Sky and HBO announce Chernobyl as first commission from new global drama partnership

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Chernobyl, based on powerful real-life events, is to be the first commission from Sky and HBO's high-end drama partnership announced earlier this year. It will dramatise the true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history, and the brave men and women who made incredible sacrifices to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.

The five-part mini-series, starring Jared Harris (The Crown, Mad Men) and produced by Sister Pictures and The Mighty Mint, will be shown on Sky Atlantic in the UK and Ireland. It is the first Sky/HBO project to be greenlit through an international partnership to develop big-scale drama, under a $250m multi-year co-production investment deal.

Chernobyl is a tale of lies and cowardice, of courage and conviction, of human failure and human nobility. The mini-series focuses on the heart-breaking scale of the nuclear plant disaster that occurred in Ukraine in April 1986, revealing how and why it happened, and telling the shocking, remarkable stories of the heroes who risked their lives to save others.

Jared Harris will play Valery Legasov, the Soviet scientist chosen by the Kremlin to investigate the accident.

Gary Davey, managing director, content, Sky, said: 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. The scale of the production makes it a perfect first project for our co-production partnership with HBO, encapsulating our ambition to develop high-end drama with international viewpoints and casting. We look forward to working closely with HBO to bring this important story to Sky Atlantic viewers.

Kary Antholis, president, HBO miniseries and CINEMAX programming, said: 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. It will engage - and enrage - our viewers, as well as audiences around the world.

Written by Craig Mazin (The Huntsman: Winter's War) and directed by Johan Renck (Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, The Last Panthers), Chernobyl will be executive produced by Carolyn Strauss (two-time Emmy winner and PGA winner for Game of Thrones), Jane Featherstone (Broadchurch, The Tunnel) and Craig Mazin, and co-executive produced by Chris Fry (Humans, The Smoke) and Johan Renck. It is commissioned by Sky's director of programmes Zai Bennett and head of drama Anne Mensah.

Jared Harris recently starred in The Crown and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Mad Men. His film credits include Allied, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Lincoln, among others.

Chernobyl will begin filming in Lithuania in Spring 2018. It will be available later on Sky Atlantic and TV streaming service NOW TV in the UK and Ireland, and on Sky Atlantic in Italy, Germany and Austria.

For further information, please contact:

Sky PR

Sarah El-Hadidy

Sarah.el-hadidy@sky.uk

Notes to editors

About Sky

Sky is Europes leading entertainment company, serving 22.5 million customers across five countries - UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. The company has annual revenues of £12.9 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with annual programming spend of over £6 billion.

From exclusive partnerships with HBO and Showtime, to Sky's own original programming, Sky offers the best and broadest range of content along with the best viewing experience to suit each and every customer. Whether that's through the multi-award winning next generation box, Sky Q, or Sky's contract-free online streaming service, NOW TV, customers have access to the latest movies, drama, sports and kids entertainment wherever and whenever they like. This is all supported by Sky's best in class customer service.

Sky's success is not just based on what the company does but how it does it. Named as one of the Top 10 Green Companies in the World by Newsweek, one of the world's most recognised rankings of business's environmental performance, Sky ensures its responsible business strategy is embedded right across the group.

Sky has over 30,000 employees and is listed as one of The Times Top 50 employers for women. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

About HBO

Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the world's most successful pay TV service, providing the two television services - HBO and Cinemax - to approximately 131 million subscribers worldwide. The services offer the popular subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand , as well as HBO GO and MAX GO , HD feeds and multiplex channels. HBO NOW , the network's internet-only premium streaming service, provides audiences with instant access to HBO's acclaimed programming in the U.S. Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and HBO GO, bring HBO services to over 60 countries. HBO and Cinemax programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide.

About Sister Pictures

Sister Pictures is an independent production company, founded by Jane Featherstone in November 2015, to develop authored, bold and distinctive stories for UK and international audiences. Jane has executive produced some of the UK's most groundbreaking television including Spooks, The Hour, Utopia and Life on Mars. Sister's current projects include The Split by Abi Morgan for BBC 1, Clean Break, starring Sheridan Smith for ITV 1, The Power by award-winning writer Naomi Alderman, Giri / Haji by Joe Barton for BBC 1/Netflix and The Bisexual, created by and starring Desiree Akhavan for Channel 4, which will be executive produced by Sister Exec Naomi de Pear, t

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