HBO's Chernobyl probes institutional failings and sacrifice

Before co-running The Last of Us, Craig Mazin wrote the 2019 five-episode HBO miniseries Chernobyl, a stark examination of the world’s worst nuclear disaster and the institutional failures that nearly made it apocalyptic. The series opens with a flash forward two years later as Valery Legasov (Jared Harris), the head of the cleanup, secretly records his account and ultimately hangs himself; Legasov’s active work in the narrative begins in episode two.

Harris, who had supporting roles in Mad Men and The Crown and genre appearances in The Expanse and Fringe, was propelled into greater prominence by this starring turn, which preceded his lead role in Apple’s Foundation. The premiere centers on the reactor explosion and the delayed response as engineers deny the scale of the problem and cut communications in nearby Pripyat to prevent panic.

Ordinary residents gather to watch the fire, unaware of the radiation they face; one man who picks up rubble is burned, a grim signal of how little information reached the public.

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