After ‘Game of Thrones’ ended, a lot of people were left with nothing to watch or even look forward to, in terms of TV shows. The show left us all with an empty void in our hearts, as well as an empty void in our nighttime show watching schedule. What does one fill that time with?

As I and many others began looking for other shows to watch, I found a lot of people online talking about the same show, ‘Chernobyl’. 

It turns out, the mini-series is currently at the top of the IMDb TV rankings with a whopping 9.6 stars, leaving behind legendary shows like ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ too.

So I decided to give it a try! 

The show is based on the tragedy at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in the Ukrainian SSR, that happened on the 26 April 1986. One of the nuclear reactors exploded, releasing toxic levels of radioactive radiation on the population surrounding the plant.

The show explores everything that happened at that moment, from everyone being in denial about the magnitude of the situation, to everyone putting their heads to solve the problem.

The show starts off with the explosion occurring, and no one knowing what has happened. 

They show the control room, where the manager, Akimov is under the illusion that everything is under control. One scientist runs in and reports that the nuclear core exploded, which if true, would be catastrophic. However, Akimov is quick to dismiss this and tells him he doesn’t know what he’s seen. He’s defiant in his belief that it can all be solved and that things can and will go back to normal. The explosion is deemed as a tank explosion, which caused the roof to catch fire.

This matter is taken to the heads of the Soviet Party, where Professor Legasov is introduced. He joins the party meeting as an expert, however, he soon realizes that the explosion is far graver than it was initially believed to be. He is able to convince the head of the Party, Mikhail Gorbachev, to reevaluate the situation. Upon reaching Chernobyl and seeing the on-ground realities, Legasov delivers the most intense dialogue ever, ‘Something like this hasn’t even happened on this Earth’. You know, right when you hear that, that shit is about to go down.

Other than the political and administrative aspects of the tragedy, the show focuses on the human level. It shows the nurses in the hospital, as well as the families who were affected, and what hardship they had to endure under radiation burns and sickness. It is the scenes in the hospitals that are the most uncomfortable to watch because the makers of the show really put a lot of effort to make the burns very convincing

What really sets the show apart is how they’re able to keep the tension high throughout. 

From the actual explosion till when everyone realizes what has actually happened, you’re hooked! You can’t seem to take eyes off your screen and you can feel the tension too. May it be the tension the plant workers are feeling, or the tension of a housewife as she sees her beloved city crumble before her eyes. The different perspectives keep things interesting and cuts out the monotony and the boredom that could possibly come from a historical show, like this. It doesn’t matter if you’re ‘into’ history or not, this show is an entertainer.

The show really puts the audience in the middle of the incident. 

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The show is a great way to see how the Soviet Union was run. 

It’s actually a great Political Science lesson. 

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But fair warning, the show is grim, like really grim. 

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You could get paranoid!

Despite the very serious tone of the show, people are making jokes about how this is HBO’s attempt to make amends after the final ‘Game of Thrones’ season.

‘Chernobyl’ is a show that will keep you hooked throughout each episode. Being a mini-series, the total season will have 5 episodes, four of which have already aired. So, if you’re looking for something to watch nowadays, this is a good bet.

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 Cover Photo Courtesy: HBO