🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 198 (from laksa193)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa198.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Chernobyl\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Chernobyl\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Chernobyl","crawl_time":1774490690,"first_indexed_time":0,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,fandom!best-tv-shows,\/wiki\/Chernobyl s443","src_root_hash":"11439660390604180198","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Chernobyl | Best TV Shows Wiki | Fandom","meta_descriptions":["Chernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles..."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Chernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles. It has received widespread universal acclaim for it's historical accuracy, acting, writing, production value, and musical score.\nPlot\n[\n]\nAt 1:23 A.M. in the 26th of April, the No. 4 Reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes, spreading lethal doses of radiation throughout the nearby town of Pripyat and thousands of miles of the surrounding area. With the Soviet Government in denial that the Reactor could even possibly explode, but demanding answers, scientists push for evacuation of the affected areas and containment of the Power Plant in a horrific disaster that has never happened before. The Soviet State and the lives of those involved are forever changed.\nWhy it Rocks\n[\n]\nIt tells the full story of the infamous explosion in a very historically accurate way, taking down events almost beat for beat and using very little creative freedom as it strives to tell the story. It's also much more interesting than an average documentary as dramatizing the events with actors instead helps to make it much more impactful for the audience and accessible to those who like true stories but are otherwise uninterested in something like a documentary.\nThe production value is absolutely spot on, with it's sets, props, vehicles, and so on being historically accurate and just downright gorgeous because of it.\nThe acting is absolutely wonderful, with every single performance working very well for the characters they play, especially the main ones.\nThe characters are also depicted with historical accuracy and are still just as interesting as good fictional characters, which is quite an achievement. In fact, there's only one main character that's a Stock Character, being Ulana Khomyuk, and this is a good reason as it would be impossible and frankly boring to try and show every single scientist in the disaster within such a short amount of time.\nIt even gives plenty of realistic character development to Boris Scherbina, as he starts out the series as a stone cold soldier who's ignorant of the dangers of the disaster until Legasov opens his eyes and he fights back against the censorship and stonewalling of the government that he at first supported.\nGorgeous cinematography where it's allowed, offering sweeping shots that bring the scale of the story and the aforementioned wonderful production value to the fullest extent.\nIt doesn't sugarcoat a single part of the disaster, showing how devastating the affects of radiation are on the human body and the environment as well as the many horrific tragedies that befell many people, especially as the series goes on.\nIt's only five episodes, and every single one of those is amazing.\nThe short length also means the entire series is very affordable for those who want to own it.\nThe series also shows how the Soviet Union itself was responsible for the tragedy becoming what it was, especially as they had made a false claim that the reactor couldn't explode and even enforced this lie while the disaster was happening, refusing to evacuate the nearby town of Pripyat for a while until it was already too late for many people, trying to quell the spread of this rumor (unsuccessfully, as the smoke spread all the way to Sweden), and hiding information that could damage their image as a world power. All that, and also the lack of proper medical care to many of those who were infected as doctors don't know how radiation really affects the human body.\nBesides the disaster itself, there's also some great subplots, such as how Legasov sends Khomyuk throughout the country to find out the exact cause of the explosion, speaking to many of the survivors from the Control Room who are not far off from death, as well as Lyudmilla Ignatenko (wife of fireman Vasily, who was exposed to the radiation) trying to find her husband after he's transferred to Moscow and stay with him in his final dying moments, even as she unintentionally endangers herself and their baby.\nLoads of tragic scenes throughout, right from the very start, such as Lyudmilla experiencing the slow, certain death of Vasily, telling him about her pregnancy before he dies, several innocent people, including children, being infected at the infamous \"Bridge of Death\" while playing in the Nuclear Snow, not knowing it's harmful, and the deaths of many of the aforementioned survivors after Ulana interviews them.\nIt shows the Soviet Union very realistically, and uses it all as an overarching theme that ignorance and arrogance literally kill, especially when, as they say, \"Our power comes from the perception of our power\", in that they censor things excessively to claim they're effectively better than other countries. It overall shows that a government's job is to serve it's people, and that governments can and have failed to do so for decades.\nThe science in the show is explained very well in a way that even people who don't understand science at all will be able to understand in this case, especially with how radiation affects a human body.\nUnlike most HBO shows, there's no sex scenes at all, especially considering how they would've been unnecessary, and only two scenes of nudity which actually have context. Even the cursing and overall violence is toned down as they're trying to tell the true story rather than embellish anything.\nIt also shows how the Soviet Union's lies still make the cleanup and containment of the disaster exponentially harder, such as how a robot that was built to withstand radiation is useless in clearing irradiated debris from the worst roof as scientists were falsely told that radiation can't get over a certain amount. Therefore, they have no choice but to use several people in 90-second long one-time shifts to clear it off, which still lead to safety equipment failing and people dying as a result.\nThe final episode of the series shows the aftermath a year later with a court case against those responsible for the explosion and much more specifics of how they caused it with their arrogance, which is a pretty appropriate way of continuing the overall theme that lies can literally kill.\nSpeaking of, the final episode was a wonderful way to end the series, even if it was only 5 episodes, explaining the specifics of the disaster and why it happened while also bringing a fantastic moral dilemma to the main characters after a major truth is revealed to them that the KGB will certainly try to censor, despite all those who died as a result of the disaster. It also ends rather tragically despite all that's happened and tastefully chooses not to show Legasov's suicide again (having shown it in the beginning of the first episode) and instead explain what happened as a result of the trial, even explaining how up to 90,000 people died as a result of the disaster, but the official count only says 31 (not 31,000, 31 people). It also shows how, though not shown in the events of the show, things did change for the better as the truth eventually got out and forced the Soviet Union to finally take proper safety measures and eventually caused their downfall, and some people even got a decently happy ending, even if many did not.\nBad Qualities\n[\n]\nWhile this is the point of the series, the overall tone and disturbing content of the series will definitely be too much for some viewers, especially in Episode 4 when they're forced to kill all the pets left behind at Pripyat (something that did actually happen, but the point is that it will easily upset animal lovers).\nThe use of a stock character, even if they're perfectly open about it, can take down a bit of the historical accuracy of the series.","attrs_markdown":"[Sign In](https:\/\/auth.fandom.com\/signin?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl)\n\n[Create a Free Account](https:\/\/auth.fandom.com\/register?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl)\n\n[Best TV Shows Wiki](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki)\n\n- Explore\n  - [Main Page](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki)\n  - [Discuss](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/f)\n  - [All Pages](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Special:AllPages)\n  - [Community](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Special:Community)\n  - [Interactive Maps](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Special:AllMaps)\n  - [Recent Blog Posts](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/Blog:Recent_posts)\n- Wiki Content\n  - Recently Changed Pages\n    - [Showbiz India](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Showbiz_India)\n    - [Ruby & the Rockits](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Ruby_%26_the_Rockits)\n    - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\\(seasons_1-5\\))\n    - [SpongeBob SquarePants (Post-Movie, Sequel and Threequel Eras, Season 9-present)](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\\(Post-Movie,_Sequel_and_Threequel_Eras,_Season_9-present\\))\n    - [Guilty Crown](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Guilty_Crown)\n    - [Wondrous Myths & Legends](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Wondrous_Myths_%26_Legends)\n    - [The Midnight Gospel](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/The_Midnight_Gospel)\n  - [Animation](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Animation)\n    - [Steven Universe](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Steven_Universe)\n    - [RWBY](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/RWBY)\n    - [Hilda](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Hilda)\n    - [Kim Possible](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Kim_Possible)\n    - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines)\n    - [Paw Patrol](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Paw_Patrol)\n    - [Milo Murphy's Law](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Milo_Murphy%27s_Law)\n  - [Cartoons](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Cartoons)\n    - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\\(seasons_1-5\\))\n    - [Steven Universe](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Steven_Universe)\n    - [RWBY](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/RWBY)\n    - [Hilda](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Hilda)\n    - [Kim Possible](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Kim_Possible)\n    - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines)\n    - [Paw Patrol](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Paw_Patrol)\n- Community\n  - [Help](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Help:Contents)\n\n[Sign In](https:\/\/auth.fandom.com\/signin?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl)\n\nDon't have an account?\n\n[Create a Free Account](https:\/\/auth.fandom.com\/register?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl)\n***\n[Sign In](https:\/\/auth.fandom.com\/signin?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl)\n\n[Home](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/)\n\nExplore\n\n[Saved](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/saved)\n\n[Progress](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/progress)\n\nHistory\n\nMore\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[Skip to content](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Chernobyl#page-header)\n\n[Best TV Shows Wiki](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki)\n\n2,095\n\npages\n\n- Explore\n  - [Main Page](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki)\n  - [Discuss](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/f)\n  - [All Pages](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Special:AllPages)\n  - [Community](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Special:Community)\n  - [Interactive Maps](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Special:AllMaps)\n  - [Recent Blog Posts](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/Blog:Recent_posts)\n- Wiki Content\n  - Recently Changed Pages\n    - [Showbiz India](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Showbiz_India)\n    - [Ruby & the Rockits](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Ruby_%26_the_Rockits)\n    - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\\(seasons_1-5\\))\n    - [SpongeBob SquarePants (Post-Movie, Sequel and Threequel Eras, Season 9-present)](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\\(Post-Movie,_Sequel_and_Threequel_Eras,_Season_9-present\\))\n    - [Guilty Crown](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Guilty_Crown)\n    - [Wondrous Myths & Legends](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Wondrous_Myths_%26_Legends)\n    - [The Midnight Gospel](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/The_Midnight_Gospel)\n  - [Animation](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Animation)\n    - [Steven Universe](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Steven_Universe)\n    - [RWBY](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/RWBY)\n    - [Hilda](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Hilda)\n    - [Kim Possible](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Kim_Possible)\n    - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines)\n    - [Paw Patrol](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Paw_Patrol)\n    - [Milo Murphy's Law](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Milo_Murphy%27s_Law)\n  - [Cartoons](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Cartoons)\n    - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\\(seasons_1-5\\))\n    - [Steven Universe](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Steven_Universe)\n    - [RWBY](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/RWBY)\n    - [Hilda](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Hilda)\n    - [Kim Possible](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Kim_Possible)\n    - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines)\n    - [Paw Patrol](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Paw_Patrol)\n- Community\n  - [Help](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Help:Contents)\n\nin: [History Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:History_Shows \"Category:History Shows\"), [Based on a True Story](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Based_on_a_True_Story \"Category:Based on a True Story\"), [Important Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Important_Shows \"Category:Important Shows\"),\n\nand [27 more]()\n\n- [Important shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Important_shows \"Category:Important shows\")\n- [Miniseries](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Miniseries \"Category:Miniseries\")\n- [Emmy Award winning shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Emmy_Award_winning_shows \"Category:Emmy Award winning shows\")\n- [Emmy Award Winning Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Emmy_Award_Winning_Shows \"Category:Emmy Award Winning Shows\")\n- [Emmy award winning shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Emmy_award_winning_shows \"Category:Emmy award winning shows\")\n- [Tragedy Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Tragedy_Shows \"Category:Tragedy Shows\")\n- [Tragedy shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Tragedy_shows \"Category:Tragedy shows\")\n- [HBO Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_Shows \"Category:HBO Shows\")\n- [HBO shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_shows \"Category:HBO shows\")\n- [HBO Max Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_Max_Shows \"Category:HBO Max Shows\")\n- [HBO Max shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_Max_shows \"Category:HBO Max shows\")\n- [Drama Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Drama_Shows \"Category:Drama Shows\")\n- [Drama shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Drama_shows \"Category:Drama shows\")\n- [Shows with Good Morals](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_with_Good_Morals \"Category:Shows with Good Morals\")\n- [Shows with Good Finales](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_with_Good_Finales \"Category:Shows with Good Finales\")\n- [Short-Lived Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-Lived_Shows \"Category:Short-Lived Shows\")\n- [Short-lived shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-lived_shows \"Category:Short-lived shows\")\n- [Short-Lived shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-Lived_shows \"Category:Short-Lived shows\")\n- [Short-lived Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-lived_Shows \"Category:Short-lived Shows\")\n- [Shows with good morals](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_with_good_morals \"Category:Shows with good morals\")\n- [Shows With Good Morals](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_With_Good_Morals \"Category:Shows With Good Morals\")\n- [Internet Memes](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Internet_Memes \"Category:Internet Memes\")\n- [Internet memes](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Internet_memes \"Category:Internet memes\")\n- [American Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:American_Shows \"Category:American Shows\")\n- [American shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:American_shows \"Category:American shows\")\n- [British Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:British_Shows \"Category:British Shows\")\n- [Greatest Moments in TV History](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Greatest_Moments_in_TV_History \"Category:Greatest Moments in TV History\")\n\n# Chernobyl\n[Sign In to Save Save](https:\/\/auth.fandom.com\/signin?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl&uselang=en&source=collections-save-button \"Sign In to Save\")\n\n[Edit](https:\/\/auth.fandom.com\/signin?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl%3Fveaction%3Dedit&uselang=en&metadata=article-registration-edit-article)\n\n- [History](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Chernobyl?action=history)\n- [Purge](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Chernobyl?action=purge)\n- [Talk (0)](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Talk:Chernobyl?action=edit&redlink=1)\n\n## Chernobyl\n[![Chernobyl](https:\/\/static.wikia.nocookie.net\/best-tv-shows\/images\/e\/e5\/Chernobyl.jpg\/revision\/latest?cb=20250222215011)](https:\/\/static.wikia.nocookie.net\/best-tv-shows\/images\/e\/e5\/Chernobyl.jpg\/revision\/latest?cb=20250222215011 \"Chernobyl\")\n\n\"What is the cost of lies?\"\n\n### Genre\nHistorical\n\n### Running time\n59-71 minutes\n\n### Country\nUnited States, United Kingdom\n\n### Release date\nMay 6 - June 3, 2019\n\n### Network\nHBO\n\n### Created by\nCraig Mazin\n\n### Distributed by\nHBO\n\n### Starring\nJared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson\n\n### Seasons\n1\n\n### Episodes\n5\n\nChernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles. It has received widespread universal acclaim for it's historical accuracy, acting, writing, production value, and musical score.\n\n## Plot\\[ \\]\nAt 1:23 A.M. in the 26th of April, the No. 4 Reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes, spreading lethal doses of radiation throughout the nearby town of Pripyat and thousands of miles of the surrounding area. With the Soviet Government in denial that the Reactor could even possibly explode, but demanding answers, scientists push for evacuation of the affected areas and containment of the Power Plant in a horrific disaster that has never happened before. The Soviet State and the lives of those involved are forever changed.\n\n## Why it Rocks\\[ \\]\n1. It tells the full story of the infamous explosion in a very historically accurate way, taking down events almost beat for beat and using very little creative freedom as it strives to tell the story. It's also much more interesting than an average documentary as dramatizing the events with actors instead helps to make it much more impactful for the audience and accessible to those who like true stories but are otherwise uninterested in something like a documentary.\n2. The production value is absolutely spot on, with it's sets, props, vehicles, and so on being historically accurate and just downright gorgeous because of it.\n3. The acting is absolutely wonderful, with every single performance working very well for the characters they play, especially the main ones.\n4. The characters are also depicted with historical accuracy and are still just as interesting as good fictional characters, which is quite an achievement. In fact, there's only one main character that's a Stock Character, being Ulana Khomyuk, and this is a good reason as it would be impossible and frankly boring to try and show every single scientist in the disaster within such a short amount of time.\n   1. It even gives plenty of realistic character development to Boris Scherbina, as he starts out the series as a stone cold soldier who's ignorant of the dangers of the disaster until Legasov opens his eyes and he fights back against the censorship and stonewalling of the government that he at first supported.\n5. Gorgeous cinematography where it's allowed, offering sweeping shots that bring the scale of the story and the aforementioned wonderful production value to the fullest extent.\n6. It doesn't sugarcoat a single part of the disaster, showing how devastating the affects of radiation are on the human body and the environment as well as the many horrific tragedies that befell many people, especially as the series goes on.\n7. It's only five episodes, and every single one of those is amazing.\n   1. The short length also means the entire series is very affordable for those who want to own it.\n8. The series also shows how the Soviet Union itself was responsible for the tragedy becoming what it was, especially as they had made a false claim that the reactor couldn't explode and even enforced this lie while the disaster was happening, refusing to evacuate the nearby town of Pripyat for a while until it was already too late for many people, trying to quell the spread of this rumor (unsuccessfully, as the smoke spread all the way to Sweden), and hiding information that could damage their image as a world power. All that, and also the lack of proper medical care to many of those who were infected as doctors don't know how radiation really affects the human body.\n9. Besides the disaster itself, there's also some great subplots, such as how Legasov sends Khomyuk throughout the country to find out the exact cause of the explosion, speaking to many of the survivors from the Control Room who are not far off from death, as well as Lyudmilla Ignatenko (wife of fireman Vasily, who was exposed to the radiation) trying to find her husband after he's transferred to Moscow and stay with him in his final dying moments, even as she unintentionally endangers herself and their baby.\n10. Loads of tragic scenes throughout, right from the very start, such as Lyudmilla experiencing the slow, certain death of Vasily, telling him about her pregnancy before he dies, several innocent people, including children, being infected at the infamous \"Bridge of Death\" while playing in the Nuclear Snow, not knowing it's harmful, and the deaths of many of the aforementioned survivors after Ulana interviews them.\n11. It shows the Soviet Union very realistically, and uses it all as an overarching theme that ignorance and arrogance literally kill, especially when, as they say, \"Our power comes from the perception of our power\", in that they censor things excessively to claim they're effectively better than other countries. It overall shows that a government's job is to serve it's people, and that governments can and have failed to do so for decades.\n12. The science in the show is explained very well in a way that even people who don't understand science at all will be able to understand in this case, especially with how radiation affects a human body.\n13. Unlike most HBO shows, there's no sex scenes at all, especially considering how they would've been unnecessary, and only two scenes of nudity which actually have context. Even the cursing and overall violence is toned down as they're trying to tell the true story rather than embellish anything.\n14. It also shows how the Soviet Union's lies still make the cleanup and containment of the disaster exponentially harder, such as how a robot that was built to withstand radiation is useless in clearing irradiated debris from the worst roof as scientists were falsely told that radiation can't get over a certain amount. Therefore, they have no choice but to use several people in 90-second long one-time shifts to clear it off, which still lead to safety equipment failing and people dying as a result.\n15. The final episode of the series shows the aftermath a year later with a court case against those responsible for the explosion and much more specifics of how they caused it with their arrogance, which is a pretty appropriate way of continuing the overall theme that lies can literally kill.\n16. Speaking of, the final episode was a wonderful way to end the series, even if it was only 5 episodes, explaining the specifics of the disaster and why it happened while also bringing a fantastic moral dilemma to the main characters after a major truth is revealed to them that the KGB will certainly try to censor, despite all those who died as a result of the disaster. It also ends rather tragically despite all that's happened and tastefully chooses not to show Legasov's suicide again (having shown it in the beginning of the first episode) and instead explain what happened as a result of the trial, even explaining how up to 90,000 people died as a result of the disaster, but the official count only says 31 (not 31,000, 31 people). It also shows how, though not shown in the events of the show, things did change for the better as the truth eventually got out and forced the Soviet Union to finally take proper safety measures and eventually caused their downfall, and some people even got a decently happy ending, even if many did not.\n## Bad Qualities\\[ \\]\n1. While this is the point of the series, the overall tone and disturbing content of the series will definitely be too much for some viewers, especially in Episode 4 when they're forced to kill all the pets left behind at Pripyat (something that did actually happen, but the point is that it will easily upset animal lovers).\n2. The use of a stock character, even if they're perfectly open about it, can take down a bit of the historical accuracy of the series.\n\nCategories\n\n- [Categories](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Special:Categories \"Special:Categories\"):\n- [History Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:History_Shows \"Category:History Shows\")\n- [Based on a True Story](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Based_on_a_True_Story \"Category:Based on a True Story\")\n- [Important Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Important_Shows \"Category:Important Shows\")\n- [Important shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Important_shows \"Category:Important shows\")\n- [Miniseries](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Miniseries \"Category:Miniseries\")\n- [Emmy Award winning shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Emmy_Award_winning_shows \"Category:Emmy Award winning shows\")\n- [Emmy Award Winning Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Emmy_Award_Winning_Shows \"Category:Emmy Award Winning Shows\")\n- [Emmy award winning shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Emmy_award_winning_shows \"Category:Emmy award winning shows\")\n- [Tragedy Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Tragedy_Shows \"Category:Tragedy Shows\")\n- [Tragedy shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Tragedy_shows \"Category:Tragedy shows\")\n- [HBO Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_Shows \"Category:HBO Shows\")\n- [HBO shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_shows \"Category:HBO shows\")\n- [HBO Max Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_Max_Shows \"Category:HBO Max Shows\")\n- [HBO Max shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:HBO_Max_shows \"Category:HBO Max shows\")\n- [Drama Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Drama_Shows \"Category:Drama Shows\")\n- [Drama shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Drama_shows \"Category:Drama shows\")\n- [Shows with Good Morals](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_with_Good_Morals \"Category:Shows with Good Morals\")\n- [Shows with Good Finales](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_with_Good_Finales \"Category:Shows with Good Finales\")\n- [Short-Lived Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-Lived_Shows \"Category:Short-Lived Shows\")\n- [Short-lived shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-lived_shows \"Category:Short-lived shows\")\n- [Short-Lived shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-Lived_shows \"Category:Short-Lived shows\")\n- [Short-lived Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Short-lived_Shows \"Category:Short-lived Shows\")\n- [Shows with good morals](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_with_good_morals \"Category:Shows with good morals\")\n- [Shows With Good Morals](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Shows_With_Good_Morals \"Category:Shows With Good Morals\")\n- [Internet Memes](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Internet_Memes \"Category:Internet Memes\")\n- [Internet memes](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Internet_memes \"Category:Internet memes\")\n- [American Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:American_Shows \"Category:American Shows\")\n- [American shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:American_shows \"Category:American shows\")\n- [British Shows](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:British_Shows \"Category:British Shows\")\n- [Greatest Moments in TV History](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Category:Greatest_Moments_in_TV_History \"Category:Greatest Moments in TV History\")\n\nCommunity content is available under [CC-BY-SA](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/licensing) unless otherwise noted.\n\nAdvertisement\n\n## [![Fandom logo](https:\/\/static.wikia.nocookie.net\/6a181c72-e8bf-419b-b4db-18fd56a0eb60)](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/ \"Fandom logo\")\n### Explore properties\n- [Fandom](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/)\n- [Fanatical](https:\/\/www.fanatical.com\/)\n- [GameSpot](https:\/\/www.gamespot.com\/)\n- [Metacritic](https:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/)\n- [TV Guide](https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/)\n- [Honest Entertainment](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/screenjunkies)\n### Follow Us\n\n### Overview\n- [What is Fandom?](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/what-is-fandom)\n- [Essentials](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/essentials)\n- [About](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/about)\n- [Careers](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/careers)\n- [Press](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/press)\n- [Contact](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/about#contact)\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/terms-of-use)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/privacy-policy)\n- [Digital Services Act](https:\/\/www.fandom.com\/digital-services-act)\n- [Global Sitemap](https:\/\/community.fandom.com\/Sitemap)\n- [Local Sitemap](https:\/\/best-tv-shows.fandom.com\/wiki\/Local_Sitemap)\n\n### Community\n- [Community Central](https:\/\/community.fandom.com\/wiki\/Community_Central)\n- [Support](https:\/\/fandom.zendesk.com\/)\n- [Help](https:\/\/community.fandom.com\/wiki\/Help:Contents)\n\n### Advertise\n- [Media Kit](https:\/\/about.fandom.com\/mediakit)\n- [Contact](https:\/\/about.fandom.com\/mediakit#contact)\n\n### Fandom Apps\nTake your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat.\n\n![Fandom App logo](https:\/\/static.wikia.nocookie.net\/6c42ce6a-b205-41f5-82c6-5011721932e7)\n\n- [![Store icon](https:\/\/static.wikia.nocookie.net\/3f46912f-45a8-47f0-ac9d-6dca02c3a5ca)](https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fandom-videos-news-reviews\/id1230063803)\n- [![Store icon](https:\/\/static.wikia.nocookie.net\/6e8f2e52-ab5a-427f-a836-ab57168161ec)](https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fandom.app&referrer=utm_source%3Dwikia%26utm_medium%3Dglobalfooter)\n\nBest TV Shows Wiki is a Fandom TV Community.\n\nView Mobile Site","attrs_readable_markdown":"Chernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles. It has received widespread universal acclaim for it's historical accuracy, acting, writing, production value, and musical score.\n\n## Plot\\[\\]\nAt 1:23 A.M. in the 26th of April, the No. 4 Reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes, spreading lethal doses of radiation throughout the nearby town of Pripyat and thousands of miles of the surrounding area. With the Soviet Government in denial that the Reactor could even possibly explode, but demanding answers, scientists push for evacuation of the affected areas and containment of the Power Plant in a horrific disaster that has never happened before. The Soviet State and the lives of those involved are forever changed.\n\n## Why it Rocks\\[\\]\n1. It tells the full story of the infamous explosion in a very historically accurate way, taking down events almost beat for beat and using very little creative freedom as it strives to tell the story. It's also much more interesting than an average documentary as dramatizing the events with actors instead helps to make it much more impactful for the audience and accessible to those who like true stories but are otherwise uninterested in something like a documentary.\n2. The production value is absolutely spot on, with it's sets, props, vehicles, and so on being historically accurate and just downright gorgeous because of it.\n3. The acting is absolutely wonderful, with every single performance working very well for the characters they play, especially the main ones.\n4. The characters are also depicted with historical accuracy and are still just as interesting as good fictional characters, which is quite an achievement. In fact, there's only one main character that's a Stock Character, being Ulana Khomyuk, and this is a good reason as it would be impossible and frankly boring to try and show every single scientist in the disaster within such a short amount of time.\n   1. It even gives plenty of realistic character development to Boris Scherbina, as he starts out the series as a stone cold soldier who's ignorant of the dangers of the disaster until Legasov opens his eyes and he fights back against the censorship and stonewalling of the government that he at first supported.\n5. Gorgeous cinematography where it's allowed, offering sweeping shots that bring the scale of the story and the aforementioned wonderful production value to the fullest extent.\n6. It doesn't sugarcoat a single part of the disaster, showing how devastating the affects of radiation are on the human body and the environment as well as the many horrific tragedies that befell many people, especially as the series goes on.\n7. It's only five episodes, and every single one of those is amazing.\n   1. The short length also means the entire series is very affordable for those who want to own it.\n8. The series also shows how the Soviet Union itself was responsible for the tragedy becoming what it was, especially as they had made a false claim that the reactor couldn't explode and even enforced this lie while the disaster was happening, refusing to evacuate the nearby town of Pripyat for a while until it was already too late for many people, trying to quell the spread of this rumor (unsuccessfully, as the smoke spread all the way to Sweden), and hiding information that could damage their image as a world power. All that, and also the lack of proper medical care to many of those who were infected as doctors don't know how radiation really affects the human body.\n9. Besides the disaster itself, there's also some great subplots, such as how Legasov sends Khomyuk throughout the country to find out the exact cause of the explosion, speaking to many of the survivors from the Control Room who are not far off from death, as well as Lyudmilla Ignatenko (wife of fireman Vasily, who was exposed to the radiation) trying to find her husband after he's transferred to Moscow and stay with him in his final dying moments, even as she unintentionally endangers herself and their baby.\n10. Loads of tragic scenes throughout, right from the very start, such as Lyudmilla experiencing the slow, certain death of Vasily, telling him about her pregnancy before he dies, several innocent people, including children, being infected at the infamous \"Bridge of Death\" while playing in the Nuclear Snow, not knowing it's harmful, and the deaths of many of the aforementioned survivors after Ulana interviews them.\n11. It shows the Soviet Union very realistically, and uses it all as an overarching theme that ignorance and arrogance literally kill, especially when, as they say, \"Our power comes from the perception of our power\", in that they censor things excessively to claim they're effectively better than other countries. It overall shows that a government's job is to serve it's people, and that governments can and have failed to do so for decades.\n12. The science in the show is explained very well in a way that even people who don't understand science at all will be able to understand in this case, especially with how radiation affects a human body.\n13. Unlike most HBO shows, there's no sex scenes at all, especially considering how they would've been unnecessary, and only two scenes of nudity which actually have context. Even the cursing and overall violence is toned down as they're trying to tell the true story rather than embellish anything.\n14. It also shows how the Soviet Union's lies still make the cleanup and containment of the disaster exponentially harder, such as how a robot that was built to withstand radiation is useless in clearing irradiated debris from the worst roof as scientists were falsely told that radiation can't get over a certain amount. Therefore, they have no choice but to use several people in 90-second long one-time shifts to clear it off, which still lead to safety equipment failing and people dying as a result.\n15. The final episode of the series shows the aftermath a year later with a court case against those responsible for the explosion and much more specifics of how they caused it with their arrogance, which is a pretty appropriate way of continuing the overall theme that lies can literally kill.\n16. Speaking of, the final episode was a wonderful way to end the series, even if it was only 5 episodes, explaining the specifics of the disaster and why it happened while also bringing a fantastic moral dilemma to the main characters after a major truth is revealed to them that the KGB will certainly try to censor, despite all those who died as a result of the disaster. It also ends rather tragically despite all that's happened and tastefully chooses not to show Legasov's suicide again (having shown it in the beginning of the first episode) and instead explain what happened as a result of the trial, even explaining how up to 90,000 people died as a result of the disaster, but the official count only says 31 (not 31,000, 31 people). It also shows how, though not shown in the events of the show, things did change for the better as the truth eventually got out and forced the Soviet Union to finally take proper safety measures and eventually caused their downfall, and some people even got a decently happy ending, even if many did not.\n## Bad Qualities\\[\\]\n1. While this is the point of the series, the overall tone and disturbing content of the series will definitely be too much for some viewers, especially in Episode 4 when they're forced to kill all the pets left behind at Pripyat (something that did actually happen, but the point is that it will easily upset animal lovers).\n2. The use of a stock character, even if they're perfectly open about it, can take down a bit of the historical accuracy of the series.","meta_canonical":null}

3. Robots.txt Check

Query:

Response:

4. Spam/Ban Check

Query:

Response:

5. Seen Status Check

ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled

📄

INDEXABLE

✅

CRAWLED

20 days ago

🤖

ROBOTS ALLOWED

Page Info Filters

Filter	Status	Condition	Details
HTTP status	PASS	`download_http_code = 200`	HTTP 200
Age cutoff	PASS	`download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH`	0.7 months ago
History drop	PASS	`isNull(history_drop_reason)`	No drop reason
Spam/ban	PASS	`fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0`	ml_spam_score=0
Canonical	PASS	`meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed`	Not set

Page Details

Property	Value
URL	https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Chernobyl
Last Crawled	2026-03-26 02:04:50 (20 days ago)
First Indexed	not set
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Chernobyl \| Best TV Shows Wiki \| Fandom
Meta Description	Chernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles...
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	Chernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles. It has received widespread universal acclaim for it's historical accuracy, acting, writing, production value, and musical score. Plot [ ] At 1:23 A.M. in the 26th of April, the No. 4 Reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes, spreading lethal doses of radiation throughout the nearby town of Pripyat and thousands of miles of the surrounding area. With the Soviet Government in denial that the Reactor could even possibly explode, but demanding answers, scientists push for evacuation of the affected areas and containment of the Power Plant in a horrific disaster that has never happened before. The Soviet State and the lives of those involved are forever changed. Why it Rocks [ ] It tells the full story of the infamous explosion in a very historically accurate way, taking down events almost beat for beat and using very little creative freedom as it strives to tell the story. It's also much more interesting than an average documentary as dramatizing the events with actors instead helps to make it much more impactful for the audience and accessible to those who like true stories but are otherwise uninterested in something like a documentary. The production value is absolutely spot on, with it's sets, props, vehicles, and so on being historically accurate and just downright gorgeous because of it. The acting is absolutely wonderful, with every single performance working very well for the characters they play, especially the main ones. The characters are also depicted with historical accuracy and are still just as interesting as good fictional characters, which is quite an achievement. In fact, there's only one main character that's a Stock Character, being Ulana Khomyuk, and this is a good reason as it would be impossible and frankly boring to try and show every single scientist in the disaster within such a short amount of time. It even gives plenty of realistic character development to Boris Scherbina, as he starts out the series as a stone cold soldier who's ignorant of the dangers of the disaster until Legasov opens his eyes and he fights back against the censorship and stonewalling of the government that he at first supported. Gorgeous cinematography where it's allowed, offering sweeping shots that bring the scale of the story and the aforementioned wonderful production value to the fullest extent. It doesn't sugarcoat a single part of the disaster, showing how devastating the affects of radiation are on the human body and the environment as well as the many horrific tragedies that befell many people, especially as the series goes on. It's only five episodes, and every single one of those is amazing. The short length also means the entire series is very affordable for those who want to own it. The series also shows how the Soviet Union itself was responsible for the tragedy becoming what it was, especially as they had made a false claim that the reactor couldn't explode and even enforced this lie while the disaster was happening, refusing to evacuate the nearby town of Pripyat for a while until it was already too late for many people, trying to quell the spread of this rumor (unsuccessfully, as the smoke spread all the way to Sweden), and hiding information that could damage their image as a world power. All that, and also the lack of proper medical care to many of those who were infected as doctors don't know how radiation really affects the human body. Besides the disaster itself, there's also some great subplots, such as how Legasov sends Khomyuk throughout the country to find out the exact cause of the explosion, speaking to many of the survivors from the Control Room who are not far off from death, as well as Lyudmilla Ignatenko (wife of fireman Vasily, who was exposed to the radiation) trying to find her husband after he's transferred to Moscow and stay with him in his final dying moments, even as she unintentionally endangers herself and their baby. Loads of tragic scenes throughout, right from the very start, such as Lyudmilla experiencing the slow, certain death of Vasily, telling him about her pregnancy before he dies, several innocent people, including children, being infected at the infamous "Bridge of Death" while playing in the Nuclear Snow, not knowing it's harmful, and the deaths of many of the aforementioned survivors after Ulana interviews them. It shows the Soviet Union very realistically, and uses it all as an overarching theme that ignorance and arrogance literally kill, especially when, as they say, "Our power comes from the perception of our power", in that they censor things excessively to claim they're effectively better than other countries. It overall shows that a government's job is to serve it's people, and that governments can and have failed to do so for decades. The science in the show is explained very well in a way that even people who don't understand science at all will be able to understand in this case, especially with how radiation affects a human body. Unlike most HBO shows, there's no sex scenes at all, especially considering how they would've been unnecessary, and only two scenes of nudity which actually have context. Even the cursing and overall violence is toned down as they're trying to tell the true story rather than embellish anything. It also shows how the Soviet Union's lies still make the cleanup and containment of the disaster exponentially harder, such as how a robot that was built to withstand radiation is useless in clearing irradiated debris from the worst roof as scientists were falsely told that radiation can't get over a certain amount. Therefore, they have no choice but to use several people in 90-second long one-time shifts to clear it off, which still lead to safety equipment failing and people dying as a result. The final episode of the series shows the aftermath a year later with a court case against those responsible for the explosion and much more specifics of how they caused it with their arrogance, which is a pretty appropriate way of continuing the overall theme that lies can literally kill. Speaking of, the final episode was a wonderful way to end the series, even if it was only 5 episodes, explaining the specifics of the disaster and why it happened while also bringing a fantastic moral dilemma to the main characters after a major truth is revealed to them that the KGB will certainly try to censor, despite all those who died as a result of the disaster. It also ends rather tragically despite all that's happened and tastefully chooses not to show Legasov's suicide again (having shown it in the beginning of the first episode) and instead explain what happened as a result of the trial, even explaining how up to 90,000 people died as a result of the disaster, but the official count only says 31 (not 31,000, 31 people). It also shows how, though not shown in the events of the show, things did change for the better as the truth eventually got out and forced the Soviet Union to finally take proper safety measures and eventually caused their downfall, and some people even got a decently happy ending, even if many did not. Bad Qualities [ ] While this is the point of the series, the overall tone and disturbing content of the series will definitely be too much for some viewers, especially in Episode 4 when they're forced to kill all the pets left behind at Pripyat (something that did actually happen, but the point is that it will easily upset animal lovers). The use of a stock character, even if they're perfectly open about it, can take down a bit of the historical accuracy of the series.
Markdown	[Sign In](https://auth.fandom.com/signin?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl) [Create a Free Account](https://auth.fandom.com/register?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl) [Best TV Shows Wiki](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki) - Explore - [Main Page](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki) - [Discuss](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/f) - [All Pages](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Special:AllPages) - [Community](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Special:Community) - [Interactive Maps](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Special:AllMaps) - [Recent Blog Posts](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/Blog:Recent_posts) - Wiki Content - Recently Changed Pages - [Showbiz India](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Showbiz_India) - [Ruby & the Rockits](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Ruby_%26_the_Rockits) - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\(seasons_1-5\)) - [SpongeBob SquarePants (Post-Movie, Sequel and Threequel Eras, Season 9-present)](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\(Post-Movie,_Sequel_and_Threequel_Eras,_Season_9-present\)) - [Guilty Crown](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Guilty_Crown) - [Wondrous Myths & Legends](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Wondrous_Myths_%26_Legends) - [The Midnight Gospel](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/The_Midnight_Gospel) - [Animation](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Animation) - [Steven Universe](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Steven_Universe) - [RWBY](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/RWBY) - [Hilda](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Hilda) - [Kim Possible](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Kim_Possible) - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines) - [Paw Patrol](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Paw_Patrol) - [Milo Murphy's Law](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Milo_Murphy%27s_Law) - [Cartoons](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Cartoons) - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\(seasons_1-5\)) - [Steven Universe](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Steven_Universe) - [RWBY](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/RWBY) - [Hilda](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Hilda) - [Kim Possible](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Kim_Possible) - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines) - [Paw Patrol](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Paw_Patrol) - Community - [Help](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Help:Contents) [Sign In](https://auth.fandom.com/signin?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl) Don't have an account? [Create a Free Account](https://auth.fandom.com/register?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl) *** [Sign In](https://auth.fandom.com/signin?source=mw&redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl) [Home](https://www.fandom.com/) Explore [Saved](https://www.fandom.com/saved) [Progress](https://www.fandom.com/progress) History More Advertisement [Skip to content](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Chernobyl#page-header) [Best TV Shows Wiki](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki) 2,095 pages - Explore - [Main Page](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Best_TV_Shows_Wiki) - [Discuss](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/f) - [All Pages](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Special:AllPages) - [Community](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Special:Community) - [Interactive Maps](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Special:AllMaps) - [Recent Blog Posts](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/Blog:Recent_posts) - Wiki Content - Recently Changed Pages - [Showbiz India](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Showbiz_India) - [Ruby & the Rockits](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Ruby_%26_the_Rockits) - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\(seasons_1-5\)) - [SpongeBob SquarePants (Post-Movie, Sequel and Threequel Eras, Season 9-present)](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\(Post-Movie,_Sequel_and_Threequel_Eras,_Season_9-present\)) - [Guilty Crown](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Guilty_Crown) - [Wondrous Myths & Legends](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Wondrous_Myths_%26_Legends) - [The Midnight Gospel](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/The_Midnight_Gospel) - [Animation](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Animation) - [Steven Universe](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Steven_Universe) - [RWBY](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/RWBY) - [Hilda](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Hilda) - [Kim Possible](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Kim_Possible) - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines) - [Paw Patrol](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Paw_Patrol) - [Milo Murphy's Law](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Milo_Murphy%27s_Law) - [Cartoons](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Cartoons) - [SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 1-5)](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants_\(seasons_1-5\)) - [Steven Universe](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Steven_Universe) - [RWBY](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/RWBY) - [Hilda](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Hilda) - [Kim Possible](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Kim_Possible) - [Blaze and the Monster Machines](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Blaze_and_the_Monster_Machines) - [Paw Patrol](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Paw_Patrol) - Community - [Help](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Help:Contents) in: [History Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:History_Shows "Category:History Shows"), [Based on a True Story](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Based_on_a_True_Story "Category:Based on a True Story"), [Important Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Important_Shows "Category:Important Shows"), and [27 more]() - [Important shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Important_shows "Category:Important shows") - [Miniseries](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Miniseries "Category:Miniseries") - [Emmy Award winning shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Emmy_Award_winning_shows "Category:Emmy Award winning shows") - [Emmy Award Winning Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Emmy_Award_Winning_Shows "Category:Emmy Award Winning Shows") - [Emmy award winning shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Emmy_award_winning_shows "Category:Emmy award winning shows") - [Tragedy Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Tragedy_Shows "Category:Tragedy Shows") - [Tragedy shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Tragedy_shows "Category:Tragedy shows") - [HBO Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_Shows "Category:HBO Shows") - [HBO shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_shows "Category:HBO shows") - [HBO Max Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_Max_Shows "Category:HBO Max Shows") - [HBO Max shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_Max_shows "Category:HBO Max shows") - [Drama Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Drama_Shows "Category:Drama Shows") - [Drama shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Drama_shows "Category:Drama shows") - [Shows with Good Morals](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_with_Good_Morals "Category:Shows with Good Morals") - [Shows with Good Finales](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_with_Good_Finales "Category:Shows with Good Finales") - [Short-Lived Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-Lived_Shows "Category:Short-Lived Shows") - [Short-lived shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-lived_shows "Category:Short-lived shows") - [Short-Lived shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-Lived_shows "Category:Short-Lived shows") - [Short-lived Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-lived_Shows "Category:Short-lived Shows") - [Shows with good morals](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_with_good_morals "Category:Shows with good morals") - [Shows With Good Morals](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_With_Good_Morals "Category:Shows With Good Morals") - [Internet Memes](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Internet_Memes "Category:Internet Memes") - [Internet memes](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Internet_memes "Category:Internet memes") - [American Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:American_Shows "Category:American Shows") - [American shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:American_shows "Category:American shows") - [British Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:British_Shows "Category:British Shows") - [Greatest Moments in TV History](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Greatest_Moments_in_TV_History "Category:Greatest Moments in TV History") # Chernobyl [Sign In to Save Save](https://auth.fandom.com/signin?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl&uselang=en&source=collections-save-button "Sign In to Save") [Edit](https://auth.fandom.com/signin?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fbest-tv-shows.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FChernobyl%3Fveaction%3Dedit&uselang=en&metadata=article-registration-edit-article) - [History](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Chernobyl?action=history) - [Purge](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Chernobyl?action=purge) - [Talk (0)](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Talk:Chernobyl?action=edit&redlink=1) ## Chernobyl [![Chernobyl](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/best-tv-shows/images/e/e5/Chernobyl.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20250222215011)](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/best-tv-shows/images/e/e5/Chernobyl.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20250222215011 "Chernobyl") "What is the cost of lies?" ### Genre Historical ### Running time 59-71 minutes ### Country United States, United Kingdom ### Release date May 6 - June 3, 2019 ### Network HBO ### Created by Craig Mazin ### Distributed by HBO ### Starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson ### Seasons 1 ### Episodes 5 Chernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles. It has received widespread universal acclaim for it's historical accuracy, acting, writing, production value, and musical score. ## Plot\[ \] At 1:23 A.M. in the 26th of April, the No. 4 Reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes, spreading lethal doses of radiation throughout the nearby town of Pripyat and thousands of miles of the surrounding area. With the Soviet Government in denial that the Reactor could even possibly explode, but demanding answers, scientists push for evacuation of the affected areas and containment of the Power Plant in a horrific disaster that has never happened before. The Soviet State and the lives of those involved are forever changed. ## Why it Rocks\[ \] 1. It tells the full story of the infamous explosion in a very historically accurate way, taking down events almost beat for beat and using very little creative freedom as it strives to tell the story. It's also much more interesting than an average documentary as dramatizing the events with actors instead helps to make it much more impactful for the audience and accessible to those who like true stories but are otherwise uninterested in something like a documentary. 2. The production value is absolutely spot on, with it's sets, props, vehicles, and so on being historically accurate and just downright gorgeous because of it. 3. The acting is absolutely wonderful, with every single performance working very well for the characters they play, especially the main ones. 4. The characters are also depicted with historical accuracy and are still just as interesting as good fictional characters, which is quite an achievement. In fact, there's only one main character that's a Stock Character, being Ulana Khomyuk, and this is a good reason as it would be impossible and frankly boring to try and show every single scientist in the disaster within such a short amount of time. 1. It even gives plenty of realistic character development to Boris Scherbina, as he starts out the series as a stone cold soldier who's ignorant of the dangers of the disaster until Legasov opens his eyes and he fights back against the censorship and stonewalling of the government that he at first supported. 5. Gorgeous cinematography where it's allowed, offering sweeping shots that bring the scale of the story and the aforementioned wonderful production value to the fullest extent. 6. It doesn't sugarcoat a single part of the disaster, showing how devastating the affects of radiation are on the human body and the environment as well as the many horrific tragedies that befell many people, especially as the series goes on. 7. It's only five episodes, and every single one of those is amazing. 1. The short length also means the entire series is very affordable for those who want to own it. 8. The series also shows how the Soviet Union itself was responsible for the tragedy becoming what it was, especially as they had made a false claim that the reactor couldn't explode and even enforced this lie while the disaster was happening, refusing to evacuate the nearby town of Pripyat for a while until it was already too late for many people, trying to quell the spread of this rumor (unsuccessfully, as the smoke spread all the way to Sweden), and hiding information that could damage their image as a world power. All that, and also the lack of proper medical care to many of those who were infected as doctors don't know how radiation really affects the human body. 9. Besides the disaster itself, there's also some great subplots, such as how Legasov sends Khomyuk throughout the country to find out the exact cause of the explosion, speaking to many of the survivors from the Control Room who are not far off from death, as well as Lyudmilla Ignatenko (wife of fireman Vasily, who was exposed to the radiation) trying to find her husband after he's transferred to Moscow and stay with him in his final dying moments, even as she unintentionally endangers herself and their baby. 10. Loads of tragic scenes throughout, right from the very start, such as Lyudmilla experiencing the slow, certain death of Vasily, telling him about her pregnancy before he dies, several innocent people, including children, being infected at the infamous "Bridge of Death" while playing in the Nuclear Snow, not knowing it's harmful, and the deaths of many of the aforementioned survivors after Ulana interviews them. 11. It shows the Soviet Union very realistically, and uses it all as an overarching theme that ignorance and arrogance literally kill, especially when, as they say, "Our power comes from the perception of our power", in that they censor things excessively to claim they're effectively better than other countries. It overall shows that a government's job is to serve it's people, and that governments can and have failed to do so for decades. 12. The science in the show is explained very well in a way that even people who don't understand science at all will be able to understand in this case, especially with how radiation affects a human body. 13. Unlike most HBO shows, there's no sex scenes at all, especially considering how they would've been unnecessary, and only two scenes of nudity which actually have context. Even the cursing and overall violence is toned down as they're trying to tell the true story rather than embellish anything. 14. It also shows how the Soviet Union's lies still make the cleanup and containment of the disaster exponentially harder, such as how a robot that was built to withstand radiation is useless in clearing irradiated debris from the worst roof as scientists were falsely told that radiation can't get over a certain amount. Therefore, they have no choice but to use several people in 90-second long one-time shifts to clear it off, which still lead to safety equipment failing and people dying as a result. 15. The final episode of the series shows the aftermath a year later with a court case against those responsible for the explosion and much more specifics of how they caused it with their arrogance, which is a pretty appropriate way of continuing the overall theme that lies can literally kill. 16. Speaking of, the final episode was a wonderful way to end the series, even if it was only 5 episodes, explaining the specifics of the disaster and why it happened while also bringing a fantastic moral dilemma to the main characters after a major truth is revealed to them that the KGB will certainly try to censor, despite all those who died as a result of the disaster. It also ends rather tragically despite all that's happened and tastefully chooses not to show Legasov's suicide again (having shown it in the beginning of the first episode) and instead explain what happened as a result of the trial, even explaining how up to 90,000 people died as a result of the disaster, but the official count only says 31 (not 31,000, 31 people). It also shows how, though not shown in the events of the show, things did change for the better as the truth eventually got out and forced the Soviet Union to finally take proper safety measures and eventually caused their downfall, and some people even got a decently happy ending, even if many did not. ## Bad Qualities\[ \] 1. While this is the point of the series, the overall tone and disturbing content of the series will definitely be too much for some viewers, especially in Episode 4 when they're forced to kill all the pets left behind at Pripyat (something that did actually happen, but the point is that it will easily upset animal lovers). 2. The use of a stock character, even if they're perfectly open about it, can take down a bit of the historical accuracy of the series. Categories - [Categories](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Special:Categories "Special:Categories"): - [History Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:History_Shows "Category:History Shows") - [Based on a True Story](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Based_on_a_True_Story "Category:Based on a True Story") - [Important Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Important_Shows "Category:Important Shows") - [Important shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Important_shows "Category:Important shows") - [Miniseries](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Miniseries "Category:Miniseries") - [Emmy Award winning shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Emmy_Award_winning_shows "Category:Emmy Award winning shows") - [Emmy Award Winning Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Emmy_Award_Winning_Shows "Category:Emmy Award Winning Shows") - [Emmy award winning shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Emmy_award_winning_shows "Category:Emmy award winning shows") - [Tragedy Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Tragedy_Shows "Category:Tragedy Shows") - [Tragedy shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Tragedy_shows "Category:Tragedy shows") - [HBO Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_Shows "Category:HBO Shows") - [HBO shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_shows "Category:HBO shows") - [HBO Max Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_Max_Shows "Category:HBO Max Shows") - [HBO Max shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:HBO_Max_shows "Category:HBO Max shows") - [Drama Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Drama_Shows "Category:Drama Shows") - [Drama shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Drama_shows "Category:Drama shows") - [Shows with Good Morals](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_with_Good_Morals "Category:Shows with Good Morals") - [Shows with Good Finales](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_with_Good_Finales "Category:Shows with Good Finales") - [Short-Lived Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-Lived_Shows "Category:Short-Lived Shows") - [Short-lived shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-lived_shows "Category:Short-lived shows") - [Short-Lived shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-Lived_shows "Category:Short-Lived shows") - [Short-lived Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Short-lived_Shows "Category:Short-lived Shows") - [Shows with good morals](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_with_good_morals "Category:Shows with good morals") - [Shows With Good Morals](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Shows_With_Good_Morals "Category:Shows With Good Morals") - [Internet Memes](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Internet_Memes "Category:Internet Memes") - [Internet memes](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Internet_memes "Category:Internet memes") - [American Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:American_Shows "Category:American Shows") - [American shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:American_shows "Category:American shows") - [British Shows](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:British_Shows "Category:British Shows") - [Greatest Moments in TV History](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Greatest_Moments_in_TV_History "Category:Greatest Moments in TV History") Community content is available under [CC-BY-SA](https://www.fandom.com/licensing) unless otherwise noted. Advertisement ## [![Fandom logo](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/6a181c72-e8bf-419b-b4db-18fd56a0eb60)](https://www.fandom.com/ "Fandom logo") ### Explore properties - [Fandom](https://www.fandom.com/) - [Fanatical](https://www.fanatical.com/) - [GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/) - [Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/) - [TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/) - [Honest Entertainment](https://www.youtube.com/user/screenjunkies) ### Follow Us ### Overview - [What is Fandom?](https://www.fandom.com/what-is-fandom) - [Essentials](https://www.fandom.com/essentials) - [About](https://www.fandom.com/about) - [Careers](https://www.fandom.com/careers) - [Press](https://www.fandom.com/press) - [Contact](https://www.fandom.com/about#contact) - [Terms of Use](https://www.fandom.com/terms-of-use) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.fandom.com/privacy-policy) - [Digital Services Act](https://www.fandom.com/digital-services-act) - [Global Sitemap](https://community.fandom.com/Sitemap) - [Local Sitemap](https://best-tv-shows.fandom.com/wiki/Local_Sitemap) ### Community - [Community Central](https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Community_Central) - [Support](https://fandom.zendesk.com/) - [Help](https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Help:Contents) ### Advertise - [Media Kit](https://about.fandom.com/mediakit) - [Contact](https://about.fandom.com/mediakit#contact) ### Fandom Apps Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. ![Fandom App logo](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/6c42ce6a-b205-41f5-82c6-5011721932e7) - [![Store icon](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/3f46912f-45a8-47f0-ac9d-6dca02c3a5ca)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fandom-videos-news-reviews/id1230063803) - [![Store icon](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/6e8f2e52-ab5a-427f-a836-ab57168161ec)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fandom.app&referrer=utm_source%3Dwikia%26utm_medium%3Dglobalfooter) Best TV Shows Wiki is a Fandom TV Community. View Mobile Site
Readable Markdown	Chernobyl is a 2019 Historical Television Miniseries created by Craig Mazin that details the infamous Chernobyl Explosion and the fallout, both literally and metaphorically, it caused. The series was produced by HBO and starred Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson in leading roles. It has received widespread universal acclaim for it's historical accuracy, acting, writing, production value, and musical score. ## Plot\[\] At 1:23 A.M. in the 26th of April, the No. 4 Reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes, spreading lethal doses of radiation throughout the nearby town of Pripyat and thousands of miles of the surrounding area. With the Soviet Government in denial that the Reactor could even possibly explode, but demanding answers, scientists push for evacuation of the affected areas and containment of the Power Plant in a horrific disaster that has never happened before. The Soviet State and the lives of those involved are forever changed. ## Why it Rocks\[\] 1. It tells the full story of the infamous explosion in a very historically accurate way, taking down events almost beat for beat and using very little creative freedom as it strives to tell the story. It's also much more interesting than an average documentary as dramatizing the events with actors instead helps to make it much more impactful for the audience and accessible to those who like true stories but are otherwise uninterested in something like a documentary. 2. The production value is absolutely spot on, with it's sets, props, vehicles, and so on being historically accurate and just downright gorgeous because of it. 3. The acting is absolutely wonderful, with every single performance working very well for the characters they play, especially the main ones. 4. The characters are also depicted with historical accuracy and are still just as interesting as good fictional characters, which is quite an achievement. In fact, there's only one main character that's a Stock Character, being Ulana Khomyuk, and this is a good reason as it would be impossible and frankly boring to try and show every single scientist in the disaster within such a short amount of time. 1. It even gives plenty of realistic character development to Boris Scherbina, as he starts out the series as a stone cold soldier who's ignorant of the dangers of the disaster until Legasov opens his eyes and he fights back against the censorship and stonewalling of the government that he at first supported. 5. Gorgeous cinematography where it's allowed, offering sweeping shots that bring the scale of the story and the aforementioned wonderful production value to the fullest extent. 6. It doesn't sugarcoat a single part of the disaster, showing how devastating the affects of radiation are on the human body and the environment as well as the many horrific tragedies that befell many people, especially as the series goes on. 7. It's only five episodes, and every single one of those is amazing. 1. The short length also means the entire series is very affordable for those who want to own it. 8. The series also shows how the Soviet Union itself was responsible for the tragedy becoming what it was, especially as they had made a false claim that the reactor couldn't explode and even enforced this lie while the disaster was happening, refusing to evacuate the nearby town of Pripyat for a while until it was already too late for many people, trying to quell the spread of this rumor (unsuccessfully, as the smoke spread all the way to Sweden), and hiding information that could damage their image as a world power. All that, and also the lack of proper medical care to many of those who were infected as doctors don't know how radiation really affects the human body. 9. Besides the disaster itself, there's also some great subplots, such as how Legasov sends Khomyuk throughout the country to find out the exact cause of the explosion, speaking to many of the survivors from the Control Room who are not far off from death, as well as Lyudmilla Ignatenko (wife of fireman Vasily, who was exposed to the radiation) trying to find her husband after he's transferred to Moscow and stay with him in his final dying moments, even as she unintentionally endangers herself and their baby. 10. Loads of tragic scenes throughout, right from the very start, such as Lyudmilla experiencing the slow, certain death of Vasily, telling him about her pregnancy before he dies, several innocent people, including children, being infected at the infamous "Bridge of Death" while playing in the Nuclear Snow, not knowing it's harmful, and the deaths of many of the aforementioned survivors after Ulana interviews them. 11. It shows the Soviet Union very realistically, and uses it all as an overarching theme that ignorance and arrogance literally kill, especially when, as they say, "Our power comes from the perception of our power", in that they censor things excessively to claim they're effectively better than other countries. It overall shows that a government's job is to serve it's people, and that governments can and have failed to do so for decades. 12. The science in the show is explained very well in a way that even people who don't understand science at all will be able to understand in this case, especially with how radiation affects a human body. 13. Unlike most HBO shows, there's no sex scenes at all, especially considering how they would've been unnecessary, and only two scenes of nudity which actually have context. Even the cursing and overall violence is toned down as they're trying to tell the true story rather than embellish anything. 14. It also shows how the Soviet Union's lies still make the cleanup and containment of the disaster exponentially harder, such as how a robot that was built to withstand radiation is useless in clearing irradiated debris from the worst roof as scientists were falsely told that radiation can't get over a certain amount. Therefore, they have no choice but to use several people in 90-second long one-time shifts to clear it off, which still lead to safety equipment failing and people dying as a result. 15. The final episode of the series shows the aftermath a year later with a court case against those responsible for the explosion and much more specifics of how they caused it with their arrogance, which is a pretty appropriate way of continuing the overall theme that lies can literally kill. 16. Speaking of, the final episode was a wonderful way to end the series, even if it was only 5 episodes, explaining the specifics of the disaster and why it happened while also bringing a fantastic moral dilemma to the main characters after a major truth is revealed to them that the KGB will certainly try to censor, despite all those who died as a result of the disaster. It also ends rather tragically despite all that's happened and tastefully chooses not to show Legasov's suicide again (having shown it in the beginning of the first episode) and instead explain what happened as a result of the trial, even explaining how up to 90,000 people died as a result of the disaster, but the official count only says 31 (not 31,000, 31 people). It also shows how, though not shown in the events of the show, things did change for the better as the truth eventually got out and forced the Soviet Union to finally take proper safety measures and eventually caused their downfall, and some people even got a decently happy ending, even if many did not. ## Bad Qualities\[\] 1. While this is the point of the series, the overall tone and disturbing content of the series will definitely be too much for some viewers, especially in Episode 4 when they're forced to kill all the pets left behind at Pripyat (something that did actually happen, but the point is that it will easily upset animal lovers). 2. The use of a stock character, even if they're perfectly open about it, can take down a bit of the historical accuracy of the series.
Shard	198 (laksa)
Root Hash	11439660390604180198
Unparsed URL	com,fandom!best-tv-shows,/wiki/Chernobyl s443