Over the last year, we’ve gotten two magnificent video game adaptations – The Last of Us and Fallout. In 2023, we were blown away by The Last of Us, and then, Fallout premiered on the 2024 TV schedule, and it was met with acclaim too. Now, Jonathan Nolan, one of the masterminds behind what is easily considered one of Amazon Primes’ best shows, has opened up about why the success the HBO adaptation found was great for his series.
Before The Last of Us, there weren’t many incredible dramas based on video games. This show about Joel and Ellie traveling together during a zombie apocalypse was dramatic, serious and incredibly well-done thanks to Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s leadership and incredible performances from Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal and The Last of Us cast. This raised the bar for all video game adaptations that came after, including Fallout.
However, that didn’t intimidate Fallout’s director and executive producer Jonathan Nolan. In fact, it made things better, as he told THR:
I was delighted. To your point, when Todd and I first sat down for lunch, the bar was not only not high, it was non-existent — especially in the TV space. You would have people adapting a first-person game and [a studio would be like,] ‘So the show is going to have a first-person point of view.’ No, that’s a grammatical tick of the game, that’s not how you adapt it. It’s always nice to be the first one. But when somebody makes something as good as The Last of Us, it makes it easier, because suddenly everyone understands what’s possible.
This answer was in response to a question centered around the expectations the HBO show set for other projects like it. The outlet asked the director if he thought at any point “Damn, now the bar is suddenly high,” and he responded saying he wasn’t.
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If anything, it was great that Fallout came after The Last of Us, because audiences likely had more faith going into it because they had gotten such a great video game adaptation last year. I know I certainly had that thought when I started watching it.
Outside of the fact that these shows are both video game adaptations set in post-apocalyptic worlds, they really don’t have that much in common.
Tonally, the Prime Video series is way funnier than the HBO project (which is a straight drama). Also, The Last of Us is a direct adaptation of the video game it’s based on, whereas Fallout took types of characters and concepts from the world of the games and created a totally new story within the world fans of the game already knew.
However, despite the tonal differences, another thing these shows have in common is their reception.
Immediately critics were all in on The Last of Us, and so were fans. Folks loved how true it was to the game, and after the first season came to a close, the HBO adaptation picked up all the Emmys, proving that it’s both critically and culturally beloved.
The same thing happened with Fallout. Critics love the Amazon adaptation, and fans of the game are overjoyed about how accurate it is to the source material. Now, we’re wondering if it’ll get the same awards love as The Last of Us, personally, I think it can.
Overall, I can see why Nolan was excited to follow in The Last of Us’ footsteps. While it might have been easy to be intimidated by its success, it also served as a beacon of what video game adaptations can be. Now, we have two lovely shows based on beloved games, and fans can’t wait to see Fallout Season 2 and The Last of Us’ second season.
To go back and watch these two shows that have single-handedly set a new bar for video game adaptations, you can stream Fallout with an Amazon Prime subscription and The Last of Us with a Max subscription.
