Watch the first 5 minutes of NBC's Hollow Earth-inspired, primeval drama, 'La Brea'

What if there were another world lurking right below our own? Or, rather, hundreds of miles below our own. Welcome to NBC’s La Brea, where a massive sinkhole has opened in Los Angeles, separating a family across two worlds: the surface we all know, and a mysterious, dangerous primeval land far below.

NBC has dropped the first 5 minutes of the series on its YouTube page, in which you’ll meet 3/4 of the Harris family: Claire (Natalie Zea) and her kids Izzy (Zyra Gorecki) and Josh (Jack Martin), with father Gavin (Eoin Macken) elsewhere. While stuck in typical Los Angeles traffic on the way to school, Josh is working on his college admission essay and Izzy seems determined to coax her parents back together after what appears to be a recent separation. They get into a seemingly well-worn tiff over it before all hell breaks loose. 

The Earth cracks open and a sinkhole quickly widens and swallows everything in its path, including people, dogs, cars, buildings, and the namesake La Brea Tar Pits. Claire goes full The Fast and the Furious mode to try and escape, but the trio soon has to escape on foot. Josh goes down first after stopping to help a little girl reunite with her mother; Claire follows soon after despite Izzy’s valiant efforts to save her from falling. 

With La Brea set to premiere on NBC on Sept. 28, audiences will have to wait a little while longer to learn what happens next. At the very least, we can rest assured that the premiere is closer than when dinosaurs roamed the surface… 

La Brea premieres on Tues., Sept. 28 on NBC.