La Brea Post-Mortem: Showrunner Unpacks Emotional Series Finale, Discusses Family Reunions, Break-Ups, & Death

Families always stick together, which Helena proved when she protected Gavin and his family.

You’re not alone if you’re still shocked by La Brea Season 3 Episode 6 events, like those ingenious plans, deaths, or joyous reunions.

After three seasons, La Brea ended on an emotional and somewhat predictable finale after having high-stakes the rest of the season.

TV Fanatic enjoyed chatting with showrunner David Appelbaum to break down the finale and discuss some of the season’s twists, including Natalie Zea’s limited screen time and Izzy and Leya’s relationship.

Check out the interview below.

So, this was a very action-packed season. Thank you. Let’s talk about how Natalie Zea only appeared in the series finale. Was that planned that way?

We knew from the beginning of the season that we only had her for one day of filming and wanted to use those scenes we could accomplish on that day in the finale. So that was something that we planned for.

From the beginning of the series, I knew the ending would be the Harris family reuniting. So, we wanted to use that opportunity when we had her to be able to show that reunion. We knew that from the beginning of Season 3 and crafted the story for that ending.

Okay, and was 1965 always in the mix? Because I know several fans speculated that she may end up in 2076, where James created The Lazarus.

We went through several versions of what it could be. At the end of La Brea Season 2, you see all the different time periods coming up, and she could have gone to any of them. Ultimately, the way the story was created, we didn’t have much time to investigate the world of 1965.

So, we didn’t want to make it too far from what our ordinary world would look like because of resources, and having to build a set from the year 2200 is more challenging than something from 1965. So, we wanted a different time, but not one that was so different from our own.

That’s fair. I know several people, myself included, have also discussed the fact that even though there was time travel, we didn’t see the aftermath of the stuff that the guys did in 2021. There were minor changes to the timeline, but we didn’t see the after-effects on a show like Timeless.

Getting into that makes the story a little baroque and confusing and detracts from the story’s emotion, getting caught up in the time travel rules and what would change.

I like those kinds of stories, but for a show on NBC, I think the audience is more interested in the emotional stories and less about the ramifications of what it means to change the past or the future.

If we were writing it on the Sy-Fy Channel, we might have delved into more of the fun science fiction component of it. Our audience is a little more interested in the emotional and character relationships.

That’s fair. Were you happy with how each character’s arc ended?

Yeah, definitely. The end of this show is emotional for all of them because we get to see how far they’ve traveled and how much they’ve changed since we met them in Season 1.

There are things and places that we had talked about bringing them that didn’t occur because of time and the limited number of episodes in Season 3.

But at the same time, we knew what the finale was and knew we had these six episodes to wrap it up. We were grateful we had the chance to do that because some shows never have that opportunity, and characters’ arcs might never feel complete.

Even if there are some places where we might have wanted to bring characters, we could still craft emotional endings for all of them and give the audience the sense of closure they deserve.

What was the purpose of making Leyla Maya’s accomplice? Was she ever really interested in Izzy, or was it all a game?

She was interested in Izzy. They connected, but we didn’t want to make it a simple story for them where they met, got along, and fell in love.

Right away, Izzy realizes that Layla is an imperfect person, and she has been scarred by the death of her brother and her father and has chosen to do something that she shouldn’t do.

So, it gives Izzy a moment of reflection and realization that not everything is perfect. It was a way to complicate their relationship and the story and give Maya another layer to her more extensive plan.

Many fans felt cheated by that because they initially thought it was a well-written, queer storyline, and they were hoping Izzy and Leyla would then end up being the queer, lesbian couple to root for.

Oh. It’s interesting how stories evolve. We wanted to give them a satisfying story, but many things entered into the storytelling process. Izzy’s character has come a long way from the show’s beginning.

She’s someone who, when we meet her, she’s a little naive and a typical teenager, but she has an opportunity to grow and challenge herself.

Despite everything that happened, she has a lot of growth and understands who she is by the end of the series. That was our ultimate goal for the show and her character.

Do you think the only way Levi and Gavin’s friendship could heal was for Levi to sacrifice himself?

There was definitely a faster way to do it. It was a massive sacrifice because he has wronged Gavin several times by having an affair with his wife and taking away their opportunity to return home in Season 2.

This was part of his redemption arc, proving what Gavin meant to him and making amends. If Levi hadn’t died, they probably would have healed their relationship because Levi would have found another way to apologize to them. Gavin is forgiving, but it might have taken some more time.

How will Petra heal after learning everything that her mother has done?

That’s a tough one. She’s definitely someone who’s been through the wringer, and having a parent like that can’t be easy.

She has formed a friendship with Scott in the season, and we tried to speak to that at the end of the show that Scott would look out for her, but it’s a traumatic period for a girl of that age.

We didn’t necessarily focus our story attention too much on her. While an important character, she’s not she wasn’t who we wanted to focus our emotional weight on at the end of the series.

No, but I loved how her storyline helped Scott grow this year. He had more of an arc than we’ve ever seen.

He’s come into his own as a heroic person, as someone who has a purpose. It was reflected in that final scene when he found the woman he loved but could never propose to her. He shows her how he’s grown and how different he is.

So, he’s someone who’s come a long way. He’s someone who was governed by fear and had a dependence on marijuana at the beginning of the show but has overcome those things and becomes an adult and a man.

On that note, what are the chances of a follow-up movie so we can check in on Scott and his new girlfriend or Lucas and Veronica or the Harrises?

I would love to do that. I have ideas for where the characters would go. I have ideas for a different spin-off, where you would take some of the existing characters, bring in a new cast, bring them back to 10,000 BC, and go on another adventure.

I would love the opportunity to do that. But for now, this is the end of this story. You never know what will happen in the future. Shows have a long life, and stranger things have happened.

I would love a follow-up. I would like to see the Harrises in therapy coping or see Lucas, Veronica, and Scott still hanging out. I’ve grown to love these characters over the last three seasons.

Were you happy with how La Brea Season 3 ended? Would you be interested in a La Brea follow-up movie or spin-off series?

Comment below.

To catch up, La Brea is available to stream on Peacock now.

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