By Josh Nason
The second season of Fallout, a breakout hit for Amazon Prime Video in its first season, just wrapped up in February. Based on the popular video game, it has big stars, lots of cameos, a lot of action, and a lot of special effects (aka a big budget).
Been kicking the digital tires on whether to check it out? Allow me to help you with another edition of Should You Watch, covering seasons one and two of Fallout.
Should You Watch Fallout (Amazon Prime Video)?
How many seasons?
Two and renewed for a third.
How many episodes?
16.
What type of show is it?
Sci-fi drama/video game adaptation.
What year(s) did it come out?
2024, 2025
Where can I currently find it?
Amazon Prime Video.
Who is it for?
Fans of the video game or sci-fi in general, especially those who love post-apocalyptic shows or movies.
What’s the ad-free commit level?
These are healthy sized episodes so you’re looking at 15.2 hours total that can be shaved down to 13 if you cut out the opening & closing credits (2.2 hours).
Is there a bailout episode?
If you’re not into this after the first one, you can leave.
Any interesting background in the show’s creation?
The video game debuted in 1997 (!) and spawned a multitude of spinoffs and four games in the direct lineage. Amazon bought the rights for a live action version in 2020 and here we are. Jonathan Nolan was a big part of getting game developer Bethesda Studios to sign on after they had been pitched doing one since 2008, turning down other offers due to quality concerns.
Nolan, Christopher Nolan’s brother, directed the first three episodes and the first season had a sizable budget of $153 million. Use that in your next trivia game or to impress your neighbor.
Are there actors the average TV watcher would recognize?
Walton Goggins, Ella Purnell, Kyle MacLachlan, Macauley Culkin, Michael Emerson, Justin Theroux, Sarita Choudhury, Zach Cherry, Kumail Nanjiani.
Yes, I was as surprised as you are that Goggins The God is in this show.
What’s the reaction been?
The first season became Amazon’s second-most watched show of all time in just over two weeks of it being released. (I believe they dropped all eight episodes at once) and had over 100 million views by October 2024. The second season has also been a big hit, but no cumulative numbers have emerged yet. They did a weekly drop which apparently annoyed some folks. That’s the way it used to be, friends.
The first season earned three Emmy nominations (no wins) and 14 Creative Emmy nominations (two wins). Not bad for a video game adaptation, eh?
What’s the main plot in a sentence?
Different characters navigate a post-apocalyptic world in 2077 with lots of questions and revelations about how they all got there and where they are going.
How about another sentence?
Life is weird once you get outside a Vault. Like, really weird.
What’s the rewatchability factor?
Low.
If you like these shows, you’ll like this one:
Westworld, The Mandalorian, The Walking Dead
Is this a first or second screen show?
I found s1 to be more first screen than second with s2 as more second screen than first. Yes, that’s a sentence I just wrote.
Should you watch Fallout?
Before I get into this, I need to explain how bad the Prime Video ad breaks are in case you are unaware. They are LONG. I mean, like, 2:30 minutes long which feels like an hour in 2026 terms. I don’t watch enough Prime shows to justifying paying up, but if I was binging Fallout from the start, I would.
I enjoyed the first season of Fallout a lot, but I struggled with the second season and found it more slow than the first. Rotten Tomatoes would disagree (96% for the second season compared to 93% for the first) while Metacritic has both at 73% (generally favorable).
The show looks like it cost as much as it did. The special effects are incredible and the world building in season one is great, especially for someone like myself who had zero attachment to the video game. They didn’t skimp on season two, either.
The acting is pretty good although there’s a lot of characters to keep up with, especially in s2. Goggins and Purnell are consistent and there’s a lot of fun Leo Point guest stars/cameos throughout. To that end, s1 felt more fun than s2 which felt less consequential and interesting. More backstory is filled in and my take from reading reviews after the fact made it seem like some of the reveals were what fans were waiting for or anticipating. I can’t hate it — I’m the same way with Marvel stuff.
As mentioned earlier, these are meaty episodes so you’re likely not ripping through a one night binge of several episodes. Nor do you need to.
If you’re into sci-fi and post-apocalyptic worlds with a touch or ten of humor, give the first season a shot for sure. If you enjoy that, keep on rollin’.
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