🔗 Share this article

The Fallout TV show has made a triumphant return to its platform, and it's fair to say that fans were agreeably astonished by the quality of its first season. By depicting the retro-futuristic, nuclear-ravaged United States through the eyes of three distinct characters, it effectively portrayed multiple facets of the player's adventure.

We followed vault-dweller Lucy, trying to do the right thing and learning that the wasteland made that very difficult; Max, the Brotherhood of Steel new recruit, who starts challenging his cult's leadership and creates a lot of havoc in robotic power armour; and the Ghoul, a standout performance who has entirely abandoned any moral compass out in the radioactive wilderness.

Setting the Stage for a New Chapter

The show's first season ending disclosed a major secret about those responsible for the global annihilation that condemned a population in bomb-proof bunkers for hundreds of years. It also raised plenty of questions unresolved for the next installment – and, this time, hopes are considerably elevated.

“We’ll take ‘not terrible’ – let’s get that on a poster,” quips the show's co-creator.

“Going into the first season, everyone’s like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” adds a key figure from the games. “We’re over the moon with the response to the show, so this time people are bringing more eagerness and altered expectations.”

A New Vegas Vibe for the Next Installment

The second season is set in New Vegas, the backdrop of the beloved game Fallout: New Vegas, which is widely regarded for having the sharpest dialogue and cast in the series, despite the fact that it was a bit broken at launch.

“It has a desert vibe, a Mojave vibe, that’s so essential to that game,” says the co-creator. “That parched, desolate iconic highway aesthetic of the game is so much fun to bring into the show.”

In the show's timeline, a long time has elapsed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the characters arrive there. Nevertheless, the creators hint that it acknowledges the player’s journey.

Crafting a Tangible World

The Fallout TV series is distinguished by its tactile feel – its production team insisted on real props and locations were constructed, echoing the improvised nature of the outposts in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, so many series I watch, I’m aware that they’re all standing in front of a green screen,” observes another of the showrunners. “The whole point of an translation, especially of a interactive medium, is to feel like it’s authentic.”

Actually, pretty much everything you see on-screen is physical, even the notoriously frightening mutated beasts known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are created using practical effects, and were by all accounts rather intimidating up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series resonates because it is crafted by skilled directors who are also passionate gamers, in collaboration with the game developers behind the franchise. This shared passion for the world is apparent in the finished show.

The new batch of episodes is being released on a weekly basis rather than as a all-at-once release, offering a different experience from the first season. This approach will foster a altered weekly discussion, something the showrunners themselves are eager to engage with.

“It's richer, it’s bigger, it’s more humorous, it has a lot of twists,” teases the game director. “I’m looking forward to seeing what people think.”