The time-traveling sinkhole drama La Brea has officially closed its portal for good. The show ended its run on NBC in February 2024 after three seasons. There is no Season 4 on the way, and the series finale brought the story of the Harris family to a complete stop.
For viewers just discovering the show or those wondering if it will return, the answer is clear. La Brea received a renewal for a third season in January 2023, but that pickup came with a major catch. NBC ordered only six episodes for Season 3, and the network confirmed that this short run would serve as the series finale.
Why the Show Ended After a Short Final Season
Several factors led to the decision to end La Brea rather than continue into a fourth season. The most significant reason involved the looming threat of industry strikes. In early 2023, with the Writers Guild of America contract about to expire, networks began preparing contingency plans. NBC approached the cast of La Brea about reducing their contracts from a ten-episode guarantee down to six episodes. The cast agreed to the reduction in exchange for a release from the series.
The show was also expensive to produce. Filming took place in Australia, and the visual effects required to create the prehistoric world of 10,000 BC did not come cheap. Viewership numbers dropped after a strong first season, making the high costs harder to justify. Rather than leave the story unfinished, NBC and the creative team chose to produce a final set of episodes to wrap up all the major plot threads.
What Happened in the ‘La Brea’ Series Finale
The series finale, titled “The Road Home, Part 2,” aired on February 13, 2024. The episode gave every main character a clear ending. Gavin Harris (Eoin Macken) and his family finally reunited in 2021 at the Wisdom Tree. This was the ending show creator David Appelbaum had planned from the very beginning. In fact, the crew shot the final family reunion scene before filming any other part of Season 3 because Natalie Zea (Eve Harris) could not travel to Australia for the full production schedule.
Ty Coleman (Chiké Okonkwo) made a different choice. Unlike the others, he decided to stay in 10,000 BC with his wife Paara (Tonantzin Carmelo). Appelbaum explained that Ty started the show with no hope, nearly considering suicide. After finding his cancer cured and discovering love in the past, staying there became his happy ending.
Scott Israni (Rohan Mirchandaney) returned to 2021 and tracked down a woman he lost because of his old fears and anxieties. The finale showed how much his character grew from a scared man to someone brave enough to fight for love.
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The Show’s Arrival on Netflix
Even though La Brea will not return for new episodes, the existing ones are finding a new audience. On May 1, 2026, all three seasons (30 episodes total) started streaming on Netflix. The show has gained attention from subscribers who missed it during its original NBC run.
La Brea first premiered in September 2021. The story followed a massive sinkhole that opened at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, pulling dozens of people, cars, and buildings into a mysterious portal. The survivors landed in a dangerous world set in 10,000 BC, filled with prehistoric animals and a mysterious secret society.
Critics were never kind to the show. Season 1 holds a 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. Audiences rated the entire series at 46%. However, the show has found a second life as a “cult classic” or “so bad it’s good” watch. Fans describe it as “gloriously, brazenly bad” and “grade A dumb TV”. The fast-paced adventure, wild plot twists, and cheesy special effects make it easy to binge.
Show creator David Appelbaum shared his thoughts after the finale about the story ending.
“I always knew that I wanted to bring the Harris family back together in the final scene of the series. It was a guiding light for us. It’s a show about a family trying to get back to each other.”
Appelbaum also mentioned he has ideas for a spin-off set in the same world, inspired by shows like The White Lotus, where new characters arrive for a different adventure. However, no such project has moved forward as of now.
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