HBO has given the greenlight to a miniseries about the Chernobyl disaster to star “Mad Men” alum Jared Harris.

“Chernobyl” is a five-part look at the scientists and others who sacrificed to spare the world from a broader disaster in April 1986 when a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Craig Mazin (“The Huntsman: Winter’s War”) penned the scripts and Johan Renck (“Breaking Bad”) is directing.

The mini is set to begin lensing next year in Lithuania. Harris will play Valery Legasov, the scientist chosen by the Kremlin to investigate the accident.

“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,” said Kary Antholis, president of HBO Miniseries and Cinemax Programming. “It will engage – and enrage – our viewers, as well as audiences around the world.”

The project marks the first co-production between HBO and Sky Television. It hails from Sister Pictures and the Mighty Mint.

“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,” said Gary Davey, Sky’s managing director of content.

Mazin, Carolyn Strauss and Jane Featherstone are exec producers. Johan Renck and Chris Fry are co-exec producers.

(Pictured: Jared Harris)