10 Essential Things to Know About the Wasteland Before the Fallout TV Series

The release date for the highly anticipated Fallout TV series has finally been announced, revealing that the show will be coming to Amazon Prime Video on April 12, 2024.

However, if you are not really familiar with the original video games and want to give the TV series a try, it might be quite confusing, as the setting of Fallout is bizarre, unique, and unlike many other post-apocalyptic movies and shows you may have seen.

While little is known about the show's storyline, aside from the fact that it is original, there are some important things you should know about the world of Fallout that will make it a little clearer what to expect from the upcoming project.

1. It Is an Alternate, Retro-Futuristic World

Unlike many entries in the genre, Fallout doesn't even try to predict the future, taking place in an alternate timeline after the Great War that devastated the planet.

The aesthetic of the franchise is heavily influenced by the 1950s and the retro-futurism of Atompunk, with rock and roll and jazz music, bulky technological devices, cars powered by small nuclear reactors, and many other elements that give Fallout a completely unique and instantly recognizable look.

2. The World on Fire

The United States and China have been engaged in a Sino-American war for years, originally caused by a lack of resources, until it culminated in a global nuclear conflict that destroyed most of the world as many other countries allied with one side or the other.

The Great War took place on Saturday, October 23rd, 2077, and according to various in-game sources, China launched the nuclear bombs that hit Pennsylvania and New York first, with the nuclear exchange lasting for two hours and devastating both the U.S. and China.

Some areas suffered less than others, however, as Las Vegas in particular was largely saved by businessman and inventor Robert House (a Howard Hughes-inspired character), who foresaw the deadly conflict and prepared accordingly.

3. Most Bizarre Mutants Aren't Created by Radiation

While some mutants, such as giant radscorpions, were created by radiation, the most terrifying creatures of the Wasteland are actually man-made.

The large and brutish super mutants that resemble the Incredible Hulk from Marvel Comics are actually created by the Forced Evolutionary Virus, or FEV, which was originally developed as a cure for Chinese biochemical weapons.

Due to its obvious side effects, it was repurposed several times, and vats of FEV even survived the war, which later caused many problems for the inhabitants of the Wasteland.

Another iconic monster breed from the Fallout universe, the deathclaws, were genetically engineered by the U.S. to become a living weapon, but escaped from captivity after the war to populate the entire continent.

4. Ghouls Aren't Your Typical Zombies

Considering that one of the main characters of the upcoming series will be a ghoul, their nature should be explained.

While extremely high levels of radiation normally kill humans, it can also turn them into ghouls, who look like rotting corpses and aren't affected by aging, as some of them appeared during the war and are still alive more than two centuries later.

Many ghouls retain their intelligence and personality, but some of them can turn into feral ghouls (who look even worse and act like aggressive zombies) due to various factors.

5. Most Vaults Hide Terrible Secrets

Instead of simply being shelters to protect the rest of humanity from the war, the vast majority of Vaults are designed to conduct all sorts of experiments on their inhabitants, some of which are utterly depraved and horrifying.

For example, while Vault 111 was used to study the effects of cryogenic freezing (which is relatively harmless), Vault 34 was deliberately overstocked with firearms with no safety precautions, resulting in most of its inhabitants murdering each other.

6. Aliens Are Real in Fallout

Considering Fallout's heavy reliance on the 1950s sci-fi entries, the fact that aliens exist in the games is not particularly shocking.

The aliens, who look like walking stereotypes with their big heads and eyes and shiny spacesuits, have either appeared or been referenced in every game in the franchise, and an add-on for Fallout 3, Mothership Zeta, was entirely dedicated to them.

7. Do Androids Dream of Nuclear Sheep?

The fact that the Fallout TV series is being created by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, who previously worked on the Westworld TV series, has some fans speculating that androids may make an appearance in the upcoming project.

Synths exist in the Fallout universe, created by The Institute, a technologically advanced faction headquartered near Boston, but given that the show is set on the West Coast, the chances of their appearance are slim.

8. The Show Returns To An Iconic Location

Speaking of the West Coast, one of the locations the show will feature, judging by the promotional material, is Los Angeles, now known as the Boneyard.

Its only appearance in the franchise was back in 1997 with the release of the first game in the series, although it has been referenced many times in other installments.

9. Isolationist Technocrats or Aggressive Militarists?

The series teaser shown at Gamescom 2023 featured a group of people in power armor, most likely members of the Brotherhood of Steel.

The faction has had several iterations over the course of the franchise, starting out as isolationists bent on preserving old-world technology, then becoming heroic altruists, then aggressive militarists, causing massive outrage among die-hard fans.

Hopefully, with the show sharing the same location as the first games, its take on the faction will be more true to its roots than the controversial Fallout 3 and 4.

10. The Evil Government

Depending on the time period in which the series takes place, the characters may encounter the Enclave, a fascist faction that is the self-proclaimed continuation of the U.S. government, bent on establishing their tyrannical rule over the Wasteland.

They were severely damaged in Fallout 2 and finally destroyed in Fallout 3, so if the series takes place after that, there may only be references to their atrocities.