Behind the Scenes of the Fallout Universe, Gaming’s Most Unexpected Television Success

The Fallout TV show has come back to streaming services, and it's safe to say that viewers were pleasantly surprised by the excellence of its debut season. By illustrating the atomic-age, nuclear-ravaged United States through the eyes of three different characters, it effectively portrayed multiple facets of the player's adventure.

There was Lucy the vault dweller, trying to uphold her morals and finding that the wasteland made that incredibly hard; Max, the militant faction rookie, who starts doubting his faction's dogma and causes a lot of havoc in robotic power armour; and the Ghoul, a standout performance who has completely shed any moral compass out in the irradiated wilderness.

Building Anticipation for Season Two

The show's first season conclusion disclosed key information about who helped cause the nuclear war that condemned a society in underground vaults for an extended period. It also left plenty of questions unanswered for the second season – and, this time, anticipations are much greater.

“We’ll take ‘pretty good’ – let’s get that on a poster,” says the show's co-creator.

“Going into the first season, everyone’s like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” states Todd Howard. “We are thrilled with the feedback to the show, so this time people are coming in with more eagerness and new expectations.”

The Mojave Beckons for the Next Installment

The second season is taking place in New Vegas, the location of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is often praised for having the most compelling narratives and cast in the franchise, even if it was technically flawed at launch.

“It’s more of a desert vibe, a Mojave vibe, that’s so key to that game,” says Nolan. “That dusty, blasted-out iconic highway vibe of the game is so much enjoyable to bring into the show.”

In the series narrative, a significant amount of time has passed since the events of the New Vegas game by the time the protagonists arrive there. Yet, the creators suggest that it will honor the gamer's experience.

Crafting a Tangible World

The Fallout TV series is praised for its tangible quality – its makers ensured real props and environments were fabricated, mirroring the makeshift nature of the settlements in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, so many shows I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all filmed against a blue screen,” observes co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “The whole point of an adaptation, especially of a interactive medium, is to seem like it’s real.”

In fact, almost every element you see on-screen is real, even the notoriously frightening mutated beasts known as the apex predators. In the show, they are brought to life with puppets, and were apparently quite terrifying up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series succeeds because it is crafted by skilled directors who are also dedicated players, with the help of the original creators behind the video games. This common understanding for the universe is evident in the end result.

The second season is being released on a weekly basis rather than as a binge-able batch, representing a shift from the initial release. This format will foster a new weekly discussion, something the team themselves are excited to engage with.

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