Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown
2026 · CNN · 60 min · 1 season
S01E04 · Fallout
Mon, 18 May, 12:00 pm
As the USSR collapses, an investigation uncovers the cause of the accident and scale of the Soviet cover up. Today, Chernobyl's toxic legacy persists as the nuclear exclusion zone becomes a war zone, raising fears of another disaster.
About
Marking the 40th anniversary of the unprecedented tragedy, Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown tells the powerful story of the world's worst nuclear disaster in four gripping episodes. Spanning the scope of the catastrophic collapse of the reactor, the Soviets' calculated cover-up, and the present-day fallout now intersecting with the war in Ukraine, the series reveals a tragedy still reverberating across history. Featuring revealing interviews with survivors speaking publicly for the first time, alongside rare insight into the CIA and Soviet responses, the series exposes a web of secrecy, miscalculation, and human cost. Astonishing new footage from inside the nuclear exclusion zone reveals how this scarred landscape is once again under siege as war encroaches on one of the most dangerous places on Earth.
Episodes
- E01
Inferno
Mon, 18 May· 60 minOn April 26, 1986, a massive explosion rips through a reactor during a safety test at a power plant in Ukraine, triggering the worst nuclear accident in history. Within 24 hours, a lethal radioactive cloud starts to circle the globe.
- E02
Cover Up
Mon, 18 May· 60 minThe day after the incident, helicopter crews brave deadly radioactive smoke to extinguish the fire raging in the reactor core. As 50,000 locals evacuate, Soviet authorities try to conceal the scale and human cost of the accident.
- E03
Sacrifice
Mon, 18 May· 60 minIn the weeks following the meltdown, workers battle lethal radiation to clear debris and construct a protective tomb around the destroyed reactor. Amid speculation, Soviet scientists reveal what they can about the cause of the catastrophe.
- E04
Fallout
Mon, 18 May· 60 minAs the USSR collapses, an investigation uncovers the cause of the accident and scale of the Soviet cover up. Today, Chernobyl's toxic legacy persists as the nuclear exclusion zone becomes a war zone, raising fears of another disaster.
