Fallout (American TV series)

Fallout
Promotional poster
Genre	Action Black comedy Drama Post-apocalyptic Satire Science fiction Western
Created by	Graham Wagner Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Based on	Fallout by Bethesda Softworks
Starring	Ella Purnell Aaron Moten Kyle MacLachlan Moisés Arias Xelia Mendes-Jones Walton Goggins
Composer	Ramin Djawadi
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Jonathan Nolan Lisa Joy Geneva Robertson-Dworet Graham Wagner Athena Wickham Todd Howard James Altman Margot Lulick James W. Skotchdopole
Producers	Crystal Whelan Halle Phillips Gursimran Sandhu
Cinematography	Stuart Dryburgh Teodoro Maniaci
Editor	Ali Comperchio
Running time	45–74 minutes
Production companies	Kilter Films Big Indie Pictures Bethesda Game Studios Amazon MGM Studios
Original release
Network	Amazon Prime Video
Release	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)

Fallout is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the role-playing video game franchise created by Tim Cain, the series stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins.

Amazon purchased the rights to produce a live-action project in 2020, and the show was announced that July, with Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy's Kilter Films joined by Bethesda Game Studios in the production. Nolan directed the first three episodes. Bethesda Game Studios producer Todd Howard, who directed various games in the series, signed on to executive produce alongside Nolan and Joy. Robertson-Dworet and Wagner were hired as the series' showrunners in January 2022, and Goggins and Purnell were cast in February and March, respectively.

Fallout premiered on Prime Video on April 10, 2024. It received critical acclaim, with particular praise going towards the performances (particularly Purnell, Moten, and Goggins), writing, visuals, production design, and its faithfulness to the source material.

Premise

See also: Series overview

The show depicts the aftermath of the Great War of 2077, an apocalyptic nuclear exchange in an alternate history of Earth where advances in nuclear technology after WWII led to the emergence of a retrofuturistic society and a subsequent resource war. Many survivors took refuge in fallout bunkers known as Vaults, unaware each Vault was designed to perform psychological experiments on the Vault Dwellers. 219 years later in 2296, a young woman named Lucy leaves behind her home in Vault 33 to venture out into the dangerously unforgiving wasteland of a devastated Los Angeles to look for her father. Along the way, she meets a Brotherhood of Steel squire and a ghoul bounty hunter, each with their own mysterious pasts and agendas to settle.

Cast and characters

Main

• Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean, a young Vault Dweller
  • Luciana VanDette portrays young Lucy MacLean
• Aaron Moten as Maximus, a squire of the Brotherhood of Steel who becomes an ally to Lucy
  • Amir Carr portrays young Maximus
• Kyle MacLachlan as Hank MacLean, Lucy's father and the Overseer of Vault 33, who originates from Vault 31
• Moisés Arias as Norm MacLean, a Vault 33 resident, and Lucy's brother
• Xelia Mendes-Jones as Dane, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and Maximus's closest friend
• Walton Goggins as The Ghoul / Cooper Howard, a once famous Hollywood actor and Vault-Tec ambassador who mutated into a ghoul after the bombs fell and now makes a living as a gunslinger and bounty hunter

Recurring

• Sarita Choudhury as Lee Moldaver, the leader of a New California Republic military division with a past connection to Hank MacLean.
• Leslie Uggams as Betty Pearson, a member of Vault 33's governing council, and later Overseer. Originally from Vault 31
• Johnny Pemberton as Thaddeus, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel
• Zach Cherry as Woody Thomas, a member of Vault 33's governing council
• Annabel O'Hagan as Stephanie Harper, a pregnant resident of Vault 33 and Lucy's closest friend. Originally from Vault 31
• Dave Register as Chet, Lucy's cousin who is attracted to her
• Rodrigo Luzzi as Reg McPhee, a member of Vault 33's governing council
• Leer Leary as Davey, a Vault 33 resident
• Elle Vertes as Rose MacLean, a former Vault 33 resident, and Lucy and Norm's mother
• Teagan Meredith as Janey Howard, Cooper's daughter in 2077
• Frances Turner as Barb Howard, Cooper's wife in 2077 and a Vault-Tec executive

Guest

• Matt Berry
  • as "Mr. Handy", a General Atomics helper bot
  • as "Snip Snip"
  • as Sebastian Leslie
• Michael Esper
  • as Bud Askins
  • as "Brain-on-a-Roomba"
• Michael Cristofer as Elder Cleric Quintus
• Jon Daly as a Snake Oil Salesman
• Chris Parnell as Ben, the Overseer of Vault 4
• Cherien Dabis as Birdie, a surface-born resident of Vault 4
• Dallas Goldtooth as Charles Whiteknife
• Eric Berryman as Lloyd Hawthorne
• Angel Desai as Cassandra Hawthorne
• Mykelti Williamson as Honcho, a bounty hunter
• Cameron Cowperthwaite as Monty, a raider who seduces Lucy
• Mike Doyle as Bob Spencer
• Michael Emerson as Dr. Siggi Wilzig, an enigmatic wanderer who aids Lucy
• Michael Rapaport as Knight Titus, whom Maximus initially serves
• Dale Dickey as Ma June, a cantankerous shopkeeper in the settlement of Filly
• Neal Huff as Roger, a ghoul
• Matty Cardarople as Huey
• Glenn Fleshler as Sorrel Booker
• Fred Armisen as DJ Carl
• Erik Estrada as Adam
• Michael Mulheren as Frederick Sinclair

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"The End"	Jonathan Nolan	Geneva Robertson-Dworet & Graham Wagner	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
In 2077, actor Cooper Howard and his daughter Janey are caught in the middle of a nuclear attack against Los Angeles. 219 years later, Vault 33 dweller Lucy MacLean volunteers for an arranged marriage with a dweller from Vault 32. After the wedding, the Vault 32 visitors are revealed to be raiders led by Lee Moldaver. Lucy's father and overseer of Vault 33, Hank MacLean, is forced to leave with them. In defiance of Vault regulations, Lucy decides to go to the surface by herself to search for her father. Meanwhile, Brotherhood of Steel aspirant Maximus is promoted to the rank of squire and joins Knight Titus in hunting for a member of the Enclave. Elsewhere, several bounty hunters locate Howard, who has been transformed by radiation into a Ghoul, and attempt to recruit him to find the same Enclave member. Instead, Howard kills them all and pursues the bounty alone.
2	"The Target"	Jonathan Nolan	Geneva Robertson-Dworet & Graham Wagner	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
In an Enclave facility, Dr. Siggi Wilzig develops a mysterious blue device before injecting it into his neck. He flees the facility with his experimental dog, CX404. In the wasteland, Lucy encounters Wilzig, who urges her to return to her vault. Maximus and Titus begin their search and are attacked by a mutant bear. Titus is wounded, but his mistreatment of Maximus prompts the squire to let him bleed out before taking the knight's power armor for himself. Lucy reunites with Wilzig in Filly, where he attempts to arrange safe passage to Moldaver. Seeking the bounty, Howard attacks them but is distracted by Maximus, allowing Lucy to escape with Wilzig. A wounded CX404 is left behind, but Howard heals the dog and uses him to track Wilzig. Mortally wounded, Wilzig ingests cyanide as he believes he will slow Lucy down, instructing her to deliver his head to Moldaver in exchange for her father.
3	"The Head"	Jonathan Nolan	Geneva Robertson-Dworet & Graham Wagner	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
Maximus assumes Titus's identity, and the Brotherhood sends a new squire, Thaddeus, believing Maximus dead. Lucy is attacked by a gulper which swallows Wilzig's head. Howard arrives with CX404 and uses Lucy as bait to lure out the gulper but the chems which maintain his health are destroyed in the attempt. Leaving CX404 behind, Howard departs with Lucy as his prisoner. Maximus and Thaddeus track the head to the same location and defeat the gulper, recovering the head and taking custody of CX404. Back in Vault 33, Norm asks the council to execute several captured raiders for murder, but he is rebuffed. Pre-War, Howard becomes a celebrity spokesman for Vault-Tec at the encouragement of his wife, a top company executive.
4	"The Ghouls"	Daniel Gray Longino	Kieran Fitzgerald	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
In Vault 33, Norm becomes suspicious after an exchange with a captive raider. He and Chet explore Vault 32, discovering that its residents died two years prior as a consequence of infighting and that someone used his mother Rose's Pip-Boy to let the raiders in. Howard sells Lucy to a gang of organ harvesters in exchange for chems before collapsing. About to be cut open, Lucy fights back and frees the captive ghouls held by the harvesters. The few feral ghouls attack them, forcing Lucy to kill to survive. She gives Howard some chems to survive before going her own way.
5	"The Past"	Clare Kilner	Carson Mell	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
Maximus confesses his true identity to Thaddeus; disgusted, Thaddeus disables his power armor and leaves with Wilzig's head and CX404. Lucy finds Maximus and they agree to work together to retrieve the head. The two stumble upon the ruins of Shady Sands, a once thriving post-war city, and Maximus' former home, in their pursuit. Maximus is injured by a Fiend, and while searching for medical supplies in an abandoned Vault-Tec building, the two accidentally fall into Vault 4. Back in Vault 33, council president Betty Johnson is elected as overseer. To Norm's shock, she orders that Vault 32 be repopulated once cleaned of the deceased dwellers.
6	"The Trap"	Frederick E.O. Toye	Karey Dornetto	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
Lucy and Maximus are greeted by Birdie, a Shady Sands survivor, and Bob, the Vault 4 overseer. They explain that Vault 4 takes in outsiders, including refugees from Shady Sands. While Maximus slowly acclimates to the Vault, Lucy is horrified over the refugees' eccentric rituals and worshipping the "The Flame Mother", Moldaver. Convinced that Vault 4 is hiding something, she ventures to the forbidden level 12. She uncovers human experiments before getting caught, but it is explained to her that Vault 4 citizens fought back against these scientists and now live in peace. Pre-War, Howard becomes conflicted over the secrecy of Barb's association with Vault-Tec. He is invited to a secret meeting to discuss the conspiracy behind Vault-Tec, a younger Moldaver hosts.
7	"The Radio"	Frederick E.O. Toye, Clare Kilner	Chaz Hawkins	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
Residents of Vault 4 gather as Lucy is prepped for expulsion from the vault. Maximus leaves with her, after a brief conflict with the vault residents. Thaddeus abandons CX404 and makes contact with the Brotherhood. Lucy and Maximus eventually catch up with Thaddeus; after learning that he is turning into a ghoul, for which the Brotherhood would put him to death, Thaddeus relinquishes the head. Lucy continues her journey alone while Maximus stays behind to distract the Brotherhood. Norm secretly enters Vault 31. Meanwhile, Howard, having determined Moldaver's location, reunites with CX404. Pre-War, a younger Moldaver (then named Ms. Williams) persuades Howard that he cannot trust his wife and should record all her conversations with the company board.
8	"The Beginning"	Wayne Yip	Gursimran Sandhu	April 10, 2024 (2024-04-10)
Pre-War, Howard eavesdrops on Barb and learns that Vault-Tec plans to start a nuclear war so they can rebuild the world in their image. He also meets Vault-Tec junior executives Betty Pearson and Henry "Hank" MacLean. Maximus is forgiven by the Brotherhood, joining the upcoming battle against Moldaver's forces. Norm discovers Vault 31 contains the cryogenically stored executives of Vault-Tec, but gets trapped there. Lucy turns the head over to Moldaver, who retrieves the cold fusion device. She reveals that Rose left the vault with an infant Lucy and Norm, but Hank took the kids back. He then destroyed Shady Sands to ensure Vault-Tec's plans continued, while Rose became a ghoul. Lucy convinces her father to help Moldaver access the unlimited power source, but the Brotherhood begins their attack. Maximus makes his way to Lucy and frees her father. Hank steals a Brotherhood power armor, but Howard forces him to flee. Howard and Lucy follow him to the ruins of the city of New Vegas, to find his family. Meanwhile, Maximus is celebrated as the presumed killer of Moldaver.

Production

Development

Bethesda had been approached multiple times about a television adaptation of the Fallout video games since the developer released Fallout 3 in 2008, according to Bethesda's Todd Howard, though he felt none of the suggestions met the vision of the Fallout series. Bethesda's marketing executive Pete Hines had also cautioned the company in 2015 on the potential impact of a poor adaptation of their video games, saying "There's way more things that can go wrong than can go right with this" since the adaptation's director may override the vision of the series. Hines pointed to the example of the 2005 Doom film as an example of a bad adaptation. The situation changed when Jonathan Nolan approached Bethesda with his idea of a Fallout television series, having been an avid player of the game series. Howard found that Nolan had a clear vision for the adaptation, and agreed this approach was a good way to bring the game series to the television screen.

The television adaptation was formally announced in July 2020 under Amazon Studios (later renamed Amazon MGM Studios) with Nolan and Lisa Joy developing the work. Joy described the series as "a gonzo, crazy, funny, adventure, and mindfuck like none you've ever seen before".

In January 2022 Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner were hired as showrunners for the series, with Nolan set to direct the pilot episode.

The show was confirmed to be set within the same continuity as the franchise during an interview on November 28, 2023, because Howard wanted to avoid adapting any of the previous games and sought for an original story to be told instead.

Casting

In February 2022, Walton Goggins was cast in a lead role as a Cooper Howard, a Hollywood actor who became a Ghoul after the bombs fell. In March 2022, Ella Purnell joined the cast. In June 2022, Kyle MacLachlan, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Aaron Moten joined as regulars.

In October 2023, additional casting including Sarita Choudhury, Michael Emerson, Leslie Uggams and Zach Cherry was announced.

Filming

An overhead shot of Kolmanskop, Namibia, which was used for filming of shots in the Wasteland

Filming began on July 5, 2022, in New Jersey, New York and Utah. Additional filming took place in Namibia on the Skeleton Coast, including Kolmanskop, an abandoned mining town in the region. Nolan directed the first 3 episodes of the series, with Stuart Dryburgh and Teodoro Maniaci serving as cinematographers.

Music

In January 2024, it was revealed that Ramin Djawadi had composed a score inspired by the works of Inon Zur's Fallout series compositions.

The television series' first soundtrack was released by Amazon on April 8, 2024.

Release

Fallout was scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on April 12, 2024, but this date was later moved forward to be released on April 10, 2024, at 6 PM PT.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 93% approval rating based on 88 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "An adaptation that feels like a true extension of the games, Fallout is a post-apocalyptic blast for newcomers and longtime fans alike." Metacritic assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a B+ and said, "The eight-episode season exists in a vivid and captivating universe that will be familiar to gamers—though knowledge of the franchise isn't required to enjoy its darkly comic dystopian pleasures." Reviewing the series for the San Francisco Chronicle, Zaki Hasan gave a rating of 3/4 and wrote, "With a raft of unfolding mysteries, protagonists we care about and a quest we want to see through to the end, Fallout is well situated to grow the loyal fan base that has kept the video game franchise going for 27 years."

External links

• Official website
• Fallout at IMDb