Chernobyl: Russia to create own series about nuclear disaster after HBO criticism

Series, which is being part-funded by Russia's culture ministry, will reportedly attempt to paint the CIA as being responsible for the nuclear catastrophe

A Russian TV network is creating its own interpretation of the Chernobyl disaster following some criticism of HBO’s series, which stars Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgard.

NTV, a station known for pro-Kremlin programming, has reportedly commissioned a series that is being partially financed by the culture ministry.

While the HBO series Chernobyl was generally well-received in Russia, it was criticised by some local viewers and media for perceived inaccuracies.

Principal photography on the Russian series was done last year in Belarus and it is currently in post-production, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Few details have been revealed, but it appears that the series will attempt to paint the CIA as being responsible for the nuclear catastrophe, and be told from the perspective of a group of Soviet KGB tasked with uncovering an agent stationed at the plant.

An air date for the series has not yet been announced.

In the UK, HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries has received near-unanimous acclaim from critics.

The Independent’s critic Ed Cumming wrote of the first episode: “[It] manages to be both weighty and gripping. Given the different moving parts, with action scenes at the reactor alternating with Soviet committee discussions about how much of the truth to reveal, it’s impressive that this feels so coherent, the disparate elements held in place by a spare and oddly beautiful aesthetic.”