The Prime Video-exclusive Fallout TV series explores how civilization has rebuilt itself in the wake of a nuclear apocalypse and is based on the video game series of the same name.
The popular roleplaying game is set after The Great War in 2077, which saw vast, deadly exposure to radiation and the subsequent collapse of social and government structures, to the point where mass devastation was achieved in only two hours.
Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan at Kilter Films headed up the adaptation, with the series being the first time the game franchise has been developed for the small screen, outside of fan projects.
Todd Howard, Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios, shared his enthusiasm for the adaptation ahead of release, saying: "Over the last decade, we looked at many ways to bring Fallout to the screen.
"But it was clear from the moment I first spoke with Jonah and Lisa a few years ago, that they and the team at Kilter were the ones to do it right. We’re enormous fans of their work and couldn’t be more excited to work with them and Amazon Studios."
The series has, by all accounts, been a huge hit for Prime Video, with the streamer claiming that the series pulled in 65 million viewers within its first 16 days of availability. So it's no surprise that they've confirmed it will return for Fallout season 2.
Here's everything you need to know about the first season of the Fallout TV show's first season.
Fallout: how to watch & release date
Fallout arrived on Prime Video on Wednesday, April 10. It is an eight-episode series, with all episodes available to stream now.
Fallout plot
The Fallout series is set 219 years after The Great War, where some survivors took refuge in underground bunkers called vaults, created by Vault-Tec. We follow a young Vault Dweller named Lucy, who ventures out into the Los Angeles' wasteland for the very first time.
Elsewhere, we see Brotherhood of Steel paladin Maximus navigating life in the wastes, and a mysterious figure known only as The Ghoul, who is a bounty hunter and hardened to the world around him.
Fallout episode guide
Below, you can find links to our detailed Fallout episode recaps, along with short episode summaries for each of the show's eight parts:
- Fallout episode 1: 219 years after the world was changed forever, Vault Dweller Lucy emerges from Vault 33 after raiders attack the facility and kidnap her father. Meanwhile, The Ghoul is roused from his resting place, and Maximus becomes a quite within the Brotherhood of Steel.
- Fallout episode 2: Dr. Wilzig flees an Enclave laboratory with his pooch, CX404. Maximus and Knight Titus take on a mutant bear, and all four travellers cross paths in the scrapheap town of Filly.
- Fallout episode 3: Maximus fully assumes Knight Titus' identity, Lucy and The Ghoul take on a gulper travelling the Wastes of LA, and before the war, Cooper Howard becomes a Vault-Tec spokesperson.
- Fallout episode 4: The Ghoul takes Lucy to a Super-Duper Mart store, where she's properly forced to adapt to Wasteland life. Meanwhile, her brother Norm makes some startling discoveries about Vault 32.
- Fallout episode 5: Maximus confesses to his new change, Squire Thaddeus, who abandons him. However, he soon forms a partnership with Lucy and the pair stumble into Shady Sands. Betty takes over as Vault 33 Overseer and begins to order the repopulation of Vault 32... much to Norm's sueprise.
- Fallout episode 6: Lucy and Maximus uncover Vault 4's refugee policy and uncover some troubling secrets; in the past, Cooper Howard learns a lot more about the company his wife works for.
- Fallout episode 7: The series' penultimate episode sees Lucy and Maximus making a pact after being expelled from their new home and all three of our core trio zero in on Moldaver's location.
- Fallout episode 8: Lucy is finally reunited with her father, and an all-out battle takes place between Moldaver and the Brotherhood of Steel at Griffith Observatory.
Who worked on the Fallout TV show?
Westworld co-creator Jonathan Nolan directed the premiere of the Fallout TV series, and Tomb Raider's Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Silicon Valley's Graham Wagner served as showrunners.
In our interview with the Fallout producers, Geneva said: "Five years ago they called and said we think we're going to get the rights to Fallout and at the time my friend Graham and I were looking for something to collaborate on together. And when I mentioned Fallout to Graham, he just lit up and was like 'This is that's the thing we should collaborate on'. Because it is a mix of comedy, which is his background and drama, which is my background."
How closely does the Fallout TV show follow the franchise?
Fallout is a perject on-boarding point for newcomers to the franchise's bizarre, post-apocalyptic landscape. The TV show tells a brand new story set in and around Vault 33, which is based in Los Angeles. For more information about the show's setting, check out our interview with production designer Howard Cummings.
Essentially, it tells a completely new story of three people — a Vault Dweller, a Ghoul, and a Brotherhood of Steel paladin — living life within the Wasteland, but one that makes full use of the video game franchise's rich lore which veterans are sure to appreciate,
Who's in the Fallout cast?
Walton Goggins is joined by a great cast including Yellowjackets star Ella Purnell and Disjointed's Aaron Moten.
Ella plays Vault Dweller Lucy who comes to the surface for the first time, while Aaron Moten plays a Brotherhood of Steel paladin and Walton Goggins plays The Ghoul. Meanwhile, Twin Peaks legend kyle MacLachlan is The Overseer.
Other cast includes Moisés Arias (The King of Staten Island), Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), Leslie Uggams (Deadpool), Frances Turner (The Boys), Dave Register (Heightened), Zach Cherry (Severance), Johnny Pemberton (Ant-Man), Rodrigo Luzzi (Dead Ringers), Annabel O'Hagan (Law & Order: SVU), and Xelia Mendes-Jones (The Wheel of Time).
Fallout TV show first-look images
Below, you can see some of the original Fallout images that were released ahead of the show's debut, images that debuted in Vanity Fair.
There's so much to look forward to including our first look at Walton Goggins' Ghoul character, and Ella Purnell as Lucy, one of the former Vault Dwellers.
Is there a Fallout trailer?
Yes, several! The official Fallout teaser gave us a look at some of the iconic locations and characters. Expect Vault Dwellers, Brotherhood of Steel paladins, dogmeat, radroaches and some surprises along the way...
A longer trailer was released on March 7, 2024, giving us a much bigger look at the world of Fallout. It also confirms an amended release date of April 11, one day earlier than expected!
