Fallout Isn’t Based on Any of the Games
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VIDEO GAME ADAPTATIONS are finally getting good. The Last of Us became an instant hit for HBO, taking the bleak, yet engrossing tale of apocalypse survivors and transforming the games into a full-fledged television series. Then there was Halo. While the show didn't initially convince viewers, the second season has a far better Rotten Tomatoes score than its first season.
Prime Video is making their own attempt now to have a fledging video game show with Fallout, based on the popular franchise of the same name. Jonathan Nolan (known for co-writing award-winning films alongside his brother Christopher Nolan) directs the first three episodes of the show.
While The Last of Us has a straightforward story and two main characters who you get to know over the course of the game, Fallout is based on a first-person shooter. Players can be anyone they want–and usually have a mystical moniker–and the games are known for taking place in a different city and time with each iteration. It may be difficult for the show to drop viewers in the midst of so much upheaval and mysterious characters like "The Lone Wanderer" or "The Chosen One" running around.
So, for simplicity's sake, and so that the show can tell its own story without the need for real-world landmarks peppered throughout, Fallout is set in a new location and new time. Whether you're someone who's never touched video games before, or a Fallout superfan, here's what you need to know about the show.
Where is the Fallout show set?
The show takes place in Los Angeles, a location never explored before in the game, although California and the West Coast is well-explored in the franchise. Previous locations in the games include Las Vegas, Boston, and Washington, D.C.
It's also worth noting the show takes place in a retrofuturistic post-apocalyptic version of Los Angeles, so don't expect to point out notable landmarks in each episode.
When is the Fallout show set?
While the video games take place over various centuries (and also don't necessarily overlap), the Fallout show takes place 219 years after the nuclear fallout in 2077.
While the show is still within the general timeframe of the games, the location is separate enough that characters from the games likely wouldn't show up on the show. Fallout 3 takes place 200 years after the nuclear fallout as well, but is set on the complete other side of the country, where there's likely little to no connection. Fallout 4 is 10 years after its predecessor, but also takes place in New England. And Fallout: New Vegas is set a decade before the show, although it does take place in California and Nevada.
To add onto the show's isolated plot, the show's main character (much like the games), is a "vault dweller," who lives underground for the entirety of her life. As far as vault dwellers know, the surface is a dangerous, irradiated place, unsuitable for human life. They rarely venture outside of their safe, self-sustaining homes. That means anyone emerging after generations of life underground has little knowledge of the outside world, its messy politics, and warring factions. If someone were to mention any lore or rumors regarding the games's histories, it probably wouldn't register to a vault dweller anyway.
All that said, the show is canon, as IGN reports, so it's still possible an Easter egg or two could pop up for any eagle-eyed fans out there.
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