Walton Goggins' 94% RT Video Game Adaptation Reclaims Its Streaming Throne With Season 2

This past week was officially Fallout week on Prime Video. Season 2 of the smash-hit post-apocalyptic, retro-futuristic video game adaptation premiered one day early on Tuesday, ending an over-year-and-a-half-long wait for the next chapter in the journey of Lucy (Ella Purnell), The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), and Maximus (Aaron Moten). So far, the results have been stellar, kicking off with an improved 96% score from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes as the series heads for New Vegas. Now, the series, as expected, is going nuclear on the streaming charts, landing back at the top spot among Prime Video television series and completely dwarfing the runners-up, Maxton Hall – The World Between Us and The Mighty Nein.

Even before the debut of Season 2, Fallout had already landed in rare air on Amazon’s platform. In less than six months after its premiere, the series became one of just two in Prime Video history to eclipse 100 million viewers, joining The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Expectations are sky-high for what creators Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet can accomplish coming off a debut season that replicated the look and feel of the Bethesda and Interplay Entertainment games while telling its own intriguing tale that captured the attention of longtime fans and newcomers alike. With more hype than ever and a New Vegas setting ripped out of what’s widely seen as the franchise’s best game, the sky’s the limit for where the series can end up. Collider’s Therese Lacson, for her part, believes it’s far from a one-hit-wonder after seeing the first six episodes, writing in her 8/10 review, “What made Season 1 so good wasn’t a fluke at all; it was a proof of concept and a promise of a wholly unique sci-fi series that has no equal.”

Season 2 picks up shortly after the confrontation at the Griffith Observatory that sent Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan) running for New Vegas in a suit of power armor. Lucy sets out in search of her father alongside The Ghoul, who’s determined to get answers about his family from the Vault-Tec junior executive. Their journey kicks off in Novac and continues to an abandoned vault, giving them extra insight into just how monstrous he can be. At the center of their search, however, is the man who runs New Vegas, the enigmatic Robert House (Justin Theroux), who, as the Ghoul mentions, nobody is safe from. Between flashbacks and the present-day wasteland, the rest of the season will explore the RobCo CEO, more of the Ghoul’s past, the Brotherhood of Steel’s next steps, the coming conflict between the various factions at play in and around the Mojave, and much more.

‘Fallout’ Is Moving Full Speed Ahead on Season 3

The unprecedented popularity of Fallout spurred Amazon to act aggressively and secure the series for a third season well before Season 2 even aired. It’s also designed to help the team keep cranking out new installments of the megahit as fast as possible. The show’s recent return is already a welcome change in an era where new seasons can take as long as two or even three years to make, but things might be moving even faster going forward. In an interview before the Season 2 premiere, Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard confirmed that writing is well underway, with Bethesda working closely with the team to ensure the odd, violent, radioactive world remains as faithful to the games as possible.

Furthermore, executive producer and director Jonathan Nolan shared in a separate conversation that everyone aboard was expected to get back to filming in the wasteland relatively soon and continue to counter that modern television problem. He has confidence in the team’s ability to keep the quest going quickly without sacrificing any of what makes the series so great.

“In regards to season 3, we are hoping to be shooting again next summer. Our incredibly talented cast and crew were able to work quickly enough to get back on the air in a reasonable amount of time. I think what’s happened in television in terms of taking longer and longer from season to season is an unfortunate trend. You don’t want the show to lose any of its scope, but we know we would like to be on the air as soon as we can.”

Fallout Season 2 airs new episodes every Wednesday on Prime Video. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the biggest streaming successes throughout the year.