🔗 Share this article

The post-apocalyptic TV series has made a triumphant return to Prime Video, and it's safe to say that fans were pleasantly surprised by the caliber of its initial run. By illustrating the atomic-age, nuclear-ravaged United States through the eyes of three different characters, it succeeded in capturing different facets of the player's adventure.

We followed Lucy the vault dweller, trying to do the right thing and discovering that the wasteland made that incredibly hard; Max, the Brotherhood of Steel new recruit, who starts doubting his cult's authority and unleashes a lot of havoc in powered exoskeleton; and Walton Goggins's character, a standout performance who has completely shed any sense of morality out in the contaminated badlands.

Setting the Stage for a New Chapter

The debut season's ending unveiled key information about who helped cause the nuclear war that sealed a society in bomb-proof bunkers for centuries. It also left plenty of questions unanswered for the second season – and, now, expectations are considerably elevated.

“We'd gladly accept ‘pretty good’ – let’s get that on a poster,” quips the show's co-creator.

“Starting the first season, everyone’s like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” comments a key figure from the games. “We are thrilled with the feedback to the show, so now people are arriving with more enthusiasm and altered expectations.”

A New Vegas Vibe for Season Two

The new season is taking place in the neon-lit city, the setting of the beloved game Fallout: New Vegas, which is frequently celebrated for having the most compelling narratives and personalities in the series, even if it was somewhat buggy at launch.

“It’s more of a sun-baked feel, a Mojave vibe, that’s so integral to that game,” notes the co-creator. “That dusty, blasted-out Route 66 aesthetic of the game is so much enjoyable to translate into the show.”

In the show's timeline, a significant amount of time has elapsed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the characters make their way there. Nevertheless, the creators hint that it does reference the gamer's experience.

The Importance of Physical Sets

The Fallout TV series is notable for its tangible quality – its makers ensured physical models and sets were built, mirroring the makeshift nature of the settlements in the games.

“As a sci-fi fan, so many shows I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all standing in front of a green screen,” observes co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “The whole point of an translation, particularly of a video game, is to appear as if it’s authentic.”

In fact, virtually everything you see on-screen is real, including the legendarily scary mutated beasts known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are brought to life with practical effects, and were by all accounts pretty frightening up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series succeeds because it is crafted by talented film-makers who are also longtime fans, with the help of the original creators behind the franchise. This common understanding for the lore is apparent in the end result.

The new batch of episodes is being released on a weekly basis rather than as a all-at-once release, representing a shift from the initial release. This format will allow for a altered audience reaction, something the creators themselves are eager to observe.

“It delves deeper, it’s larger in scale, it’s wittier, it has a lot of revelations,” says the game director. “I can't wait to seeing what people think.”