How Accurate Was HBO’s “Chernobyl”
Mostly true, with a few big lies.
When HBO announced that they were producing a five-part miniseries based on the Chernobyl catastrophe, I knew I would watch. The only question I had was: would it be true to history?
Being a bit of a history buff, I knew the story of what went wrong during the infamous safety test, and I hoped that the showrunners would stay true to those facts.
As it turned out, show creator and writer Craig Mazin understood his obligation to portray events (especially those in the power plant) with strict accuracy.
“I was always aware that I was telling a story that meant an enormous amount to the people that lived through it. There are people alive today, tens of thousands of people alive today, who have lost people they love because of Chernobyl, whose lives have been shortened because of Chernobyl. There are a lot of people walking around without a thyroid because of Chernobyl.
“It was important for me to tell that story accurately. I think about the stories that we routinely told in the West, stories about the Holocaust, stories about World War II, where we try very hard to be accurate because it’s a sign of respect. And for me, I wanted people who lived through that, including some people who were in that control room that night who are…
