Is Chimerica based on a true story? Channel 4’s new drama was inspired by one of the most influential images of all time

CHIMERICA is a four-part Channel 4 mini series set in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.

It uncovers the life of photographer, Lee Berger, who puts his career on the line as he desperately attempts to get Syria on the front pages.

In a despairing move to bring his plan to life, Berger contemplates a mission to  doctor a photograph that would grab enough attention by the media press.

Deep in regret over his decision to alter an image leads Berger to hear that Tank Man, the unidentified man he had photographed standing in front of a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square in 1989 might still be alive.

And he’s quick to head on quest to find him with the help of a Chinese friend, Zhang Lin.

But how much of the series is real and what’s fake? Let’s find out

Is the series based on a true story?

The show most certainly focuses its attention on real-live events, but not everything seems to be told in a factual manner.

After all, viewers are supposed to be entertained.

Created by Lucy Kirkwood, the Channel 4 thriller is based on Kirkwood’s Olivier-Award-winning play of the same name.

While Chimerica has it spot on with the events that transpired during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest, Berger, whose character is loosely based on Jeff Widener, never found himself in a fiasco concerning the legitimacy of his photos.

Better put, Berger is a fictional U.S. photojournalist with some of Widener’s traits, but too far off to actually compare the two as being anywhere near the same person.

It goes without saying, however, that Chimerica greatly tackles into politics and the growing rise and power of fake news.

There’s a strong element of truth to certain parts, such as the famous Tank Man photograph, which is commonly known to be one of the most iconic photographs ever taken.

With that said, the man who took the photo was not Berger – it was, indeed, Jeff Widener.

“On the morning of June 5, 1989, photographer Jeff Widener was perched on a sixth-floor balcony of the Beijing Hotel,” TIME explains.

“It was a day after the Tiananmen Square massacre … and the Associated Press sent Widener to document the aftermath … Widener lined up his lens just as a man carrying shopping bags stepped in front of the war machines, waving his arms and refusing to move … Widener assumed the man would be killed, but the tanks held their fire. Eventually the man was whisked away, but not before Widener immortalised his singular act of resistance.”

Executive producer Colin Callender previously discussed how the topics at hand are controversial but networks shouldn’t shy away from broadcasting the series.

“I think right now, in spite of all the talk about what [streaming services] are doing and all the talk of the ‘brave new world’ of television in America… it ain’t that brave,” he shared.

Currently, fans are only aware that the story will strongly focus its attention on Berger’s journey in finding the man who stood in front of the tanks, mixed with real-life events that transpired in the political world.

There’s currently no word on whether any other plot deprived from the protests will be included in the series, but it does seem apparent that the main focus is Berger and his reputation post-altering a photograph about Syria for the purpose of media attention.