🔗 Share this article

The post-apocalyptic TV show has come back to streaming services, and it's safe to say that fans were pleasantly surprised by the quality of its first season. By portraying the atomic-age, post-apocalyptic United States through the perspectives of three different characters, it managed to capture various facets of the gamer's journey.

We followed Lucy the vault dweller, striving to do the right thing and learning that the wasteland made that incredibly hard; Brotherhood initiate Max, the militant faction initiate, who starts doubting his faction's leadership and causes significant chaos in robotic power armour; and the Ghoul, a standout performance who has completely shed any ethical bearings out in the contaminated wilderness.

Building Anticipation for the Second Season

The debut season's finale revealed key information about those responsible for the global annihilation that sealed a society in underground vaults for hundreds of years. It also posed plenty of questions unanswered for the upcoming chapter – and, this time, anticipations are much greater.

“We’ll take ‘pretty good’ – let’s get that on a poster,” remarks one of the series creators.

“Heading into the first season, everyone’s like, ‘Just get it right’,” adds the game director. “We’re over the moon with the reception to the show, so now people are coming in with more excitement and altered expectations.”

A New Vegas Vibe for Season Two

The second 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 sharpest dialogue and cast in the series, even if it was somewhat buggy at launch.

“It’s more of a arid atmosphere, a Mojave vibe, that’s so key to that game,” explains Nolan. “That dusty, desolate Route 66 feeling of the game is so much enjoyable to incorporate into the show.”

In the series narrative, a long time has passed since the story of the New Vegas game by the time the protagonists make their way there. Yet, the creators hint that it acknowledges the gamer's experience.

The Importance of Physical Sets

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

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

Actually, almost every element you see on-screen is physical, even the legendarily scary mutated beasts known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are brought to life with puppets, and were reportedly quite terrifying up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series works because it is made by talented film-makers who are also dedicated players, in collaboration with the visionaries behind the video games. This common understanding for the world is evident in the end result.

The new batch of episodes is debuting on a weekly basis rather than as a binge-able batch, representing a shift from the first season. This approach will foster a new weekly discussion, something the team themselves are excited to observe.

“It delves deeper, it’s larger in scale, it’s wittier, it has a lot of twists,” teases Howard. “I am excited to seeing what people think.”