Season 1 of the Fallout series was filmed mainly in New York City and the surrounding New York area, with major exterior work in Namibia and additional landscape and Brotherhood of Steel material in Utah. The show’s post-apocalyptic Los Angeles was not shot there. It was assembled from those regions, studio builds and visual effects. According to the Los Angeles Times, the only Season 1 imagery actually filmed in Southern California was second-unit drone footage around Griffith Observatory.
Season 1 filming regions at a glance
Production designer Howard Cummings put the regional split in plain terms when he spoke to GamesRadar+: “For various reasons we actually shot Fallout season one in New York City
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| Region | Named production sites | What it represented on screen | Main source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City and New York area | Steiner Studios (Brooklyn), Gold Coast Studios (Bethpage, Long Island), Brooklyn Army Terminal, Widow Jane Mine, a quarry at Verplanck, a cave near Woodstock, a house in Briarcliff Manor | Vault tunnels and exit portal, LED-volume vault and flying sequences, the Gulper water scene, pre-war birthday party, and varied parts of the fictional West | Kodak interview with cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh (August 20, 2024); Los Angeles Times reporting |
| New Jersey | An East River container yard, Wade’s Salvage in Atco, and a government surplus junkyard in South Jersey (described by the cinematographer) | Settlements built from found scrap | Kodak interview with Stuart Dryburgh (August 20, 2024) |
| Utah | Salt flats and dilapidated buildings near Wendover Air Force Base; Bonneville Salt Flats area | Landscape material and Brotherhood of Steel material; filmed LED background plates around Wendover | GamesRadar+ interview with Howard Cummings; Kodak interview with Stuart Dryburgh (August 20, 2024) |
| Namibia | Kolmanskop, the Skeleton Coast in the Namibian coastal desert | The Wasteland, including the sandy-orange landscape where Lucy first emerges from the Vault | Los Angeles Times reporting; GamesRadar+ interview with Howard Cummings; Kodak interview with Stuart Dryburgh (August 20, 2024) |
| Southern California | Griffith Observatory area (second-unit drone footage only) | The only Season 1 imagery actually filmed in Southern California, per Los Angeles Times reporting | Los Angeles Times reporting |
These are the regions and sites named in reporting on Season 1. The same sources do not establish which sites were used for later seasons, so the answer above should not be read as a guide to any other season.
Namibia: the wasteland and Lucy’s emergence
Namibia supplied the show’s most dramatic exterior imagery. The production used Kolmanskop, a former diamond-mining settlement, and the Skeleton Coast, where desert meets the sea. The Los Angeles Times describes these as key visual sources for Lucy’s journey through the wasteland that the show presents as Los Angeles.
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Kolmanskop and the Skeleton Coast
Kolmanskop’s abandoned mining installation and town gave the production a ready-made ruin. Cummings told the Los Angeles Times about the facility and town: “It’s just so gorgeously destroyed.” He explained that years of wind and sandstorms had pitted the surfaces, which suited the show’s depiction of an atomic-bomb aftermath. The Los Angeles Times also quotes executive producer and first-three-episode director Jonathan Nolan on how the physical production shaped the story: “The final impetus was trying to incorporate the physical production of making the thing into the actual storytelling.”
The Vault door location
Cummings identified the Namibia location as the Wasteland and the place where Lucy comes out of the Vault. The cinematographer, Stuart Dryburgh, also said the first emergence into the sandy-orange wasteland was filmed in Namibia, as reported in Kodak’s August 20, 2024 interview.
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New York: studios, practical sites and the Vault
New York was the main production base for Season 1. Much of the interior and built work happened on Long Island and in Brooklyn, while practical locations across the region stood in for a range of fictional places.
Studio work at Steiner Studios and Gold Coast Studios
- Steiner Studios, Brooklyn: The vault tunnels and exit portal were built here. The main stages were also near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
- Gold Coast Studios, Bethpage, Long Island: This site hosted LED volume work, including prairie-like vault environments and flying sequences.
Kodak’s interview with Stuart Dryburgh supplies the production-side detail on these stages. The Los Angeles Times adds that the finale’s Griffith Observatory exterior was practically shot at the Woolworth Estate in suburban New York and digitally replaced, while its interior auditorium was filmed on a purpose-built volume stage at Gold Coast Studios.
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Practical locations in New York
Reporting names the following practical sites. They played fictional places rather than standing in for themselves:
- Brooklyn Army Terminal
- Widow Jane Mine
- A quarry at Verplanck, used for the water scene associated with the Gulper
- A cave near Woodstock
- A house in Briarcliff Manor, used for the pre-war birthday-party sequence
New Jersey settlements
New Jersey also contributed. Settlements were built from found scrap at an East River container yard and at Wade’s Salvage in Atco. The cinematographer also mentions a government surplus junkyard in South Jersey.
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Utah: salt flats and Brotherhood of Steel material
Utah’s contribution was landscape. The production used salt flats and dilapidated buildings near Wendover Air Force Base, and Cummings linked the Brotherhood of Steel material to the Bonneville Salt Flats area. Kodak’s interview distinguishes the filmed LED background plates shot around Wendover from the New York studio work that used those plates. Utah should therefore be understood as several locations tied to specific material, not as one site where every Brotherhood scene was shot.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was Fallout filmed in Los Angeles?
Only in a very limited sense. The Los Angeles Times reports that second-unit drone footage around Griffith Observatory was the only Season 1 imagery actually filmed in Southern California. Most of the city’s look came from elsewhere.
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Recognisable Los Angeles landmarks were created or altered with visual effects. Reporting describes digital imagery of the LAX Theme Building and Randy’s Donuts, and a partly destroyed Capitol Records Building. Seeing one of these landmarks on screen does not mean the scene was filmed at that place.
What the reporting does not establish
- A complete episode-by-episode list of filming locations for Season 1. The sources name regions and sites, not the scenes shot at each one.
- Current public access. None of the named sites should be assumed open to visitors. Private studios, the Widow Jane Mine, a private estate, and remote Namibian locations are not established as open to the public.
- Any official filming-location tour or visitor program.
- Locations for seasons after Season 1.
For the production-side details cited here, the most useful primary sources are the Los Angeles Times reporting on the show’s Season 1 locations, the Kodak interview with cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh dated August 20, 2024, and the GamesRadar+ interview with Howard Cummings. Amazon’s official feature on the adaptation also covers the New York City Vault sound stage.
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