‘Fallout’ is a hit with fans and critics. Will its apocalyptic satire win Emmy voters?

It only takes one episode to see why Prime Video’s “Fallout” has become a hit. After a brief prologue, the first installment of this video game adaptation kicks off with a series of nuclear mushroom clouds, followed by the irresistible subtitle “219 Years Later…”. In short order, we’re introduced to a heroine (played by the plucky, saucer-eyed Ella Purnell), an antihero (an unpredictable Aaron Moten) and a villain (Walton Goggins, in grotesque makeup and chewing up every scene he’s in). Purnell’s Lucy lives in a suspiciously cheery underground society that plans to rebuild civilization, but quickly discovers not all is as it seems in her world. There are jokes aplenty, thrilling action sequences, and big twists, and by the end of the episode, Lucy emerges from her vault to embark on a classic hero’s journey of self-discovery across the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

“Fallout” is ambitious TV, but it’s also familiar and accessible, much more so than EP Jonathan Nolan’s chilly, cerebral “Westworld.” The tone of the series is equal parts scary and silly, with a sunny mid-century futurist aesthetic punctuated by shocking violence and B-movie terrors straight from the Black Lagoon. In “Fallout’s” irradiated California, killer robots speak in posh British accents, and the saccharine likes of The Andrews Sisters and Perry Como soundtrack murderous rampages. This worldbuilding is the biggest selling point of the megaton game franchise the show is based on, and it’s showcased flawlessly here; Amazon’s reported nine-figure budget is evident in this “Jetsons” meets “Mad Max” vision of a broken Los Angeles submerged in centuries of dust and grime.

Amazon has to be thrilled with “Fallout’s” performance, with a reported 65 million people watching in the first 16 days. It’s Prime’s most-watched series ever among those aged 18-34, and the second-most watched overall, after “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power.” The latter series was a billion-dollar gamble that Amazon pushed heavily, and it landed lukewarmly with many fans – a sizeable percentage of whom never made it to the season finale. Word of mouth is looking much stronger for “Fallout,” and the critical consensus is more robust, with a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score to “Rings”’ 83%.

If “Fallout” is going to be a serious awards contender, however, it has to rise above the past baggage of its source material.

Sci-fi and fantasy TV has picked up considerably in esteem since the reign of “Game Of Thrones,” the four-time Emmy winner for Best Drama Series, but “Thrones” was based on an award-winning literary series. Video game adaptations, long seen as the bottom of the IP barrel, have a ways to go to earn the same kind of prestige. In film, the genre is associated with third-rate action franchises like “Resident Evil” and “Assassin’s Creed” that even fans of the games can’t muster up much enthusiasm for; meanwhile, game-to-screen TV has been strictly kiddie fare like “The Super Mario Bros Super Show” for most of gaming’s history. Only in the last few years, thanks to the domination of tech-savvy streaming networks, have shows like “Halo” and “Twisted Metal” made a serious play for adult viewers, and in 2022 the League of Legends adaptation “Arcane” finally broke the awards drought with a Best Animated Program Emmy win.

“Fallout” will surely draw comparisons to “The Last Of Us,” which landed with the full weight of HBO’s pre-Max imprimatur en route to 24 Emmy nominations, including cracking the top drama series lineup. Both shows are based on blockbuster game franchises set after global calamities and follow a young heroine and a jaded older guide touring the wastes, with a few poignant episodic detours. But they’re a lot less similar than that summary would suggest. Where “The Last Of Us” was deadly serious, straining for prestige-TV credibility, “Fallout” is winking, satirical, and shamelessly willing to go over-the-top (like a sequence where a character ends up neck deep in a goopy, puppet-like radioactive fish).

Does this commitment to comedy give “Fallout’s” awards prospects a short half-life? Dramas like “Succession” and “The White Lotus” have certainly not been held back at the Emmys by their blackly comic tone, but the combination of déclassé source material, sudden gore and gross-out comedy might be tough for even gaming-curious voters to fully embrace. On the other hand, “Fallout’s” mystery-box storytelling and sly corporate satire bring to mind Apple TV+’s double-digit Emmy nominee “Severance,” and the popular IP plus Prime’s wider reach give “Fallout” potentially a sizeable cultural footprint.

In film, where comic book movies are flagging, many industry watchers see games as the next major IP market. Gamers are growing up, and even older players who no longer have endless time to sink into an open-world game can thrill to the nostalgic rush of TV based on decades-old franchises like “Fallout.” The biggest thing holding the series back might be its binge release, which swallowed some of its hype and suggested Amazon was careful about committing to extended promotion after the disappointment of “Rings Of Power.” With a second season already greenlit and fans and critics hooked, Amazon should feel confident about busting the vault doors open to give “Fallout” a major Emmy push.