This essay considers the TV miniseries Chernobyl (HBO, 2019) to engage in a wider debate on the social and institutional production of techno-science. It explores whether the series resonates with the existing narratives and interpretations of Soviet technoscience in scholarly historiography. The author argues that although the series downplays important aspects of Soviet history, such as international knowledge transfer, it successfully demonstrates the hybrid character of nuclear power and the complexity of the relationship between scientific expertise and policy decision-making.