🔗 Share this article

The post-apocalyptic TV show has come back to streaming services, and it's accurate to state that audiences were pleasantly surprised by the quality of its debut season. By illustrating the atomic-age, nuclear-ravaged United States through the perspectives of three distinct characters, it managed to capture multiple facets of the player's adventure.

We followed Lucy the vault dweller, trying to do the right thing and finding that the barren landscape made that incredibly hard; Max, the militant faction initiate, who begins to question his cult's leadership and causes plenty of trouble in powered exoskeleton; and the Ghoul, a breakout character who has completely shed any moral compass out in the irradiated badlands.

Setting the Stage for the Second Season

The debut season's conclusion unveiled crucial details about the culprits behind the atomic conflict that sealed a society in bomb-proof bunkers for an extended period. It also left numerous mysteries unresolved for the second season – and, now, hopes are considerably elevated.

“We'd gladly accept ‘pretty good’ – let’s get that on a poster,” says one of the series creators.

“Heading into the first season, people were like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” comments Todd Howard. “We are ecstatic with the reception to the show, so now people are coming in with more excitement and new expectations.”

The Mojave Beckons for the Next Installment

The second season is set in New Vegas, the setting of the beloved game Fallout: New Vegas, which is widely regarded for having the sharpest dialogue and characters in the franchise, despite the fact that it was somewhat buggy at launch.

“It embodies a desert vibe, a Mojave vibe, that’s so essential to that game,” says the co-creator. “That dusty, blasted-out Route 66 feeling of the game is so much fun to bring into the show.”

In the show's timeline, a long time has elapsed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the characters arrive there. Nevertheless, the creators indicate that it does reference the player’s journey.

Crafting a Tangible World

The Fallout TV series is notable for its physical authenticity – its makers ensured physical models and environments were built, reflecting the cobbled-together nature of the outposts in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, so many shows I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all filmed against a blue screen,” says co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “The primary goal of an translation, particularly of a interactive medium, is to feel like it’s authentic.”

In fact, virtually each creature you see on-screen is physical, even the infamously terrifying radioactive creatures known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are portrayed by animatronics, and were apparently quite terrifying up close.

A Labor of Love

The Fallout series works because it is crafted by talented film-makers who are also dedicated players, alongside the game developers behind the franchise. This mutual respect for the lore is evident in the finished show.

The new batch of episodes is debuting on a episode-by-episode basis rather than as a all-at-once release, marking a change from the initial release. This format will foster a different weekly discussion, something the showrunners themselves are eager to observe.

“It has more depth, it’s larger in scale, it’s wittier, it has a lot of surprises,” teases the game director. “I am excited to seeing what people think.”