‘La Brea’ showrunner reveals ‘fluid’ Season 3 plans, thoughts on series endgame 

With NBC’s La Brea already renewed for Year 3, SYFY WIRE caught up with series creator David Appelbaum for an update on how the third season is coming together fresh off the Season 2 finale on Tuesday night.

The second season ended with a whole lot of cliffhangers, as Eve (Natalie Zea) is sucked into a portal to time periods unknown, and dinosaurs are now roaming the countryside after several new aurora portals opened up in the skies above 10,000 B.C. According to Appelbaum, they’re already well into development on the third season, actively writing episodes and prepping to start shooting next month in Australia. 

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“We’re full steam ahead,” Appelbaum teased.

Appelbaum confirmed initial reports of a six-episode order for Season 3, but teased those plans remain “fluid” and that there could potentially be more episodes added to Season 3 down the line.

“We’re open to more episodes and we’ll see what happens, but nothing has been decided definitively,” Appelbaum said.

As for where they’re taking the story in Season 3? Appelbaum said the show will still remain true to the themes that have carried it this far, exploring the concept of a family torn apart and always fighting to find one another across space, time and anything else that gets in the way.

“At its core, the show continues to be about this divided family trying to get back together and make it home,” he said. “That’s really always at the center of the show, and that will continue to be there. But it’s also a show about survival, and can we survive in this inhospitable place of 10,000 B.C.”

When asked if he’s thinking about a potential endgame for the La Brea saga, Appelbaum teased that’s always in the back of his mind as he maps out seasons and character moments year-to-year, and revealed he does have a potential ending in mind. But he’s also learned to stay flexible enough to recognize when a new idea might be worth pursuing along the way.

“I’ve always had in mind an idea for where things would end, and where we wanted to bring things back at the very end with our characters, with certain tentpoles to end the seasons and some major story moments,” he said. "But I’ve always kept myself open to new ideas, because you bring in a team of writers who are all really smart people with their own takes, and you get notes from the producers and the network, you just have to stay fluid in that process. But it’s also important, as the creator, to have certain milestones that are rock solid. It’s a real balancing game that you play.”

Stream the first two seasons of La Brea now on Peacock.