Prime Video’s take on the beloved Fallout franchise has proven to be a hit among both fans of the games and newcomers to the series. Just the budget, which is clearly visible in the production design, is enough to show how much faith the creators had in the show, but there’s more to thank for its overall success.
For starters, executive producers Jonah Nolan and Todd Howard share an extensive history with the IP that spans years, and when there’s that much love and dedication put into an adaptation, it is bound to succeed.
Prime Video’s Fallout TV Show Serves as Its Own Entry in the Franchise
One of the major reasons why Prime Video’s Fallout adaptation has turned out to be so great is its ability to not just be a direct retelling of any of the stories already told in the video games while simultaneously staying faithful to the world that the franchise introduced a long time ago.
In fact, the director of Bethesda Game Studios, Todd Howard, was not necessarily too fond of the idea of the series getting adapted into other forms of media, but some early conversations with creator Jonah Nolan managed to change his mind due to a specific condition.
“I wanted something that would stand up as another entry in the series as opposed to retelling one of the games we did,” stated Howard in a recent interview, as he wanted the TV show creators to treat the project as something that would “move the timeline forward and do some great things.”
This is the point where Nolan caught the attention of a once-skeptical Todd Howard, as the Fallout show creator was basically thinking of telling a new story through his adaptation as well. Of course, it also helped Nolan’s case that Howard was already a fan of his other works in the realms of film and television, with HBO’s Westworld being quite a strong part of his portfolio.
Juggling Different Tones Was the Main Challenge for the Creators
Perhaps the biggest challenge that the creators had to face with developing Prime Video’s show was getting the tone of the franchise exactly right because the series has always had various tones intertwined with one another.
“I think the trick with Fallout is the world itself and how you go between all those different tones that the games have,” continued Howard, as he gave props to the adaptation for handling it “really, really well.”
Which is why translating these different tones into another medium was the main topic of discussion during all of the “initial conversations” between the executive producers.
Have you had the chance to check out Prime Video’s Fallout adaptation? Do you think it lives up to the iconic gaming franchise? Let us know in the comments!
