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A historical drama depicting the events of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986, the five-part miniseries Chernobyl is set to premiere on Monday, May 6, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. The four subsequent episodes will be the following Mondays at the same time, concluding on June 3.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch Chernobyl live or on-demand on your computer, phone, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV or another streaming device via one of the following live-TV streaming services:
If you have Amazon Prime or want to start a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, you can watch live and on-demand HBO content here on the HBO Amazon Channel, which also comes with a free 7-day trial.
Once you’re signed up for both Amazon Prime and the HBO channel, you can then watch Chernobyl either live as it airs or on-demand anytime after. With either option, you can watch on your computer via the Amazon website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or another streaming device via the Amazon Video app.
Whether you already have Hulu or you want to sign up for a new subscription, HBO is available as an add-on to either Hulu or Hulu with Live TV.
Once signed up, you can watch Chernobyl live as it airs, or you can watch it on-demand anytime after. With either option, you can watch Chernobyl on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 (on-demand only), Nintendo Switch, Echo Show or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
Whether you already have PlayStation Vue or you want to start a free 5-day trial of PlayStation Vue, you can watch live and on-demand HBO content through the HBO add-on, which comes with a free 7-day trial.
Once signed up, you can watch Chernobyl either live as it airs or on-demand anytime after. With either option, you can watch your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
‘Chernobyl’ Preview
Chernobyl is a five-part miniseries that dramatizes the story of the infamous 1986 nuclear accident, which is regarded as one of the worst man-made disasters in human history.
Here’s a look at the official trailer:
The series stars Emmy-nominee Jared Harris (The Crown, Mad Men, Fringe), Oscar-nominee Emily Watson (Hilary and Jackie, Breaking the Waves) and Stellan Skarsgard (Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Good Will Hunting). It’s written and executive produced by Craig Mazin (The Hunstman: Winter’s War, The Hangover Part II and III) and directed by Johan Renck (Breaking Bad), while several other big names, such as Carolyn Strauss (Game of Thrones) and Jane Featherstone (Broadchurch) are listed as executive producers.
Each part of the miniseries focuses on a different element of the disaster.
“This was all intentional in part because I wanted to keep showing people different aspects and facets of this very complicated event, and I never wanted anyone to feel comfortable,” Mazin said.” This show doesn’t really lean on any sense of what I call soap opera. It’s not about that. It really is about taking these very broad and very different looks at this event which was, at times, horrifying but also kind of inspiring. It is a political thriller. It’s a horror movie. It’s a scientific inquiry. It’s a courtroom drama. It’s pretty much everything and that’s because that’s kind of how it worked out in real life.”
Early reviews have been Chernobyl are overwhelmingly positive. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, it has received it has received a perfect 100 percent positive rating score on 21 reviews. On Metacritic, it has received an average score of 83, which suggests “universal acclaim.”
“Chernobyl is a thorough historical analysis, a gruesome disaster epic replete with oozing blisters and the ominous rattle of Geiger counters, and a mostly riveting drama,” writes The Atlantic’s Sophie Gilbert.
Adds Reason.com’s Glenn Garvin: “Producer and screenwriter Craig Mazin’s remarkable script doesn’t go quite that far in terms of either chronology or political implication. But it’s a chillingly powerful mosaic of the catastrophe, from its technical origins in pathological Soviet secrecy to the exorbitant toll it continued to exact on innocent people all over the country long after the reactor was contained.”
HBO’s plan to move more original scripted programming to Monday nights is beginning with Chernobyl, and if the early reviews are any indication, it looks like that plan is going to get off to a wildly successful start.