Behind the Scenes of Fallout, Gaming’s Most Astonishing Small Screen Triumph

The Fallout TV series is back to its platform, and it's safe to say that viewers were pleasantly surprised by the caliber of its debut season. By depicting the retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic United States through the lenses of three different characters, it succeeded in capturing multiple facets of the gamer's journey.

We followed Lucy the vault dweller, striving to act with integrity and finding that the wasteland made that incredibly hard; Brotherhood initiate Max, the militant faction rookie, who starts challenging his faction's dogma and causes a lot of havoc in mechanized battle suit; and the Ghoul, a standout performance who has entirely abandoned any moral compass out in the irradiated badlands.

Setting the Stage for a New Chapter

The debut season's conclusion unveiled a major secret about the culprits behind the atomic conflict that trapped a group of people in bomb-proof bunkers for centuries. It also left numerous mysteries unresolved for the next installment – and, now, hopes are much greater.

“We’ll take ‘not terrible’ – we should print that on merchandise,” quips Jonah Nolan.

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

The Mojave Beckons for Season Two

The new season is set in New Vegas, the backdrop of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is often praised for having the sharpest dialogue and characters in the series, even if it was a bit broken at launch.

“It has a sun-baked feel, a Mojave vibe, that’s so integral to that game,” explains the co-creator. “That parched, desolate iconic highway feeling of the game is so much rewarding to translate into the show.”

In the show's timeline, a considerable period has elapsed since the events of the New Vegas game by the time the protagonists arrive there. Yet, the creators indicate that it will honor the player’s journey.

The Importance of Physical Sets

The Fallout TV series is praised for its physical authenticity – its creators prioritized authentic items and environments were built, echoing the cobbled-together nature of the towns in the games.

“As a sci-fi fan, so many shows I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all standing in front of a blue screen,” comments another of the showrunners. “The key objective of an adaptation, especially of a interactive medium, is to feel like it’s real.”

Indeed, pretty much everything you see on-screen is practical, even the notoriously frightening irradiated monsters known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are created using animatronics, and were reportedly quite terrifying up close.

A Labor of Love

The Fallout series succeeds because it is developed by accomplished storytellers who are also passionate gamers, in collaboration with the game developers behind the video games. This shared passion for the world is clear in the final product.

The new batch of episodes is being released on a weekly basis rather than as a binge-able batch, offering a different experience from the initial release. This format will foster a altered weekly discussion, a dynamic the creators themselves are eager to witness.

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