GREAT DRAMA
Chernobyl: from disaster to triumph
DRAMA ONE-OFF OR SERIAL WINNER
CHERNOBYL SKY ATLANTIC/HBO Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games
The critically acclaimed hit mini series told the inside story of the Chernobyl disaster. Screenwriter Craig Mazin explains the genesis of its success
Back in 2013, Craig Mazin, American screenwriter and director, was reading the New York Times. He found an article about Chernobyl. The
subject was the construction of a new protective housing for the nuclear power plant that had exploded with disastrous consequences in 1986. “It occurred to me that it was odd that I didn’t know how Chernobyl exploded, whereas everyone knows how the Titanic sank.”
How it happened Mazin started on an internet search. “Two things immediately grabbed my attention and never let go: the night of the explosion they were running a safety test – the strangest and most darkly ironic thing. And the man put in charge of the
problem committed suicide two years to the day of the explosion.” The story appealed as much for its compelling
scientific examination of what went wrong, as its dramatic potential. Mazin majored in neuro psychology before deciding to work in the entertainment industry. “I believe in the rigours of science and that it’s incredibly important that we
IT OCCURED TO ME THAT IT WAS ODD THAT I DIDN’T KNOW HOW CHERNOBYL EXPLODED
confront the truth as it occurs and accept it, and that we doubt things until we can prove them… That spirit never found a way to connect with my creative side, until Chernobyl.”
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televisual.com Special Supplement Spring 2021
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