HBO has announced that it has cast actor Jared Harris in its upcoming series Chernobyl, Variety recently reported. The five-part dramatic miniseries will follow the scientists and employees who handled the Chernobyl crisis, where a Ukrainian nuclear reactor exploded at the Chernobyl plant back in 1986.
Harris has been cast to play Valery Legasov, a Kremlin-sponsored scientist who investigates the incident. The British actor is best known for playing Lane Pryce on AMC’s Mad Men and his recent role on Netflix’s The Crown, in which he played King George VI. Craig Mazin (The Huntsman: Winter’s War) wrote the series, while Johan Renck (Breaking Bad, Bloodline) will direct. The miniseries serves as the first project to result out of the recent partnership between Sky and HBO, which is dedicated to bringing high-quality dramas to the international market.
Kary Antholis, president of HBO Miniseries and Cinemax Programming, announced news of Chernobyl at the recent TCA press tour in California. “From the moment Craig Mazin pitched us the story, we were convinced that this all-too-true tale of horror and redemption needed to be told,” Antholis said. “It will engage – and enrage – our viewers, as well as audiences around the world.”
Gary Davey, managing director of content for Sky, also spoke on the project with excitement: “In Chernobyl, Craig Mazin has achieved something unique: His script is second to none, effortlessly combining the visceral, the tragic and the heroic perspectives behind this devastating event.”
Filming for Chernobyl is set to begin in Lithuania this coming spring. According to Craig Mazin, the miniseries is expected to arrive arrive on HBO at the end of 2018 or early 2019.
