“Fallout” returned with a ratings bang for its second season, with the installment ranking as Prime Video’s No. 6 most-watched season of all time.
The Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins-led series, which debuted its Season 2 premiere on Dec. 16, has garnered a big enough audience (Prime Video did not provide exact viewing figures) to rank as the streamer’s sixth biggest season to date, behind “Fallout” Season 1, “Reacher” Seasons 2 and 3 and “Rings of Power” Seasons 1 and 2.
Additionally, “Fallout” Season 2 is the No. 4 most-watched returning season to date — behind “Reacher” Seasons 2 and 3 and “Rings of Power” Season 2 — and ranks as the top season on Prime Video since “Reacher” Season 3, which launched in February 2025.
Since its launch, Prime Video touts that “Fallout” has been the No. 1 title globally and has reached the top spot in more than 65 countries. Additionally, “Fallout” Season 2 ranks among the top 5 most-watched TV seasons among men 18-34 on Prime Video to date.
Prime Video did not share exact figures for “Fallout,” but viewing figures from Nielsen for the show’s U.S. audience for the week of Dec. 22, the second week since the Season 2 launch, will be available Thursday. The Nielsen figures, however, won’t encapsulate the show’s international audience, which Prime Video notes makes up 53% of the audience for “Fallout” Season 2, with outsized viewing in the U.K., Germany and Brazil.
During the week of Dec. 15, which saw “Fallout” debut its Season 2 premiere episode on Tuesday, Dec. 16, “Fallout” tallied up 794 million viewing minutes, with, 54% of which accounted for viewing for the new episode. For its premiere week, “Fallout” landed on Nielsen’s streaming charts as the No. 7 most-watched streaming program overall and the No. 4 streaming original list.
“We are thrilled with the ‘Fallout’ S2 reception from audiences and critics globally. After its first four weeks, ‘Fallout’ S2 already ranks as the sixth most watched season ever on Prime Video and is even higher rated on Rotten Tomatoes than S1,” Amazon MGM Studios global head of television Peter Friedlander said in a statement. “More than half of the season’s audience to-date has come from outside the U.S., and we’re excited for even more viewers to discover the show as we continue to release new episodes over the weeks ahead.”
While “Fallout” Season 1 embraced a binge release, Season 2 has followed a traditional weekly release model, a decision made prior to Friedlander taking his post, which takes advantage of the show’s already massive fan base.
The weekly release has enabled viewers to make the choice to watch weekly or wait to binge until all episodes are out, which hasn’t been an uncommon viewer experience, according to an individual with knowledge of Prime Video’s performance and strategy. The weekly debuts, however, also give a chance to let each episode shine, with the insider pointing to the spotlight on Goggins in Episode 5, around which Prime Video created custom social moments.
Although Prime Video has been embracing weekly releases of late, notably with the final season of YA sensation “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” the switch doesn’t necessarily indicate a larger strategy shift, with the insider noting that fans enjoy both release models.
The ratings success comes as Prime Video expands its “Fallout” franchise with an unscripted series while the original series, which scored an early renewal in May, is moving full steam ahead.
