Exploring the Fallout Universe, Gaming’s Most Surprising TV Hit

The Fallout TV series has come back to Prime Video, and it's safe to say that audiences were delightfully shocked by the excellence of its debut season. By portraying the retro-futuristic, nuclear-ravaged United States through the lenses of three different characters, it effectively portrayed different facets of the gamer's journey.

We followed vault-dweller Lucy, striving to do the right thing and learning that the ruined world made that exceptionally challenging; Max, the Brotherhood of Steel new recruit, who starts doubting his organization's dogma and unleashes a lot of havoc in powered exoskeleton; and Walton Goggins's character, a breakout character who has completely shed any sense of morality out in the radioactive wilderness.

Setting the Stage for a New Chapter

The show's first season ending revealed a major secret about who helped cause the atomic conflict that trapped a population in bomb-proof bunkers for an extended period. It also left plenty of questions unanswered for the upcoming chapter – and, on this occasion, hopes are significantly higher.

“We’ll take ‘not terrible’ – we should print that on merchandise,” quips the show's co-creator.

“Going into the initial season, everyone’s like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” states Todd Howard. “We are ecstatic with the feedback to the show, so this time people are bringing more enthusiasm and different expectations.”

A New Vegas Vibe for Season Two

The upcoming season is taking place in the neon-lit city, the location of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is often praised for having the sharpest dialogue and cast in the series, despite the fact that it was a bit broken at launch.

“It’s more of a desert vibe, a Mojave vibe, that’s so key to that game,” says the co-creator. “That parched, blasted-out iconic highway aesthetic of the game is so much enjoyable to translate into the show.”

In the series narrative, a significant amount of time has elapsed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the characters make their way there. However, the creators hint that it will honor the player’s journey.

The Importance of Physical Sets

The Fallout TV series is notable for its physical authenticity – its production team ensured real props and environments were fabricated, echoing the cobbled-together nature of the towns in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, so many series I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all filmed against a green screen,” says another of the showrunners. “The primary goal of an translation, particularly of a interactive medium, is to appear as if it’s real.”

In fact, almost everything you see on-screen is practical, including the notoriously frightening irradiated monsters known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are created using animatronics, and were reportedly pretty frightening up close.

A Labor of Love

The Fallout series works because it is developed by skilled directors who are also dedicated players, with the help of the original creators behind the video games. This shared passion for the world is apparent in the final product.

The new batch of episodes is launching on a weekly basis rather than as a binge-able batch, representing a shift from the previous season. This approach will create a altered viewing experience, something the team themselves are eager to witness.

“It has more depth, it’s bigger, it’s more humorous, it has a lot of revelations,” says Howard. “I’m looking forward to seeing what people think.”

Sandra Harrington
Sandra Harrington

A tech journalist and digital culture analyst with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and their societal impacts.