TV Shows Like Chernobyl
If you like Chernobyl, here are 11 similar TV shows — each with its current AI renewal verdict, so you can see which are still going and which have been cancelled.
HBO · Drama · Chernobyl is ended
Chernobyl works because it treats a real catastrophe with the seriousness it deserves, without turning it into spectacle. The writing keeps the focus on specific people making specific decisions under impossible pressure, and that precision is what makes the horror land. It is a show about officials covering up what they know, about the gap between what the state announces and what is actually happening on the ground, and about ordinary people who end up carrying consequences they did not create. That combination of historical detail, dread, and human cost is what tends to stay with its viewers long after the finale.
The best shows like Chernobyl
1. The 100
Nuclear catastrophe is literally baked into The 100's premise: Earth was abandoned because of radioactive fallout, and the question of whether the planet is survivable drives the whole first arc. It is more action-heavy and aimed at a younger audience than Chernobyl, but the core tension of humans gambling with radiation and survival translates. If you can meet it on its own terms, there is a genuine bleakness to how it handles consequences.
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2. Obsession
Obsession shares the prestige drama format and a similarly short episode count, but that is about where the overlap ends. It is an erotic thriller about infidelity and obsession, with none of Chernobyl's interest in catastrophe, history, or moral stakes. Fans drawn to Chernobyl specifically for its disaster and historical elements will likely find this a frustrating detour.
Stream on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
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3. Extrapolations
Extrapolations does for climate change roughly what Chernobyl did for nuclear disaster: it treats a man-made catastrophe as a human story, told through the people living inside it rather than above it. The anthology structure spreads across three decades and multiple characters, which gives it a different rhythm than Chernobyl's tight focus, but the underlying argument, that bad decisions have personal costs measured in human lives, is the same.
Stream on Apple TV, Apple TV Amazon Channel
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4. Lockerbie: A Search for Truth
Also drama · shares the disaster theme
Stream on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
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5. Earth Abides
Earth Abides starts where Chernobyl's worst-case scenario ends: civilization has effectively collapsed, and a handful of survivors are left to figure out what comes next. It is a miniseries adaptation of a foundational post-apocalyptic novel, and it keeps the tone appropriately heavy. Fans of Chernobyl who responded to that show's sense of irreversible loss will find familiar ground here.
Stream on fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel
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More on shows like Chernobyl
Fans of Chernobyl are usually looking for one or more of a few things: the weight of real or plausible catastrophe, stories where systems fail and people have to respond, a willingness to sit with darkness rather than resolve it cheaply, and some degree of moral complexity in the characters. They tend not to want escapism. They want shows that feel like they matter.
The recommendations here approach that territory from different angles. Station Eleven and Earth Abides are both post-catastrophe stories that ask what survives when civilization collapses, though Station Eleven is warmer and more literary while Earth Abides is starker and more elemental. Extrapolations takes the long view on man-made catastrophe, framing climate change the way Chernobyl framed nuclear disaster: as a consequence of choices, spread across human lives. The 100 is the most genre-heavy of the group, aimed at a younger audience, but it shares the nuclear aftermath setting and the survival-under-pressure premise. Obsession is the odd one out: it shares only the prestige drama format and very little of Chernobyl's thematic DNA. Fans of the source show who are mainly drawn to its disaster and historical elements will probably want to skip straight to the others.
Station Eleven is probably the closest match in tone and ambition. Earth Abides and Extrapolations are the picks for viewers who want the feeling of scale, of large forces pressing down on small human lives. The 100 is worth a look for those who want more story and are willing to trade some realism for momentum.
More shows like Chernobyl
Frequently asked
- What is the most popular show like Chernobyl?
- The 100 is the most popular show similar to Chernobyl in the IsItRenewed catalogue.
- Are shows like Chernobyl still on the air?
- Of the 11 shows similar to Chernobyl listed here, 0 currently carry a renewed verdict — the rest are cancelled, ended, or awaiting a decision.
- How does IsItRenewed pick shows like Chernobyl?
- The recommendations come from TMDB's similar-titles data, and each is shown with its current AI renewal verdict so you know which are still going.