The story
Two centuries after nuclear war reduced America to rubble, sheltered vault-dweller Lucy MacLean leaves the safety of Vault 33 for the irradiated ruins of Los Angeles to find her kidnapped father. Out in the wasteland she crosses paths with Maximus, a squire of the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel, and the Ghoul, a mutated gunslinger and bounty hunter, in a violent, darkly funny world.
Why it matters
Fallout showed that video game adaptations could be event television on a streamer: Amazon said it drew 65 million viewers in its first 16 days, second only to The Rings of Power on Prime Video, it earned an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy nomination, and it sent players flocking back to the games.
Notable facts
- Jonathan Nolan, whose Kilter Films produces with Bethesda Game Studios, directed the first three episodes. (source)
- According to Amazon, it drew 65 million viewers in its first 16 days and had passed 100 million by October 2024. (source)
- Its 2296 setting is the furthest in the future the Fallout franchise has gone. (source)
- After the show's launch, the original Fallout game saw a 160% jump in players on Steam. (source)