Inside the Fallout Universe, Gaming’s Most Astonishing Television Success

The Fallout TV series is back to its platform, and it's fair to say that viewers were delightfully shocked by the caliber of its debut season. By depicting the atomic-age, nuclear-ravaged United States through the perspectives of three different characters, it effectively portrayed multiple facets of the gamer's journey.

There was vault-dweller Lucy, striving to uphold her morals and discovering that the ruined world made that exceptionally challenging; Max, the militant faction new recruit, who starts challenging his organization's dogma and causes significant chaos in powered exoskeleton; and Walton Goggins's character, a standout performance who has entirely abandoned any sense of morality out in the radioactive badlands.

Setting the Stage for the Second Season

The show's first season finale disclosed crucial details about who helped cause the nuclear war that trapped a group of people in underground vaults for an extended period. It also raised several enigmas open for the upcoming chapter – and, on this occasion, anticipations are much greater.

“We’ll take ‘not terrible’ – let’s get that on a poster,” remarks the show's co-creator.

“Heading into the initial season, everyone’s like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” states the game director. “We’re over the moon with the response to the show, so now people are bringing more enthusiasm and different expectations.”

A New Vegas Vibe for the Next Installment

The new season is taking place in the neon-lit city, the setting 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 somewhat buggy at launch.

“It has a sun-baked feel, a Mojave vibe, that’s so essential to that game,” notes the co-creator. “That parched, desolate iconic highway vibe of the game is so much fun to incorporate into the show.”

In the series narrative, a considerable period has passed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the protagonists make their way there. Nevertheless, the creators suggest that it does reference the player’s journey.

Crafting a Tangible World

The Fallout TV series is distinguished by its physical authenticity – its creators insisted on authentic items and locations were built, echoing the makeshift nature of the settlements in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, so many productions I watch, I’m aware that they’re all standing in front of a blue screen,” comments 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 everything you see on-screen is physical, even the infamously terrifying mutated beasts known as the apex predators. In the show, they are brought to life with animatronics, and were by all accounts quite terrifying up close.

A Labor of Love

The Fallout series works because it is made by talented film-makers who are also passionate gamers, with the help of the game developers behind the video games. This shared passion for the lore is apparent in the finished show.

The second season is launching on a weekly basis rather than as a binge-able batch, offering a different experience from the first season. This approach will allow for a different weekly discussion, a dynamic the creators themselves are excited to engage with.

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