‘La Brea’: Eoin Macken Says Time-Travel Rules ‘Start To Make Sense’ In Season 2

Last fall’s No. 1 new drama in the 18–49 demo — about Angelenos sucked through a sinkhole into 10,000 B.C. — returns with a mess of loose ends to tie up. In La Brea Season 1, de facto leader Eve Harris (Natalie Zea) saw an interdimensional portal blip away her teenage son Josh (Jack Martin) and his gal pal Riley (Veronica St. Clair), with quiet 12-year-old Lilly (Chloe De Los Santos) trailing behind.

Elsewhere, Eve’s estranged husband Gavin (Eoin Macken) and their daughter Izzy (Zyra Gorecki) — joined by the grown-up Lilly, known as Ella (Michelle Vergara Moore) — leaped into a Seattle sinkhole that sent them back to the time of woolly mammoths… but miles away from their loved ones. And those were just the major shockers.

Heading into La Brea Season 2, here are a few answers we need ASAP, answered by creative team and cast.

How does the season pick up? 

In the opener, titled “The Next Day,” Josh and Riley “wake up in 1988 and realize they’re stuck there,” previews showrunner David Appelbaum. “One of their main obstacles is how are they going to get back to their families in 10,000 B.C.?” While in the time of compact discs and Cheers, though, they’re drawn into a mystery tied to “one of the central questions of the series: Why do these sinkholes exist?”

Will the time-travel rules finally be explained?

“It starts to all make sense,” confirms Macken, who was as curious as viewers have been. “I was like, ‘How is this gonna coalesce?’ Once it does, it’s pretty cool.”

Related

'La Brea' Unveils Time-Bending First Look at Season 2

Are there others who have fallen through sinkholes? 

Yep, and they do not come in peace. “We meet a new and dangerous group who become one of our main antagonists,” Appelbaum says. A new character played by Jonno Roberts (Wrecked) has been described as “a brilliant scientist and businessman who just might be trying to save the world.”

With enough hubris, he could fit into that group. But villain or hero, he sounds like a prime candidate to be in that strange tower that secretive Rebecca Aldridge (Ming-Zhu Hii) showed survivor Scott (Rohan Mirchandaney).

What’s the danger level? 

High! First: more prehistoric beasts! And as Gavin, Izzy, and Ella trek from Seattle to L.A. and Eve’s camp endures more threats, Macken says with a laugh that we should expect the worst.

“David Appelbaum is a ruthless storyteller when it comes to where characters go and what happens and who may live or die. I’ll just say that!”

La Brea, Season 2 Premiere, Tuesday, September 27, 9/8c, NBC (Next day on Peacock)

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2022 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.