What to know before La Brea season 3 premieres on NBC

La Brea is about to have its third and final season on NBC. So, what do you need to know about this wild series as it heads into the last episodes? Find out here!

Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for La Brea Seasons 1-2

Premiering in September of 2021, the opening of La Brea is gripping. With no warning, a massive sinkhole opens in the middle of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, swallowing up hundreds of people, vehicles, and buildings. The authorities and the public assume they're all dead, but in reality, the survivors have found themselves in a strange, primordial world. 

One man, Gavin, is trying to reach his wife, Eve, and son, Josh, who fell into the sinkhole. Gavin is struck by strange visions that make him believe they're alive as he and his daughter Izzy work with Homeland Security, who is tracking a similar event in the Mojave desert. Meanwhile, those in the other world stumble onto a warrior clan of nomads who reside there. 

To make a ridiculously long and complex story short, the sinkhole led to 10,000 BC. Among the clan residents is a young boy named Isiah who, incredibly, is really the young Gavin as his "visions" of this world are actually memories of the past. Oh, and there was a trip to 1988, which built even more confusing mysteries.

Hold on, it gets wilder! Season 2 revealed that this whole thing was because some scientists in 2076, working on what's called the Lazarus Project, had been attempting to fix the environmental damage of their time only to open up auroras into other eras. The head of the Project is James Mallet, who just happens to be Gavin's father. 

How did season 2 end?

The wild season 2 finale had Gavin sacrificing himself to save Eve. Thankfully, the family used a time machine to send a warning to Gavin so he could avoid that fate. The main group found a young girl named Petra whose mother works for a mysterious company. Also, their ally Levi happens to bear a tattoo with the company logo. Oh, and Veronica revealed she was pregnant. 

This led to a big fight between James and Gavin, with James dying but, in the process, wrecking the time machine, stranding everyone in 10,000 BC. Eve was sucked into a portal into any time period while a dying James warned Gavin that they had an even more ruthless enemy: The sister Gavin never knew he had. 

The final scene had the survivors watching as new portals opened up, threatening to bring even more dangers from across time into their world. 

This is only scratching the surface of the insanity, so how can La Brea wrap this all up in season 3?

When do new episodes of La Brea season 3 come out?

The third season is only six episodes, which seems low to wrap up such a wild saga, but NBC is looking to burn it off as the show premieres on January 9 with new episodes each Tuesday. Next day streaming will be available on Peacock. Per Ep Guides, here's how the schedule works out:

• Episode 1: "Sierra" - January 9
• Episode 2: "Don't Look Up" - January 16
• Episode 3: "Maya" - January 23
• Episode 4: "Fire Storm" - January 30
• Episode 5: "The Road Home, Part 1" - February 6
• Episode 6: The Road Home, Part 2" - February 13

Who stars in La Brea?

It looks like the remaining season 2 cast is coming back, with Emily Wiseman joining as a mysterious new character. Natalie Zea will appear in a reduced capacity in the final season.

• Natalie Zea as Eve Harris
• Zyra Gorecki as Izzy Harris
• Eoin Macken as Gavin Harris
• Jack Martin as Josh Harris
• Nicholas Gonzalez as Levi Delgado
• Chiké Okonkwo as Ty Coleman
• Lily Santiago as Veronica Castillo
• Michelle Vergara Moore as Ella Jones
• Tonantzin Carmelo as Paara
• Jon Seda as Dr. Sam Velez
• Veronica St. Clair as Riley Velez
• Rohan Mirchandaney as Scott Israni
• Josh McKenzie as Lucas Hayes
• Emily Wiseman (new character)

What's coming for season 3? 

Speaking to NBC Insider, creator David Applebaum acknowledged the big challenge was whittling the plans down for a six-episode run. He says they hope to do the show justice but admits that "not everyone will get to shine" as they hoped with more episodes. 

"We went through all the characters, and started from that place of where I knew I wanted to end the series for certain characters, and the Harris family, and then worked backwards from there. We picked up some of the threads that we had left from the end of season 2, and then went through the normal process of creating stories. But it really started with figuring out what do we want the end for all of these particular characters to be?"

Applebaum has promised there will be wild antics, such as different time periods mixed into the action. He's tight-lipped on other details, but it sounds like La Brea is ready to end its short run as crazy as everything else on this series has been. 

La Brea season 3 premieres Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 9/8c on NBC.