History Trivia / Chernobyl

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the beginning, actors were going to speak English with a [[JustAStupidAccent vague Eastern]] [[VampireVords European accent]], but this was changed when the creators realized that they got too distracted acting their accents to act their characters properly, and the result sounded [[{{Narm}} inappropriately comical]] - hence Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian characters [[TheQueensLatin speaking with British accents]].

* CaliforniaDoubling: The series is mainly shot at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania, a decommissioned RBMK plant very similar to the one in Chernobyl[[note]]In fact, an incident at Ignalina in 1983 led to the specific RBMK design flaw which led to the Chernobyl disaster -- power surges caused by the graphite tips to the control rods -- being discovered (and covered up) by the Soviets for the first time.[[/note]]. Many of the Lithuanian crewmembers were old enough to remember life in the Soviet era and helped make sure that they got the little details right.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The series is mainly shot at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania, a decommissioned RBMK plant very similar to the one in Chernobyl. Many of the Lithuanian crewmembers were old enough to remember life in the Soviet era and helped make sure that they got the little details right.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the beginning, actors were going to speak English with a [[JustAStupidAccent vague Eastern]] [[VampireVords European accent]], but this was changed when the creators realized that they got too distracted acting their accents to act their characters properly, and the result sounded [[{{Narm}} inappropriately comical]] - hence Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian characters [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent speaking with British accents]].

* SleeperHit: Despite being promoted during the final episodes of ''TVSeries/GameOfThrones'', the show premiered to so-so ratings. However, word of mouth soon spread and every episode since has been higher rated than the last. It also has gained the top popular vote for ''any TV series ever'' on Website/{{IMDb}}.

** A possible example of podcasting against type: the show's official podcast is presented by Peter Segel, better known to Creator/{{NPR}} listeners as the host of the humorous quiz show ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe''.

* FakeRussian: None of the main cast is actually Eastern European. They're mostly natives from the British Isles, with a couple of Swedes in the midst (Stellan Skarsgard, David Dencik, Fares Fares) who speak [[TheQueensLatin in a variety of British accents]]. Many of the extras are Lithuanian, however.

* FakeRussian: None of the main cast is actually Eastern European. They're mostly natives from the British Isles, with a couple of Swedes in the midst (Stellan Skarsgard, David Dencik) who speak [[TheQueensLatin in a variety of British accents]]. Many of the extras are Lithuanian, however.

** Another scene (taken from the book ''Voices of Chernobyl'') would reveal that one of the puppies was still alive after being thrown in the pile. The soldiers would then try to MercyKill it before it was engulfed in cement, only to find they were out of bullets.

* FakeRussian: None of the cast is actually Eastern European. They're mostly natives from the British Isles, with a couple of Swedes in the midst (Stellan Skarsgard, David Dencik) who speak [[TheQueensLatin in a variety of British accents]].

** The original script for Episode 3 featured a [[http://time.com/4313139/post-chernobyl-parade/ May 1 parade]], which was held as scheduled in order to transmit normalcy. The Belarussian politician met earlier by Ulana would lead the parade, still unaware of the radiation hazzard.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the beginning, actors were going to speak English with a [[JustAStupidAccent vague Eastern]] [[VampireVords European accent]], but this was changed when the creators realized that they got too distracted acting their accents to act their characters properly, and the result sounded inappropriately comical.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the beginning, actors were going to speak English with a [[JustAStupidAccent vague Eastern]] [[VampireVords European accent]], but this was changed when the creators realized that they got too distracted acting their accents to act their characters properly, and the result sounded inapropriately comical.

** Mazin wanted to include the moment where one of the plant workers, Gorbachenko, carried a wounded comrade, Shashenok over his shoulder and later realized that Shashenok's hand had left a hand-shaped radiation burn on his body. However, the timing didn't allow it and the sequence instead centered around Yuvchenko.
** Another wanted scene that was cut for flow was the moment when radiation was detected in a Swedish nuclear plant and identified as coming from the Soviet Union, as it would be too similar to the scene in the Byelorussian sciences institute and they obviously wanted to reference the Soviet scientists that discovered the coverup over the foreigners that did it independently.
** The original script for episode 3 featured a [[http://time.com/4313139/post-chernobyl-parade/ May 1 parade]], which were held as scheduled in order to transmit normalcy. The Belarussian politician met earlier by Khomyuk would lead the parade, still unaware of the radiation hazzard.
** Dyatlov was going to have a delirious dream while hospitalized. He would see his son, who died from leukemia after Dyatlov was involved in another radiation accident when he worked on a nuclear submarine base in TheSixties. An unnamed character would later dig its file and speculate that Dyatlov's recklesness came from a desire to "conquer the atom" after the incident. The scene with Dyatlov being delirious can be seen in a trailer. However, Mazin cut this subplot entirely after deciding that it was armchair psychology speculation and that it detracted from the timeline of the Chernobyl disaster.

** The original script for episode 3 featured the [[http://time.com/4313139/post-chernobyl-parade/ May 1 Parade]], which was held as scheduled in order to transmit normalcy.

** The original script for episode 3 featured the [[http://time.com/4313139/post-chernobyl-parade/ May 1 Parade]] in the beginning, which was held as scheduled in order to transmit normalcy.

* FakeRussian: None of the cast is actually Eastern European. They're mostly natives from the British Isles, with a couple of Swedes in the midst (Stellan Skarsgard, David Dencik) who speak [[TheQueensLatin in a variety of British accents]].

** The original script for episode 3 featured the [[http://time.com/4313139/post-chernobyl-parade/ May 1 Parade]] in the beginning, which was held by the USSR as scheduled in order to transmit a pretension of normalcy.

* DeletedScene: Per the accompanying podcast, Dyatlov would have a delirious dream while hospitalized. He would see his son, who died from leukemia after Dyatlov was involved in another radiation accident when he worked on a nuclear submarine base in TheSixties. An unnamed character would later dig its file and speculate that Dyatlov's recklesness came from a desire to "conquer the atom" after the incident. The scene with Dyatlov being delirious can be seen in a trailer. However, Mazin cut this subplot entirely after deciding that it was armchair psychology speculation and that it detracted from the timeline of the Chernobyl disaster.

* DeletedScene: Per the accompanying podcast, Dyatlov would have a delirious dream while hospitalized. He would see his son, who died from leukemia after Dyatlov was involved in another radiation accident when he worked on a nuclear submarine base in TheSixties. An unnamed character would later dig its file and speculate that Dyatlov's recklesness came from a desire to "conquer the atom" after the incident. The scene with Dyalov being delirious can be seen in a trailer. However, Mazin cut this subplot entirely after deciding that it was armchair psychology speculation and that it detracted from the timeline of the Chernobyl disaster.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The series is mainly shot at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania, a decommissioned RBMK plant very similar to the one in Chernobyl. Many of the Lithuanian crewmembers were old enough to remember life in the Soviet era and helped make sure that they got the little details right.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The series is mainly shot at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, a decommissioned RBMK plant very similar to the one in Chernobyl. Many of the Lithuanian crewmembers were old enough to remember life in the Soviet era and helped make sure that they got the little details right.

CaliforniaDoubling: The series is mainly shot at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, a decommissioned RBMK plant very similar to the one in Chernobyl. Many of the Lithuanian crewmembers were old enough to remember life in the Soviet era and helped make sure that they got the little details right.