Prime Video’s long-anticipated Fallout TV series premiered last week, packed with surprises and nods to the popular game franchise.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the series follows three main characters: Lucy MacLean from the Vaults, Maximus from the Brotherhood of Steel, and The Ghoul, a mysterious wanderer.
As the story unfolds, their paths repeatedly intersect. The first episode gives viewers a look inside a Vault, but the settings soon change as the characters get on their adventures, ranging from deserted towns to Air Force bases.
While the series features impressive visual effects, many filming locations are real places. Fallout’s story leads us to abandoned cities, a result of the Great War depicted in the series.
Kolmanskop, Namibia
A notable location is Shady Sands, a town devastated by a nuclear bomb and prominently featured in the games. In the TV adaptation, Shady Sands was recreated by filming in Kolmanskop, Namibia.
This ghost town was once prosperous but was abandoned due to intensive mining activities, leaving behind an eerie, deserted landscape. Today, Kolmanskop offers guided tours, allowing visitors to explore its “forbidden zone.”
Despite being situated in the Namib Desert, Kolmanskop serves as the backdrop for a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles in the Fallout series, showcasing a diverse cast of characters navigating its sandy terrain.
The Brotherhood of Steel is based at Wendover Air Force Base in Utah
The Brotherhood of Steel, a major group in the Fallout games, focuses on saving old-world technology. For the Prime Video series, they use Wendover Air Force Base in Utah as their base.
Wendover has a history dating back to World War II, when it trained bomber crews. Now, it’s Wendover Airport, open to the public as a museum. The base fits well for the Brotherhood’s image in the show.
In the game Fallout 4, the Red Rocket truck stop is where players first meet a dog named Dogmeat. This friendly but fierce dog can join players on their journeys.
In the TV series, this truck stop appears briefly in The Radio episode as a fun Easter egg. The Red Rocket scene was filmed at a real gas station in Nyack, New York.
Nyack is a historic village in Rockland County. The gas station already looked a bit like Red Rocket, and the Fallout team made it fit the Wasteland’s vibe even better. The attention to detail shows the care the production team put into even the smallest parts of the series.
