Diksha Sundriyal
NBC’s ‘La Brea’ is a time travel show that follows the story of the Harris family. When Eve Harris and her son, Josh, are thrown into a sinkhole which lands them in 10,000 BC, with a bunch of other people, they are left to fend for themselves in the prehistoric world, with no help on the way. Back in the present day, Eve’s husband, Gavin, and their daughter, Izzy, try to find a way to bring them back.
As the show moves forward, some startling discoveries are made, and it turns out that a number of other timelines are also entangled in the story. If you love the complex nature of its story and would like to see similar shows, then we’ve got you covered.
7. Lost in Space (2018-2021)
In ‘La Brea,’ we follow the stories of the people who are lost in time. In ‘Lost in Space’, as the name suggests, time is not really an issue, the cold and the darkness of the never-ending space are. The show follows the story of the Robinson family, whose spaceship crashes on an unknown planet severing their communication with the rest of the fleet. Now, not only do they have to survive on an alien planet, but they also have to devise a way to escape it soon, as all sorts of dangers lurk in its unexplored regions.
6. The Society (2019)
Stranded in 10,000 BC, the adults in ‘La Brea’ quickly take control of the situation and work together to make sure that they all survive. Age and experience have taught them a lot of things, which is why they make sensible decisions. But what if a group of teenagers was stranded in a world with no adult in sight? What if there were no rules in this new world, no one to keep them in check? How would the teenagers react? Netflix’s ‘The Society’ follows this premise and delivers a rather compelling watch. It’s a shame it couldn’t be continued in the second season, but the single season itself lends a lot of weight to the story.
5. 12 Monkeys (2015-2018)
‘La Brea’ takes its characters too far back in time, and yet, we see the implications of the things that happened thousands of years ago on the lives of the characters who live in the modern times. ’12 Monkeys’ explores similar themes, though the gap between the timelines is lesser compared to ‘La Brea’. Based on the movie of the same name, the TV show expands the story of a time traveler from the future who is on a mission to save the world from a deadly plague. The protagonist is a scavenger named James Cole, who is sent from 2043 to 2015, which is when a secret organization called Army of the 12 Monkeys released a deadly virus that destroyed the world as we know it. Now, with the help of a brilliant scientist, he has to find a way to stop this catastrophe from happening.
4. Roswell, New Mexico (2019- )
Getting stuck in a different timeline is an unimaginable challenge, but getting stuck in a different world is an entirely different story. In ‘Roswell, New Mexico,’ we follow the story of a family of aliens who live on Earth, disguised as humans. They have been around for a long time now, but eventually, their secret comes to light and brings a whole lot of trouble for them. Fortunately, they have human friends who protect their secrets. But when an incident points toward a greater alien conspiracy, their lives get more complicated. Much like ‘La Brea’, ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ focuses on the theme of living in a place that is entirely different from the one that the characters grew up in and the challenges that they face in adapting to their new situation.
3. Manifest (2018- )
The events in ‘La Brea’ begin when a group of people is swallowed by a sinkhole. While the survivors are thrown back in time to 10,000 BC, the world believes that they are all dead. The show focuses on the efforts of a few who try to bring their loved ones back to the present time. But what happens when such people, who have spent years away from their original timeline, come back? ‘Manifest’ follows the story of 191 passengers who boarded the plane from Jamaica, but when they land in New York, after experiencing some turbulence, they discover that more than five years have passed and the world has moved on without them.
2. The Leftovers (2014-2017)
While the characters in ‘La Brea’ embark on the adventure of a lifetime, the ones that are left behind have no clue whatsoever about what happened to them and what they’re up to. If you are interested in exploring that facet of the story, you should watch ‘The Leftovers’. Based on the novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta, it is set in a world where two percent of the world’s population suddenly vanished one day, never to be seen again. This event, called the Sudden Departure, has left a huge void in the lives of many people and has radically changed the way a lot of them think about society going forward. Focusing on this, the series creates a gripping narrative that questions human nature and how we react to grief and loss.
1. Dark (2017-2020)
For all the back and forth in time that happens in ‘La Brea’, things are bound to get complicated. A lot of mysteries bubble under the surface as time traveling makes a lot of people think about their past in a new light. If you find all of this confusing, then ‘Dark’ will blow you away. The Netflix series is known for its complex structure and intricate storylines.
Over the course of three seasons, there are so many twists and turns, and the time traveling creates such a web of relationships between the characters that it becomes impossible to untangle it all. This show is a compelling watch that’ll keep you hooked and might inform some of the storylines in ‘La Brea.’
Read More: Where is La Brea Filmed?
