🔗 Share this article

The Fallout TV series has come back to streaming services, and it's fair to say that fans were delightfully shocked by the excellence of its debut season. By portraying the atomic-age, post-apocalyptic United States through the lenses of three different characters, it succeeded in capturing various facets of the gamer's experience.

We followed vault-dweller Lucy, striving to act with integrity and finding that the wasteland made that incredibly hard; Brotherhood initiate Max, the Brotherhood of Steel new recruit, who starts doubting his cult's authority and unleashes significant chaos in robotic power armour; and the Ghoul, a fan-favorite figure who has long since lost any sense of morality out in the irradiated wilderness.

Setting the Stage for the Second Season

The debut season's finale disclosed crucial details about those responsible for the nuclear war that condemned a population in subterranean shelters for centuries. It also posed plenty of questions unanswered for the next installment – and, this time, anticipations are much greater.

“We’ll take ‘pretty good’ – let’s get that on a poster,” remarks one of the series creators.

“Going into the initial season, people were like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” states a key figure from the games. “We’re over the moon with the response to the show, so this time people are arriving with more enthusiasm and different expectations.”

A New Vegas Vibe for Season Two

The new season is taking place in the neon-lit city, the backdrop of the beloved game Fallout: New Vegas, which is often praised for having the most compelling narratives and personalities in the franchise, even if it was a bit broken at launch.

“It embodies a arid atmosphere, a Southwestern essence, that’s so integral to that game,” explains the co-creator. “That dusty, blasted-out iconic highway feeling of the game is so much fun to bring into the show.”

In the series narrative, a significant amount of time has passed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the protagonists arrive there. However, the creators indicate that it does reference the player’s journey.

The Importance of Physical Sets

The Fallout TV series is praised for its tactile feel – its creators ensured authentic items and sets were fabricated, echoing the cobbled-together nature of the settlements in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, so many shows I watch, I’m aware that they’re all standing in front of a digital backdrop,” says co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “The primary goal of an translation, particularly of a interactive medium, is to appear as if it’s authentic.”

Indeed, virtually every element you see on-screen is real, even the legendarily scary irradiated monsters known as the apex predators. In the show, they are brought to life with puppets, and were by all accounts quite terrifying up close.

A Labor of Love

The Fallout series resonates because it is crafted by talented film-makers who are also passionate gamers, alongside the visionaries behind the source material. This common understanding for the universe is evident in the end result.

The new batch of episodes is being released on a weekly basis rather than as a binge-able batch, marking a change from the initial release. This schedule will create a different viewing experience, something the showrunners themselves are excited to engage with.

“It has more depth, it’s more expansive, it’s funnier, it has a lot of twists,” teases the game director. “I can't wait to seeing what people think.”