Written by Ben Murchison
From one man made catastrophe to the story of another, HBO had themselves a significant month in May. The highly-anticipated and then heavily panned Game of Thrones Season 8 came to an end while Chernobyl premiered in route to it becoming the currently highest rated show on IMDb. The haunting miniseries shows the events that unfolded in the aftermath of the nuclear power stations explosion, and it deserves every bit of its impressive 9.6 rating.
Earning such a high rating is no easy task. It takes the convergence of several elements including convincing acting, authentic art direction and cinematography, and most importantly a compelling story to accomplish this. The fact that the Chernobyl disaster is a historical event also lends itself to the perfect storm because anything that is based on a true story becomes instantly more captivating. You can drive yourself mad reading different articles that support or deny different claims made by the show, but as a dramatization it takes creative liberties to tell its story and it lends itself to the central theme that if you hear enough lies, you no longer recognize the truth.
In regards to the miniseries, the truth is that Chernobyl overtook the Planet Earth documentaries, Band of Brothers, and Breaking Bad for the top spot on IMDb and it will certainly be among the frontrunners for the best limited series Emmy this year. It will face some stiff competition from Netflix’s When They See Us, among others and rightfully so, but the writer and director team of Craig Mazin and Johan Renck has created something special.
The first episode was equal parts gripping and horrifying. Each episode that follows continues to show the physical toll the accident had on those closest to it, the seemingly overwhelming recovery efforts, and slowly unravel the cause behind it all. The blend of disaster story, and investigative drama showcases the best and worst of the people involved. As much as you are appalled at the lengths that some Soviet officials will go to maintain an appearance of strength, their arrogance is ultimately overshadowed by brave men and women that continuously put themselves in harm’s way when called upon because it was the right thing to do to preserve the futures of others. That strength showed is what sticks with you as you watch the final powerful minutes.
Everyone delivers an exceptional performance, and they make you feel the way you are supposed to about their characters. The weight of the choices that are being made are worn on the faces of Jared Harris as Valery Legasov and Stellan Skarsgård as Boris Shcherbina. You hate Paul Ritter as Anatoly Dyatiov for his egotism, admire Emily Watson as Ulana Khomyuk for her conviction and your heart breaks for characters played by Jessie Buckley and Barry Keoghan. Once you get past the often laughed at and meme inspiring fact that everyone featured has a British accent, then you truly appreciate the talent on display and the performances that Renck was able to capture due to the brilliant writing of Mazin.
It is hard for performances to shine though if the words aren’t on the page, and thankfully they were for Chernobyl in force. Seemingly each episode has a stirring speech, or a profound statement that lingers in your mind, and the finale features a perfect exchange between Legasov and Shcherbina. Just before Legasov is going to tell the truth in court about what caused the explosion, Shcherbina speaks about how he feels he is an inconsequential man and Legasov’s answer to him is beautifully poignant and it shines as an example of what made this series so great.
Chernobyl provided HBO with a critical win right when they needed it most. It is hard to say if its reign on IMDb will continue to hold through the years, but its quality certainly will and everyone that was a part of its production can be proud of contributing to something so impactful.
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