Behind the Scenes of the Fallout Universe, the Gaming World’s Most Unexpected TV Hit
The Fallout TV series has made a triumphant return to Prime Video, and it's fair to say that fans were agreeably astonished by the caliber of its debut season. By depicting the retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic United States through the eyes of three separate characters, it managed to capture multiple facets of the player's experience.
There was Lucy the vault dweller, striving to do the right thing and learning that the barren landscape made that very difficult; Brotherhood initiate Max, the Brotherhood of Steel new recruit, who starts challenging his cult's dogma and unleashes plenty of trouble in powered exoskeleton; and Walton Goggins's character, a fan-favorite figure who has completely shed any ethical bearings out in the irradiated wilderness.
Building Anticipation for the Second Season
The show's first season finale revealed key information about who helped cause the nuclear war that sealed a group of people in bomb-proof bunkers for hundreds of years. It also left several enigmas open for the upcoming chapter – and, this time, expectations are much greater.
“We’ll take ‘pretty good’ – let’s get that on a poster,” remarks the show's co-creator.
“Going into the first season, everyone’s like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” states the game director. “We are thrilled with the response to the show, so now people are arriving with more excitement and different expectations.”
The Mojave Beckons for Season Two
The upcoming season is located in New Vegas, the location of the beloved game Fallout: New Vegas, which is widely regarded for having the most compelling narratives and characters in the series, despite the fact that it was a bit broken at launch.
“It has a sun-baked feel, a Mojave vibe, that’s so integral to that game,” says Nolan. “That dusty, blasted-out Route 66 feeling of the game is so much rewarding to bring into the show.”
In the show's timeline, a significant amount of time has passed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the protagonists arrive there. Yet, the creators suggest that it does reference the player’s journey.
Crafting a Tangible World
The Fallout TV series is distinguished by its tangible quality – its creators insisted on physical models and locations were built, mirroring the cobbled-together nature of the outposts in the games.
“Being a genre enthusiast, so many shows I watch, I’m aware that they’re all filmed against a green screen,” observes co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “The key objective of an translation, especially of a video game, is to seem like it’s real.”
In fact, virtually everything you see on-screen is practical, even the notoriously frightening irradiated monsters known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are portrayed by practical effects, and were reportedly quite terrifying up close.
A Labor of Love
The Fallout series resonates because it is developed by skilled directors who are also longtime fans, in collaboration with the original creators behind the franchise. This shared passion for the lore is evident in the finished show.
The new batch of episodes is launching on a episode-by-episode basis rather than as a binge-able batch, marking a change from the first season. This format will foster a new audience reaction, a dynamic the showrunners themselves are excited to observe.
“It delves deeper, it’s larger in scale, it’s funnier, it has a lot of surprises,” says the game director. “I can't wait to seeing what people think.”