‘La Brea’ showrunner teases murder mystery that will drive back half of Season 2

The first half of La Brea’s second season ended with a game-changing twist — but don’t worry — the creators don’t plan on kicking that can down the road when the show returns in January with new episodes.

Showrunner David Appelbaum told TV Line the two-part midseason premiere, which airs Tuesday, Jan. 31 on NBC, will find Gavin (Eoin Macken) gearing up to do whatever it takes to save the life of his estranged wife Eve (Natalie Zea), after a vision seemed to indicate she wouldn’t survive much longer in the world of 10,000 B.C.

“That vision of Eve’s death is really going to drive a lot of conflict in the back half of the season, because it might be right around the corner,” Applebaum teased. “It’s going to be a real problem — how do we prevent that? It’s going to complicate all the relationships, knowing that that is a thing that could happen.”

For a show that started off as a big sci-fi swing about a mysterious sinkhole, it’s expanded its mythology at a record pace, with everything from time travel, a sci-fi mystery, visions of the future and a big ol’ conspiracy wrapping around this saga of survivors stuck in the distant past.

The series returns Tuesday, Jan. 31 on NBC with a double episode midseason premiere, featuring the episodes “Stampede” and “Murder in the Clearing.” If that “murder” part of the title might sound ominous, there’s a reason. Yep, one of the survivors will be murdered when the show returns — and TV Line reveals Lucas (Josh McKenzie) and Sam (Jon Seda) will be leading the investigation to solve the prehistoric whodunnit. 

If you need to catch up on La Brea over the holiday break, you’re in luck, the first season and first half of Season 2 are all streaming on Peacock. Just, y’know, look out for saber-toothed tigers and stuff.