U.S. television network HBO released a trailer for its upcoming miniseries “Chernobyl” on March 28.
Depicting the catastrophic nuclear accident in Ukraine in 1986, the miniseries is a co-production between HBO and UK television channel Sky.
“Chernobyl” is to premiere on May 6 on HBO.
“You’re dealing with something that has never occurred on this planet before,” one of the series’ characters says in the trailer published on YouTube.
The five-part miniseries will reconstruct the massive explosion at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which happened in Soviet-era times, on April 26, 1986, as well as the consequences of the catastrophe – a cloud of radioactive material was sent drifting across Europe.
The story about the man-made disaster features raw footage of its victims, who, affected by radiation, go through horrific physical transformations and pain.
“What happened then… what happened after… all of it… madness,” the trailer says.
According to HBO’s website, “Chernobyl” portrays leading Soviet nuclear physicist Valery Legasov, who participated in the first-response operation and was one of the first to realize the true scale of the disaster. It also depicts Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Boris Shcherbina, assigned to lead the commission on Chornobyl, and Ulana Khomyuk, a Soviet nuclear physicist who is determined to unravel the causes of the accident.
HBO’s new series will star Oscar-nominated British actress Emily Watson, British actor Jared Harris, and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård.
The miniseries was filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania, and directed by Swedish filmmaker Johan Renck, who also directed some of the episodes for “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.”
The U.S. screenwriter and filmmaker Craig Mazin wrote the script for “Chernobyl,” and produced the series.
Some of the series’ producers previously worked on the hit series “Game of Thrones” and “Black Mirror.”
