🔗 Share this article

The post-apocalyptic TV series has come back to its platform, and it's safe to say that audiences were delightfully shocked by the quality of its debut season. By depicting the retro-futuristic, nuclear-ravaged United States through the eyes of three different characters, it managed to capture various facets of the gamer's experience.

There was Lucy the vault dweller, striving to act with integrity and discovering that the barren landscape made that incredibly hard; Brotherhood initiate Max, the Brotherhood of Steel initiate, who starts doubting his faction's dogma and creates a lot of havoc in mechanized battle suit; and Walton Goggins's character, a breakout character who has entirely abandoned any ethical bearings out in the irradiated wilderness.

Building Anticipation for Season Two

The show's first season finale revealed key information about who helped cause the nuclear war that sealed a society in subterranean shelters for an extended period. It also left plenty of questions open for the upcoming chapter – and, this time, expectations are significantly higher.

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

“Going into the initial season, people were like, ‘Just don't mess it up’,” adds the game director. “We are ecstatic with the reception to the show, so this time people are bringing more enthusiasm and different expectations.”

The Mojave Beckons for Season Two

The upcoming season is set in the neon-lit city, the setting of the 2010’s game Fallout: New Vegas, which is frequently celebrated for having the sharpest dialogue and cast in the franchise, even if it was a bit broken at launch.

“It has a sun-baked feel, a Southwestern essence, that’s so essential to that game,” says the co-creator. “That parched, blasted-out Route 66 feeling of the game is so much enjoyable to bring into the show.”

In the series narrative, a long time has passed since the events of the New Vegas game by the time the protagonists arrive there. However, the creators indicate that it does reference the gamer's experience.

The Importance of Physical Sets

The Fallout TV series is distinguished by its physical authenticity – its makers prioritized physical models and locations were constructed, echoing the improvised nature of the settlements in the games.

“Being a genre enthusiast, 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 primary goal of an translation, particularly of a video game, is to appear as if it’s real.”

In fact, almost everything you see on-screen is physical, including the legendarily scary mutated beasts known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are created using practical effects, and were apparently quite terrifying up close.

Made by Fans, for Fans

The Fallout series resonates because it is crafted by accomplished storytellers who are also passionate gamers, in collaboration with the original creators behind the source material. This common understanding for the universe is apparent in the finished show.

The second season is being released on a episode-by-episode basis rather than as a full-season drop, offering a different experience from the previous season. This approach will allow for a different weekly discussion, something the creators themselves are looking forward to engage with.

“It has more depth, it’s larger in scale, it’s more humorous, it has a lot of twists,” promises the game director. “I’m looking forward to seeing what people think.”