Chernobyl

Chernobyl is currently streaming in Australia on Foxtel Now and HBO Max, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV, and it rewards the patience it asks of you. The 1-season run is exactly the right length for what it is doing. A 9/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Jared Harris sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. Put it on tonight on Foxtel Now and see for yourself.

Chernobyl arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Character-driven storytelling at its most effective — Chernobyl earns every emotional beat it goes for. The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster. Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård lead a cast doing genuinely serious work here. It was aired in 2019. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It sustains a level of quality that very few manage to hold onto all the way through.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Chernobyl delivers. Extrapolations is the obvious comparison, but Chernobyl earns its own place alongside it. A contained run means every episode is doing real work. Jared Harris carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.

Chernobyl wrapped up in 2019, created by Craig Mazin — and 1 season is available to watch from start to finish. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.