BBC iPlayer adds classic 1980 series Oppenheimer

August 2, 2023 12.28 Europe/London By Julian Clover

To coincide with the release of Christopher Nolan’s biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the BBC has dropped its 1980s take on the atomic bomb creator.

The Bafta-winning seven-part series originally aired on the BBC in 1980. Waterston plays the titular scientist as he leads the weapons laboratory of the Manhattan Project, all the while under constant surveillance by the FBI because of his left wing politics and association with communists, It follows his role in developing the world’s first nuclear weapons, his rivalry with Edward Teller, through to being stripped of his security clearance by the US Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s.

Waterson went on to become a household name in the United States with roles in The Newsroom, Grace & Frankie and the long-running Law and Order.

Oppenheimer also stars John Carson, Christopher Munke, Jana Shelden, Kate Harper, and David Suchet.

The series is available to stream now and will be broadcast on BBC Four from September.

Filed Under: Newsline Edited: 2 August 2023 12:28