Fallout creator Todd Howard has explained what the TV series does better than the video games.

The post-apocalyptic drama — which is directly based on the popular video game franchise — will follow citizens of 1950s Los Angeles, who are forced to live in underground bunkers to shield themselves from radiation, mutants and other threats.

Speaking to Digital Spy and other press at the show's London premiere screening, Howard revealed that the series will delve deeper into the past to develop the character's further.

walton goggins, fallout
Prime Video

Related: Fallout series releases first-look images with Yellowjackets star

"The one thing the show was able to do that we were never able to do in the games, and the ways that we would have loved, was show so much of the past, because that's one of the things that really makes the world of Fallout special," he said.

"So the way the show mines that, Walton's [Goggins] character [The Ghoul] and the other things that occur in the past... they just did so many great things."

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He continued: "And the way we discussed it, there was so much to mine there in the franchise," adding that it would be "really, really special if you're already a fan of the series."

Fallout 4
Bethesda

Related: Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell stars in new trailer for post-apocalyptic show Fallout

The producer went on to explain how the writers wanted the Prime Video adaptation to tell an "original story."

"The main thing we approached this was to do something new. You know, treat it like we do with each game where we want to tell an original story," he said.

"Find some good geography and let's say the main character in all of the Fallout games and everything we've done is the world itself. And so being able to work with all of these people [on] a new story [and] thought about what would the next chapter be and moving it forward."

As well as Goggins, Fallout also stars Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell, Twin Peaks' Kyle MacLachlan, The Wheel of Time's Xelia Mendes-Jones and Emancipation's Aaron Moten.

Fallout will premiere on Prime Video on April 12, 2024.

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Sara Baalla
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Sara is an entertainment journalist who specialises in TV and film. After studying journalism at the University of Roehampton, Sara joined Digital Spy in 2023, writing news (and the occasional feature) on all things entertainment. She has also written for the culture desk at The Evening Standard. A lover of all things TV and film, Sara can wax lyrical about everything from Bridgerton to The Witcher. She can also recite entire episodes of New GirlBrooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. In her spare time, Sara loves to knit, crochet and cross-stitch. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Sara counts Samantha Barks as one of her heroes and is a loyal fan of Jodie Comer.

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Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.

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