While many video game adaptations have struggled to translate the source material, Amazon has struck gold with its new Fallout TV series, finding its very own The Last of Us moment. The series’ scorching success led Prime Video to greenlight Fallout season two, just a week after its premiere. The show’s deft blend of the franchise’s trademark dark humour, evocative wasteland atmosphere, quirky characters, and a precariously balanced world has cemented its status as a post-apocalyptic powerhouse.
According to the streamer, Fallout season one has not only cracked Prime Video’s top three most-watched titles ever, but also holds the crown for the most-watched season globally since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In fact, Variety now reports, citing a press release, that a whopping 65 million viewers have already watched the first season in its first 16 days of release, and is Amazon’s most-watched show ever among people aged 18-34.
Sharing their excitement over the season renewal, Fallout producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy of Kilter Films said in a joint statement, “Praise be to our insanely brilliant showrunners, Geneva (Robertson-Dworet) and Graham (Wagner), to our kick-ass cast, to Todd and James and all the legends at Bethesda, and to Jen, Vernon and the amazing team at Amazon for their incredible support of this show. We can’t wait to blow up the world all over again.”
The TV series showrunners further added, “Holy sh*t. Thank you to Jonah, Kilter, Bethesda and Amazon for having the courage to make a show that gravely tackles all of society’s most serious problems these days — cannibalism, incest, jello cake. More to come!”
Now, with the renewal of season two, the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout looks set to expand, promising to bring even more mutants, mayhem, and even a glimpse of New Vegas’ glittering chaos. But what’s in store for the upcoming season, and who will join the irradiated ensemble cast? Here’s all we know about what is or may be coming in Fallout Season 2.
Fallout Season 2 Production Update and Predicted Release Timeline
As Fallout’s first season has only just landed on Prime Video and season two was only greenlit a few days ago, there’s still no official word on its release date. However, we do know Fallout season two will be filmed in California, a shift from New York and Utah where season one was filmed. In fact, even before season two was officially greenlit, it was reported that Prime Video had been granted USD$153 million (or AUD$234 million) in qualified expenditures by the California Film Commission, suggesting a shift from New York and Utah.
That said, no filming or production dates have been revealed yet, and chances are Fallout season two likely won’t hit screens until 2026 at the earliest.
Fallout Season 2 Cast Expectations
With no major character deaths (so far) in the first season, Fallout season two is expected to see the return of its core cast, including Ella Purnell as Lucy, Aaron Moten as Maximus, and Walton Goggins as the Ghoul. Sarita Choudhury’s Lee Moldaver, who died in the series finale, will likely not return for the second season but could have a few cameo appearances via past sequences or flashbacks. The remaining cast members, including Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Michael Emerson, Leslie Uggams, Frances Turner, Dave Register, Zach Cherry, Johnny Pemberton, Rodrigo Luzzi, Annabel O’Hagan, and Xelia Mendes-Jones, are all expected to return for the second season.
Fallout season two may also introduce new characters to the narrative, with Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul’s name being floated as a possible addition. Showrunner and producer Jonathan Nolan, who previously worked with Paul on Westworld, mentioned that Paul is a big fan of the show.
When asked if anyone had reached out about joining the cast, Nolan offered a cryptic response, saying, “Aaron Paul was at the premiere, a human being I love so much. And he was very polite. He was very enthusiastic about the show. There was sort of an unspoken kind of like, ‘What’s up, man?'” Who knows, maybe Aaron Paul will find his way to the wasteland after all. Here’s a full Fallout season two cast prediction, though future announcements may alter this lineup.
- Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean
- Aaron Moten as Maximus
- Walton Goggins as The Ghoul/Cooper Howard
- Kyle MacLachlan as Hank MacLean
- Moisés Arias as Norm MacLean
- Xelia Mendes-Jones as Dane
- Johnny Pemberton as Thaddeus
- Frances Turner as Barb Howard
- Leslie Uggams as Betty Pearson
What We Think Season 2 of Fallout Will Be About
There is no official synopsis for Fallout season two yet, so we can only guess what the plot for the upcoming instalment will be. Piecing together some clues from season one wrapped up, it looks like the action might shift to the desert metropolis of New Vegas, the only major city relatively untouched by the nuclear devastation that ravaged North America. The biggest easter egg pointing toward the possibility of a New Vegas setting is the season one finale where Kyle’s Hank can be seen checking out a skyline that looks a lot like New Vegas. And if that’s not enough, the end credits give us a big clue too. The end credits tease the New Vegas’ Strip, zipping past the Tops Casino, and end with a shiny new sign that reads, “Welcome to Fabulous New Vegas.”
Additionally, showrunner Nolan himself previously hinted at his desire to explore “one locale in particular close to my heart” he’d love to explore if the show got a thumbs-up for Fallout season two. “You’d be remiss, almost irresponsible to not have started to talk about where your story could take you. So we have been talking from the beginning about how this would develop and evolve in subsequent seasons, if we should be so lucky,” said Nolan before the renewal news.
Even Graham Wagner, one of the co-showrunners, acknowledged that certain key elements of the Fallout franchise were intentionally reserved for future seasons. He explained, “We wanted to get Deathclaws, but we didn’t want to just throw it away. It’s such a monumental piece. We want to save something for season two to be able to do it properly, not just added on to the massive world building we had to do already in season one. So season two, we’re very excited to finally tackle one of the most iconic elements of the games.”
In a recent interview with GQ, showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet hinted at what they’re excited to explore in the upcoming season, including Lucy’s reasons for pursuing her father. Geneva Robertson-Dworet mentioned they’re eager to explore Lucy’s motives further, suggesting that her curiosity is a driving force.
“What exactly her precise motive is is something we’re very excited to dive into more in season two, but I wouldn’t ever underestimate Lucy’s curiosity as something that’s motivating her deep down,” Robertson-Dworet said. “As much as she leaves to find her father in the pilot, she also wants to fuckin’ know what’s out that door. Similarly, over the course of the season, she’s learned that everything she thought about the world, in her vault, was wrong, right? … There’s a certain amount of, ‘I want to understand, I want to leave the cave again.’ In a way, it’s a mirror image to the pilot.”
How Does Fallout Season 1 End?
Based on Bethesda’s popular video game franchise, Fallout season one takes place 200 years after the “Great War of 2077,” a nuclear conflict triggered by dwindling resources, and follows Lucy MacLean, a former Vault dweller, who has known no life beyond the confines of Vault 33 is forced to leave her so-called home to find and rescue her father. Along the way, she encounters Maximus, a soldier seeking order amidst the chaos, and Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul, a seasoned bounty hunter familiar with the harsh realities beyond the Vaults.
Fallout season one ends with Lucy finally tracking down her father, Overseer Hank (played by Kyle MacLachlan), who is being held captive by the villainous Lee Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury). Lucy learns about her father’s origins and history when Choudhury’s Moldaver reveals that Hank was a former Vault-Tec employee who had been cryogenically frozen and reanimated hundreds of years later. She even lets out that Hank was the one who killed Lucy’s mother and that he was responsible for the nuclear bombing of Shady Sands, which turned Rose (Lucy’s mother) into a feral ghoul.
The season finale culminates with Hank’s dramatic escape in Maximus’ formidable power armour as he soars away amidst the chaotic clash between the Brotherhood of Steel and Moldaver’s New California Republic raiders. Believing his family might still be alive, The Ghoul aka Howard offers to guide Lucy east to find Hank, who he thinks might lead him to them.
Fallout season one wrapped up with a flurry of revelations and unresolved threads. Lucy’s quest to rescue her father, Overseer Hank, from the clutches of Lee Moldaver reached a climax, revealing shocking truths about Hank’s past involvement with Vault-Tec and the origins of the devastating nuclear war. Season one, also doesn’t reveal what happened to Lucy’s brother, Norm, who discovers the secrets of Vault 31, finding out his father’s secret and Vault-Tec’s cryogenically stored Junior executives, overseen by the cyborg brain-on-wheels of Bud, who traps him in Vault 31. With Lucy and The Ghoul uniting in their pursuit of justice against Vault-Tec along with the hint of New Vegas on the horizon, it’s clear their journey is far from over.
Where to Watch Fallout?
If you’re craving some post-apocalyptic fix, then season one of Fallout has you covered. With all eight gripping episodes now streaming exclusively on Prime Video, you can plunge headfirst into a world ravaged by nuclear war and binge-watch at your leisure.
