HBO/Sky.
Five episodes of institutional failure and radioactive truth — limited series as moral document.
Key cast
- Jared Harris as Valery Legasov
- Stellan Skarsgård as Boris Shcherbina
- Emily Watson as Ulana Khomyuk
- Paul Ritter as Anatoly Dyatlov
- Jessie Buckley as Lyudmilla Ignatenko