🔗 Share this article

The post-apocalyptic TV show has made a triumphant return to streaming services, and it's fair to say that fans were delightfully shocked by the excellence of its first season. By portraying the retro-futuristic, nuclear-ravaged United States through the perspectives of three separate characters, it succeeded in capturing multiple facets of the gamer's journey.

We followed vault-dweller Lucy, striving to uphold her morals and finding that the ruined world made that very difficult; Brotherhood initiate Max, the Brotherhood of Steel rookie, who begins to question his organization's authority and creates significant chaos in robotic power armour; 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 a New Chapter

The show's first season conclusion revealed crucial details about the culprits behind the atomic conflict that sealed a society in underground vaults for an extended period. It also posed plenty of questions unanswered for the upcoming chapter – and, this time, anticipations are considerably elevated.

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

“Going into the initial season, everyone’s like, ‘Just get it right’,” comments the game director. “We’re over the moon with the feedback to the show, so this time people are coming in with more eagerness and altered expectations.”

The Mojave Beckons for the Next Installment

The upcoming season is taking place in New Vegas, the setting of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is frequently celebrated for having the sharpest dialogue and characters 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 key to that game,” explains the co-creator. “That parched, desolate iconic highway feeling of the game is so much rewarding to bring into the show.”

In the series narrative, a significant amount of time has elapsed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the characters arrive there. Yet, the creators hint that it acknowledges the player’s journey.

Crafting a Tangible World

The Fallout TV series is notable for its tactile feel – its creators ensured real props and environments were constructed, echoing the cobbled-together nature of the towns in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, so many series 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 adaptation, particularly of a interactive medium, is to feel like it’s tangible.”

In fact, almost every element you see on-screen is real, including the infamously terrifying radioactive creatures known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are created using animatronics, and were reportedly pretty frightening up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series resonates because it is made by talented film-makers who are also passionate gamers, with the help of the game developers behind the franchise. This common understanding for the world is apparent in the finished show.

The second season is launching on a episode-by-episode basis rather than as a all-at-once release, offering a different experience from the previous season. This approach will create a altered audience reaction, something the team themselves are looking forward to observe.

“It delves deeper, it’s more expansive, it’s wittier, it has a lot of twists,” teases the game director. “I’m looking forward to seeing what people think.”