Inside the Fallout Universe, the Gaming World’s Most Surprising TV Hit
The Fallout TV show has made a triumphant return to its platform, and it's fair to say that viewers were agreeably astonished by the excellence of its initial run. By illustrating the atomic-age, nuclear-ravaged United States through the eyes of three separate characters, it effectively portrayed various facets of the player's journey.
There was vault-dweller Lucy, trying to do the right thing and learning that the wasteland made that very difficult; Brotherhood initiate Max, the militant faction initiate, who starts doubting his organization's authority and unleashes plenty of trouble in robotic power armour; and the Ghoul, a fan-favorite figure who has entirely abandoned any moral compass out in the irradiated wilderness.
Building Anticipation for Season Two
The show's first season finale unveiled crucial details about those responsible for the global annihilation that trapped a group of people in subterranean shelters for centuries. It also left plenty of questions unresolved for the second season – and, now, anticipations are considerably elevated.
“We’ll take ‘not terrible’ – we should print that on merchandise,” says one of the series creators.
“Heading into the initial season, people were like, ‘Just get it right’,” comments Todd Howard. “We are thrilled with the response to the show, so now people are arriving with more enthusiasm and new expectations.”
The Mojave Beckons for the Next Installment
The upcoming season is set in New Vegas, the backdrop of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is widely regarded for having the best writing and characters in the series, even if it was technically flawed at launch.
“It’s more of a desert vibe, a Southwestern essence, that’s so key to that game,” notes Nolan. “That dusty, blasted-out iconic highway vibe of the game is so much fun to bring 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 arrive there. Nevertheless, the creators suggest that it will honor the fan's adventure.
Crafting a Tangible World
The Fallout TV series is distinguished by its tangible quality – its makers insisted on real props and environments were built, echoing the improvised nature of the outposts in the games.
“Being a genre enthusiast, so many productions I watch, I’m aware that they’re all filmed against a digital backdrop,” says another of the showrunners. “The key objective of an translation, particularly of a video game, is to seem like it’s real.”
In fact, almost everything you see on-screen is practical, including the infamously terrifying radioactive creatures known as the apex predators. In the show, they are brought to life with animatronics, and were apparently pretty frightening up close.
A Labor of Love
The Fallout series succeeds because it is made by skilled directors who are also passionate gamers, with the help of the game developers behind the franchise. This common understanding for the universe is clear in the end result.
The second season is debuting on a episode-by-episode basis rather than as a full-season drop, offering a different experience from the first season. This format will foster a altered viewing experience, something the creators themselves are looking forward to engage with.
“It has more depth, it’s larger in scale, it’s wittier, it has a lot of twists,” says Howard. “I can't wait to seeing what people think.”