Fallout TV show director didn't set out to please the game's fans: "I don't think you really can set out to please the fans of anything"

Jonathan Nolan and Ella Purnell
(Image credit: Prime Video)

Fallout TV show director Jonathan Nolan has explained that he approached the video game adaptation with the intention of pleasing original fans of the franchise.

While speaking at a recent press event (via T3), Nolan said that going into the Prime Video series with the sole aim of appeasing fans of the games would have been "a fool's errand".

"I don't think you really can set out to please the fans of anything," he continued. "Or please anyone other than yourself. I think you have to come into this trying to make the show that you want to make and trusting that, as fans of the game [ourselves], we would find the pieces that were essential to us... and try to do the best version."

Set in a retrofuturistic apocalyptic version of Los Angeles, Fallout sees survivors forced to live in underground bunkers to stay safe from radiation, mutants, and bandits – and preserve humanity in the event of a full-blown nuclear apocalypse. The cast includes Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, Kyle MacLachlan, Leslie Uggams, Zach Cherry, and Matt Berry.

The show was developed by Nolan and Lisa Joy, the brains behind Westworld, and is based on the video game franchise of the same name. The first installment was released back in 1997, with four sequels and multiple spin-offs following. A new game, Fallout 5, is currently in development. 

All eight episodes of Fallout will arrive on Prime Video on April 11. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other biggest new TV shows on the way in 2024. 

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.