Fallout (TV Series)

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About

Fallout is a television series based on the Fallout video game series. The series was announced in July 2020 and stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Clifton Moten and Walton Goggins in the main roles. Set in 2296 in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles and nearby areas over 200 years after a nuclear war, the series premiered in April 2024 to positive reviews.

History

On July 2nd, 2020, Amazon Studios and Bethesda Softworks announced a live-action adaptation of the Fallout video game series, with producer Jonathan Nolan attached to the production.^[1] The announcement video (shown below) received over 20,000 reposts and 45,000 likes on X^[2] / Twitter in three years.

#PleaseStandBy. @AmazonStudios #KilterFilms pic.twitter.com/7YmLZKIPAe

— Fallout (@Fallout) July 2, 2020

The series began filming on July 5th, 2022,^[3] with actors Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins and Kyle McLachlan joining the cast. On August 23rd, the 2024 release for the series was confirmed.^[4] On October 23rd, 2023, the X^[5] / Twitter account for the series revealed the April 12th, 2024, premiere date (video shown below).

PLEASE REMAIN CALM. An Important Dated Message Brought to You By Your Friends at @PrimeVideo. pic.twitter.com/yyaFynVjAK

— FALLOUT⚡️ (@falloutonprime) October 23, 2023

On November 28th, 2023, Vanity Fair^[6] released several "first look" images from the series. Later that day, film news X^[7] account @DiscussingFilm posted the images, with the post garnering over 9,300 reposts and 49,000 likes in one day (shown below).

Premiere

On March 7th, 2024, the official trailer for Fallout premiered, garnering over 24 million views on YouTube^[8] in one month (shown below).

On April 10th, 2024, the first season of the series, consisting of eight episodes, premiered on Amazon Prime Video.^[9]

Reception

The show was met with positive reviews from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes,^[10] Fallout had a critic review score of 93% and an average audience score of 86% as of April 12th, 2024. On IMDb,^[9] the show had a rating of 8.7 out of 10 with over 12,000 votes as of April 12th, 2024.

Online Reactions

The release of 'first look' images in November 2023 was followed by discussions on social media as users shared their reactions and wrote about their expectations from the upcoming series. On November 28th, 2023, X^[11] user @LavenderGhast made a post that received over 380 reposts and 4,800 likes in one day (shown below, left). On November 29th, X^[12] user @gahhnie made an Unspoken Rizz vs. Sexual Harassment meme about a preview image of Power Armor in the series, with the post garnering over 80 reposts and 900 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Following the premiere of the series, multiple posts about the show went viral on social media, including posts praising the writing and the general quality of the show,^[13]^[14]^[15] and posts suggesting that the Fallout storyline, particularly parts related to Fallout: New Vegas, was retconned in the series.

Retcon Allegations

Editor's Note: This section contains minor spoilers; read at your own caution.

Following the premiere of the series, some fans alleged that the series retconned the events of the first two Fallout games and Fallout: New Vegas, all of them developed by other companies rather than Bethesda, the current owner of the IP. In the series, it is revealed that Shady Sands, the first capital of the New California Republic, fell in 2277 and was destroyed by a nuclear detonation at some point between 2277 and 2296, the year the show takes place. The location of Shady Sands also differs from Fallout and Fallout 2.

Additionally, New Vegas, a major location in 2281, the year Fallout: New Vegas events take place, is shown dark and supposedly abandoned.

Several posts about the supposed retconning went viral on X^[16]^[17]^[18] / Twitter in the days following the show's premiere (examples shown below).