Natalie Zea and Jack Martin looking panicked in La BreaImage via NBC
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Erin Konrad
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Erin Konrad's love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she's not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she's advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.
She has her Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Creating content for Collider gives her the opportunity to combine her writing skills with her passion for television and movies. She spends her free time trying to beat her personal record of reading 126 books in a year and cuddling with her dog, Gracie.
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One of the best parts about the evolution of television is that audiences can get introduced to shows they've never watched (or have never even heard of) through streaming. Legions of new fans can catch some of the best shows or the ones that were underrated at the time they came out. There's one sci-fi series that aired from 2021 to 2024 and is now having a major resurgence, with over 35.6 million hours streamed. Although the premise might be a bit out there, there's no debating that you need to be watching La Brea.
What Is 'La Brea' About?
Natalie Zea in La BreaImage via NBC
When La Brea debuted on NBC several years ago, people weren't quite sure what to think about the drama. The show takes place in present-day Los Angeles, when a mysterious event occurs. A gigantic sinkhole opens up (right at the location of the famous, real-life La Brea Tar Pits), and tons of people fall into the hole. The really odd thing is that these people have actually been sucked into a primeval land, circa 10,000 BC. The group quickly realizes that they'll need to band together to survive this unknown place.
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The truth is out there.
Posts 4 By Jiminna Shillingford Mar 10, 2025This world is certainly no easy place to live in, since it's complete with wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and extreme weather events that no one in the 2000s would be prepared for. But it's not just the people in the sinkhole that we follow. One character named Gavin Harris (Eoin Macken) is located in the regular world, and he's determined to rescue his wife, Eve (Natalie Zea), and their teenage son, Jack (Josh Harris) from the ancient land. He'll stop at nothing, which makes him a perfect protagonist. La Brea is a topsy-turvy adventure, filled with action-packed twists and thrilling moments from start to finish.
'La Brea' Struggled With Ratings During Its Run
It seemed that NBC was hoping La Brea would become a huge tent-pole series, a la Lost. It definitely fit the bill with plenty of mysteries and almost supernatural themes. But La Brea wasn't ever really what you would consider a runaway hit. It started with only six million viewers, and by the end of the first season, was already down to four million. By the time the series wrapped up its third and final season, viewership had barely cracked two million viewers. The final season also only aired six episodes, proving that La Brea was going out with more of a whimper than a bang.
There are a lot of reasons why La Brea struggled to find a larger audience during its run. It was billed as an exciting drama, but marketing should have capitalized on the show's true identity: a wacky, silly show with special effects that are less than impressive. If the series had shown audiences that it wasn't trying to be an expensive, high-end production, it might have found more viewers who could appreciate it for what it was. La Brea is incredibly fun to watch (as long as you don't try to take it too seriously) and perhaps its ratings could have been better if the show stopped trying to be something so self-serious or grand.
'La Brea' Is a Must-Watch for Sci-Fi Fans
Nicholas Gonzalez, Jon Seda, and Eoin Macken together in La BreaImage via NBC
If you want to get lost in an absurd world of cavemen and fighter jets that can travel through time, La Brea is a must-watch. The action is non-stop, and it is easy to get invested in the lives of the characters. Ty Coleman (Chiké Okonkwo) and Veronica Castillo (Lily Santiago) are particularly engaging as survivors who are carrying some pretty hefty secrets with them. As with most survival shows, many of the storylines are compelling because of the relationships between the characters, rather than the actual danger elements. Although the CGI is pretty cheesy and low-budget at times, there is definitely enough of a gripping storytelling style to have you eagerly flying through all 30 episodes.
One of the best parts of the series is the actors, who always seem 100% committed to pulling off even the most fantastical aspects of La Brea. Zea and Macken are excellent leads who hold down their parts with charisma and dedication (despite some nonsensical plotlines). The supporting cast, which includes Jon Seda, Josh McKenzie, and Nicholas Gonzalez, also help fuel the plots with their ability to still feel grounded. There are many areas of the storytelling that could trend towards melodramatic, but these actors help elevate the scripts to make them ultimately rewatchable.
If you're needing a show to binge-watch that will help you forget the outside world, La Brea is definitely a perfect choice. Now that it's a streaming obsession, you'll want to join in on the so-bad-it's-good fun. Hey, at least you haven't fallen into a massive sinkhole and aren't being chased by a dire wolf.
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