🔗 Share this article

The post-apocalyptic TV series 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 portraying the atomic-age, nuclear-ravaged United States through the eyes of three different characters, it effectively portrayed various facets of the gamer's experience.

We followed Lucy the vault dweller, trying to uphold her morals and finding that the barren landscape made that incredibly hard; Max, the Brotherhood of Steel new recruit, who begins to question his cult's dogma and causes significant chaos in powered exoskeleton; and Walton Goggins's character, a fan-favorite figure who has long since lost any moral compass out in the irradiated badlands.

Building Anticipation for a New Chapter

The show's first season finale revealed a major secret about the culprits behind the atomic conflict that condemned a population in underground vaults for hundreds of years. It also posed plenty of questions open for the next installment – and, on this occasion, anticipations are considerably elevated.

“We’ll take ‘not terrible’ – we should print that on merchandise,” quips the show's co-creator.

“Heading into the initial season, people were like, ‘Just get it right’,” states a key figure from the games. “We are ecstatic with the response to the show, so this time people are bringing more enthusiasm and altered expectations.”

The Mojave Beckons for Season Two

The upcoming season is set in the neon-lit city, the backdrop of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is often praised for having the most compelling narratives and personalities in the franchise, despite the fact that it was technically flawed at launch.

“It embodies a arid atmosphere, a Mojave vibe, that’s so key to that game,” notes the co-creator. “That dusty, desolate Route 66 feeling of the game is so much rewarding 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 characters make their way there. Yet, the creators indicate that it acknowledges the gamer's experience.

Crafting a Tangible World

The Fallout TV series is praised for its tactile feel – its creators prioritized physical models and sets were constructed, mirroring the cobbled-together nature of the towns in the games.

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

Actually, pretty much every element you see on-screen is physical, including the legendarily scary radioactive creatures known as the apex predators. In the show, they are brought to life with animatronics, and were by all accounts rather intimidating up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series resonates because it is developed by talented film-makers who are also longtime fans, with the help of the game developers behind the source material. This mutual respect for the world is clear in the end result.

The second season is debuting 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 foster a new audience reaction, something the creators themselves are looking forward to observe.

“It has more depth, it’s more expansive, it’s funnier, it has a lot of twists,” teases Howard. “I’m looking forward to seeing what people think.”