It's easy to say (and we at /Film certainly did at the time) that "Chernobyl" was 2019's most vital, terrifying, and relevant horror story. Based on the true story of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident and its aftermath, HBO's captivating and intense miniseries depicted the disaster in grim and visceral detail that, at times, almost seemed like a documentary about an impossibly horrific event.

Of course, it's worth noting that very few people actually have any sort of personal reference point to nuclear disasters, so a viewer who doesn't know the details of the real-life Chernobyl accident might find it difficult to determine whether the show's realism was unflinching dedication to depict the events in a historically accurate fashion, or if it was simply Hollywood magic at its most captivating. After all, "Chernobyl" creator Craig Mazin has since gone on to make "The Last of Us," which can often be just as visceral but is obviously based on a video game series. With that in mind, let's take a look at just how realistic HBO's "Chernobyl" truly is.