🔗 Share this article

The Fallout TV show has come back to Prime Video, and it's accurate to state that audiences were agreeably astonished by the caliber of its initial run. By portraying the atomic-age, nuclear-ravaged United States through the eyes of three different characters, it managed to capture different facets of the player's experience.

There was Lucy the vault dweller, striving to uphold her morals and discovering that the ruined world made that incredibly hard; Max, the Brotherhood of Steel initiate, who starts challenging his cult's dogma and unleashes significant chaos in mechanized battle suit; and the Ghoul, a breakout character who has completely shed any moral compass out in the radioactive badlands.

Setting the Stage for a New Chapter

The show's first season finale revealed a major secret about the culprits behind the nuclear war that condemned a group of people in underground vaults for hundreds of years. It also left several enigmas unresolved for the second season – and, this time, expectations are much greater.

“We'd gladly accept ‘not terrible’ – let’s get that on a poster,” remarks one of the series creators.

“Starting the initial season, everyone’s like, ‘Just get it right’,” adds a key figure from the games. “We’re over the moon with the feedback to the show, so this time people are arriving with more enthusiasm and altered expectations.”

A New Vegas Vibe for Season Two

The upcoming season is located in New Vegas, the location of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is often praised for having the best writing and cast in the series, even if it was technically flawed at launch.

“It embodies a arid atmosphere, a Mojave vibe, that’s so key to that game,” says the co-creator. “That parched, blasted-out Route 66 aesthetic of the game is so much enjoyable to incorporate into the show.”

In the show's timeline, a considerable period has elapsed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the characters arrive there. Yet, the creators suggest that it does reference the fan's adventure.

Crafting a Tangible World

The Fallout TV series is praised for its physical authenticity – its creators prioritized real props and locations were built, mirroring the cobbled-together nature of the outposts in the games.

“As a sci-fi fan, so many shows I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all standing in front of a blue screen,” observes another of the showrunners. “The primary goal of an translation, especially of a video game, is to seem like it’s tangible.”

In fact, virtually every element you see on-screen is physical, including the notoriously frightening radioactive creatures known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are created using practical effects, and were reportedly quite terrifying up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series succeeds because it is crafted by accomplished storytellers who are also passionate gamers, in collaboration with the visionaries behind the video games. This mutual respect for the lore is clear in the finished show.

The new batch of episodes is being released on a weekly basis rather than as a all-at-once release, representing a shift from the initial release. This approach will allow for a different weekly discussion, something the team themselves are eager to engage with.

“It's richer, it’s more expansive, it’s more humorous, it has a lot of twists,” teases the game director. “I am excited to seeing what people think.”