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18th Jun 2019

Sky documentary featuring people involved in Chernobyl tragedy airs tonight

Paul Moore

If you watched the show, this is a must.

While Chernobyl has rightfully been receiving praise and critical esteem, it’s arguable that the most powerful words that were said about the highest-rated show on IMDB belong to Belarus’s Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich.

In case you’re unaware, the investigative journalist wrote the book Voices From Chernobyl which was the key text that Craig Mazin used when creating the miniseries.

During a recent interview, Alexievich said that the show “really impressed me. It is a very strong film. There is something there in the aesthetics that touches the modern consciousness. There is a dose of fear. There is reasoning. There is beauty. That is something that has always worried me about evil, when it’s not out in the open, when so much is confusing.”

Aside from this, the show was accurate and respectful in terms of how it portrayed the horrific events that unfolded on April 26, 1986.

Naturally, because the show is based on a litany of various novels, documentaries, interviews, and other material, a certain degree of narrative licence is required to tell the story but to Mazin’s credit, he has been upfront and honest about his decision-making process.

However, for those that are looking for an account of life in Chernobyl that’s 100% historically accurate, it appears that Sky Atlantic have the show for you.

Following the success of the drama series, Sky News traveled to Ukraine to meet some of the people who were involved in dealing with the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

Tonight (Tuesday, 18 June) at 21:00 on Sky Atlantic, The Real Chernobyl will air and it’s bound to be a fascinating watch.

After the show ends, stay tuned because the second part of the excellent What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali will be airing immediately after.