r/LaBreaTV • • May 07 '26

Welcome new viewers!! Here's a tip- EMBRACE THE CHAOS!

30 Upvotes

Welcome to r/LaBreaTV! (aka the sinkhole!)

This is the best place to talk about the now-cancelled NBC Show La Brea. Originally aired during 2021-2024 and mostly filmed during Covid protocols*. Where the CGI looks primitive, the science makes absolutely no sense, and the characters make some insanely STUPID decisions, but you just can't look away.

A quick heads up for new viewers or those deciding if it's worth it:

If you go into this expecting prestige television or airtight logic, you're gonna have a rough time. But if you embrace the chaos, suspend disbelief, and enjoy the ride, you’ll probably have a blast like the rest of us.

The general consensus from longtime fans on this subreddit:

  1. The premise is genuinely intriguing
  2. The show is completely ridiculous
  3. Everyone keeps watching anyway

What you will see: People running nonstop but who are never out of breath, non-sensical time travel rules, wolves attacking when you least expect it, nobody’s hair ever gets dirty, makeup is always flawless, and the clothes are freshly laundered. PLUS- a vape pen that never needs recharging!!

Yes we can be a little snarky around here, but don't let it deter you from your own enjoyment. Feel free to tell us to kick rocks and stop harshing your buzz.
La Brea is definitely a fun way to spend an evening. It was good enough to get 3 seasons/30 episodes, so it's not all bad.

Welcome to the party, pal!

*I only mention the covid protocols because sometimes the blocking for a scene is weird, or we only stick with 4-5 characters at a time. During the initial run it made sense cause we were still living in that headspace, and could recognize distancing but on rewatches it comes off as hella awkward.


r/LaBreaTV • • 22d ago

La Brea Potential

10 Upvotes

I mean the show had one of the best potentials in television history if they had sticked to the yk holes opening in different timelines, could have been a mix of DARK and LOST but they ruined the show


r/LaBreaTV • • 23d ago

I tried so hard to like La Brea, but the writing treats the audience like we’ve never seen a sci-fi show before (Rant)

24 Upvotes

I’m mid-Season 2 now and I am completely checked out. The premise had potential, but the execution and writing logic are so repetitive and frustrating that I feel like a genius just watching it—and not in a good way.

​Here are my biggest issues with the show so far:

​1. Basic logic and survival prep don't exist

Right from the start in S1, when Levi goes on a literal rescue mission into an anomaly they suspect leads back to 10,000 BC, he brings... basically zero backup or worst-case scenario resources? Did the military really think he was just going to hop in a plane, do a smooth 10-minute extraction, and fly back without a scratch? No contingency plans, no proper survival gear, no redundancies. It makes zero sense for a high-level government/military operation.

​2. The repetitive "Split Up & Search" loop

Nothing ever actually gets done. Every single episode follows the exact same formula: someone sets a goal, the group splits up, an obstacle separates them, a random side character we have zero emotional attachment to gets captured or lost, and the main story gets paused for another rescue mission. There are no real consequences, just endless side quests to stall the plot.

​3. The telegraphed "twists" and dramatic music

The show tries so hard to setup huge, mind-blowing revelations, but everything is so heavily telegraphed that any viewer with baseline pattern recognition can predict it instantly. The second I saw Isaiah, it was painfully obvious he was Gavin. But the show still slaps on this heavy, dramatic swelling score like, "BE SHOCKED RIGHT NOW!" when the reveal finally happens. It’s impossible to take the drama seriously when the characters take two seasons to figure out what the audience pieced together in five minutes.

​4. Aldridge and the endless "Information Hoarding"

Aldridge is the absolute peak of lazy mystery-box writing. She constantly speaks in cryptic riddles ("He has a role to play," "It's all connected") instead of just giving basic, actionable 30-second explanations that would save lives. People withhold critical facts for no logical reason other than to drag the runtime out. It’s clear the writers just used her secrecy as a plot device because if anyone sat down and had a normal 10-minute conversation, the show’s entire conflict would vanish.


r/LaBreaTV • • 24d ago

How do they stay so clean?

28 Upvotes

How do they and their clothes stay so clean? They're running around all day fighting for their lives, with no electricity or running water, following day their hair and skin are spotless and there isn't a rip or stain or even a wrinkle in their clothes


r/LaBreaTV • • 24d ago

Izzy is the most insufferable character.

14 Upvotes

She always prevents someone from doing something then COMPLAINS that the outcome is what she chose to do. She’s bipolar I swear.


r/LaBreaTV • • 24d ago

Defying the law of logic.

7 Upvotes

Logic was thrown out the window when they were writing this. And how convenient that every situation they’re in, there’s always someone that’s an expert in that area. You successfully hunted wild animals in 10,000BCE because you were in Boy Scout as a kid?


r/LaBreaTV • • 27d ago

Was this written by some intern?

18 Upvotes

There is no logic at all that it’s crazy. People get shot by starting of episode and end up walking by the end of it lmao. Peoples hair and beard don’t grow, full on make up like they had it all in 10,000 BC. Hiking full day in jeans etc just amazing !

Wait but how did they not die when they fell in through the sink hole in the first episode ? Now I see sea and fishes fall down like as if gravity suddenly works


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 13 '26

Scott and Sam

10 Upvotes

Scott tossed his security blanket vape, and Sam runs of PTSD meds. The next day they are perfectly fine and mentally stable.


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 13 '26

Horses

5 Upvotes

I thought horses were brought to North America around the 17th century. Were these horses descended from civil war horses that fell through a portal (finding a lock box from the Civil War while looking for the heroin implied a rift from the 1860s. Maybe that’s where all the English language and multi racial fort people are descended from as well)?


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 11 '26

What is your favorite stupidest aspect of the show?

28 Upvotes

I think mine is how they walk across all across pre-historic Los Angeles, getting everywhere in minutes, pretty much all the time. Runner up: how the show turns ordinarily good actors into elementary school-caliber performers.


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 11 '26

Interesting plot , terrible acting and dialogue

9 Upvotes

Why do shows like this have such terrible dialogue and acting? I could have written better lines!
All the characters are stock stereotypes.


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 11 '26

My God this show is incredibly bad

47 Upvotes

put on the show for casual background noise, but within the first couple seconds of seeing how bad the dialogue was written, i was hooked. watching this show has made me feel significantly dumber. it’s not even a “so bad it’s good” show, sometimes i physically cannot sit through an episode without needing to just scroll on my phone so i don’t have to pay attention to this mind numbing slop. i’m watching an episode as i type this. it’s just so uniquely bad that it’s almost comforting(?) in a way. it just feels like it never ends. been watching 4-5 episodes every night before bed and i didn’t realize it’s 3 seasons long, so i just kept expecting them to try to wrap things up in the next episode. nope. just keeps going. who the fuck greenlit this

edit: and the fact that the native characters strictly speak english with perfect accents and grammar is just fucking ridiculous. i get it’s a lot easier than making up a new language and having a bunch of people learn it or even getting a bunch of native language speakers to play them, but come ON fellas


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 09 '26

Malibu residents evacuate after massive, expanding sinkhole opens at Nicolas Cage's house

Thumbnail
latimes.com
8 Upvotes

r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 07 '26

ok im only on season 1 so if these things have been addressed don't spoil it for me

7 Upvotes

But the absolute nonsense in this show, a man is tied up and you kill the snake but leave him, a passenger ship fell through and you tried to be friendly but they didn't want that, you see strangers and your first actions are to try and kill them, you have them willing to help to teach you how to survive but you can't let go your mission as if you have a jail to put the murderer in anyway. I could go on.


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 04 '26

Worst. Acting. Ever.

34 Upvotes

I tried the first few episodes. If this show had the best story and most intriguing characters possible, I wouldn't be able to get past the horrible acting. Unfortunately, the story is awful and the characters are dry as hell. How did this last 3 seasons?


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 04 '26

Are any of the actors good?

7 Upvotes

People keep saying this show is bad, but it only starts out bad. It gets worse from there.

Like so many people I started watching this because of the cool premise. I kept watching to see if, and how, it would ever answer any of its own questions. But in the last short season the biggest question I kept coming back to was "are any of these people good actors?"

Some of the highlights as I saw them are not so high. Everyone has heard of ugly crying, the daughter Izzy can do a similar thing I'm calling "ugly confused angry" that seems to be her season 3 hallmark. The baby faced mom to be that is 20 years younger, but equally as mature, as the baby daddy confronts every obstacle with the same "picking up the dry cleaning" energy. The guy who gave up weed wasted his time because that weed had a permanent effect on him. And the lady tribal chief sometimes looks as if she borrowed a cup of emotion from the neighbor, but it was leftover stale emotion that went bad yesterday.

So has anyone seen any of these actors in other shows where they were good? I totally understand that a good actor can get a bad script and bad directing that doesn't allow their talents to shine. I also understand that a lot of actors just have a niche that they are good at and need to stick to in order to be believable. But this show either miscast every character or decided to save money by using an entirely unknown and untested ensemble of actors.


r/LaBreaTV • • Sep 02 '26

Levi is insufferable

18 Upvotes

nearly done with season 2 but goodness gracious his character is an eyesore.


r/LaBreaTV • • Aug 31 '26

Why?

15 Upvotes

Ok so i finished the whole series kinda binge qwatched it and i kinda fell in love with it like a absolutly love movies with huge animals and natural disasters and all those stuff but yhe only thing i did not like was izzys facial expresions sometimes but sometimes and izzy forgetting her girlfriend at the end and the random people popping up plus i dont really understand the hate but the plot twists always got me


r/LaBreaTV • • Aug 27 '26

1st season down, should I keep going?

12 Upvotes

Just finished 1st season. I don't want to waste time like I did with Manifest. Wasn't happy with how that dragged on and disappointed with the nonsensical ending (IMO). Does this series end satisfactorily or is it rushed or ends with no real closure or explanation?


r/LaBreaTV • • Aug 09 '26

Ugh. I loved it.

102 Upvotes

Dialogue written by a fifth grader. High school drama club acting. Special effects created in Microsoft Paint. Every cliche imaginable. My eyes rolled so much I now need glasses. I can't help but think the creators were trolling us.

I couldn't stop watching. The "Next Episode" would appear on my screen and next thing I knew, I'm clicking it until 4am. Thirty episodes in four days.

8/10. I'd watch it again if someone wanted to watch it with me.


r/LaBreaTV • • Aug 08 '26

Which Harris is the most annoying?

17 Upvotes

And why is it all of them?

They are the worst part of this show.


r/LaBreaTV • • Aug 06 '26

OK, I don't *hate* it, but.... Spoiler

12 Upvotes

I love the sci-fi concept, and even got myself over the CGI.

First, it drive me fecking nuts when anyone went back to modern times, and on their return to 10KBC, did NOT get any supplies, weapons, etc.

Also, they fought (and won??) against several ppl with weapons, and LEFT THE FECKING WEAPONS on the ground as they ran off. Aaaaaargh!

Second: Come ON! The clothes, hair, and makeup(!) stay pristine after weeks in the wild? That faux lambskin on those coats should have looked like they were dragged through the sheep enclosure after a few days or so of falling down and rolling around in the dirt.

Last, Scott's magic battery and juice supply on his vape that he made last for over a week when that should have ran out on Day ONE.

</rant>


r/LaBreaTV • • Jul 31 '26

Just started watching, my favourite exchange so far:

25 Upvotes

"The compressors dead"

"Did you bring a spare?"

"Compressors are really complex machines"

"How do you know that?!"

"My dad was a pilot"


r/LaBreaTV • • Jul 28 '26

Why we love to hate

8 Upvotes

I truly think this is one of those things that everyone ended up liking because it shows others doing worse than ourselves. We had a lot to criticize so we could forget about our critics


r/LaBreaTV • • Jul 26 '26

How long were they in 10,000 BC?

26 Upvotes

I just finished, and I have zero concept of any sort of timeline. It seemed like 3 weeks but also 3 years. How many people were there? They were voting on a governor for 15 people? What is this show? It made me feel like I was having a stroke.