HBO’s ‘Chernobyl’ Teases A Nuclear Meltdown For The Jared Harris-Starring Miniseries

Craig Mazin, the highly quotable screenwriter who notoriously called the unaired Game of Thrones pilot a “piece of sh*t,” has co-executive produced and written an intense new HBO miniseries that isn’t nearly as jovial as his Thrones commentary would suggest. That’s because Chernobyl (if you couldn’t guess from the title) dramatizes the story behind the 1986 nuclear disaster in a five-part miniseries. The above teaser reveals a brief yet intense preview of what’s to come, starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, and Emily Watson.

Per the mini-series logline, Chernobyl will not only detail “one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history,” but it will also highlight how those men and women who fought to overcome this unimaginable hellstorm did so “while battling a culture of disinformation.” Harris, known to audiences for his stately presence in The Crown and Mad Men, plays Valery Legasov, the nuclear physicist who was at the forefront of confronting this unparalleled disaster. Skarsgård takes on the role of Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Boris Shcherbina, who helmed the Kremlin’s government commission on Chernobyl while the disaster unfolded. As for Watson, she’s the nuclear physicist who digs deep into what caused the tragedy, which should be anything but a straightforward mystery to solve.

Chernobyl will debut on May 6 and air Mondays at 9:00pm EST.