EXCLUSIVE: David Applebaum Previews the Final Season of ‘La Brea’
La Brea returns for its final season tonight, January 9. In honor of its final chapter, BB had the amazing opportunity to chat with producer of the series David Applebaum ahead of the premiere.
On what kept the fans coming back for three seasons:
“I think it starts with a family story. The original conception of the show was about a family that’s divided and trying to get back to each other. And that’s an element that we’ve carried through from the beginning and continues to the very end of the show. So I think just that idea of people that you love that you’re separated from, either by proximity or by emotional difficulty, is something that everyone can understand. Whether you’re a fan of time travel shows or dinosaur shows or action adventure, it all comes back to the human story. And I think we tried to find that with every single character. It’s a really diverse and eclectic group of people who found themselves in 10,000 BC, but all of them have emotional stories that resonate with anyone. We have a story about people becoming pregnant. What does it mean to raise a child? For Dr. Sam, and what does it mean to have a strained relationship with your daughter? And they all have different things going on that we try to make as universal and human as possible. The show is a lot of other things too, but I think at the heart of that, that’s what I think that most people come back to.”
On whether a shortened season hindered the ending of the series:
“We knew that it was going to be a shortened final season from the beginning, before we started work writing season three. I always had an idea of where I wanted the show to end for the Harris family. But for other characters, I had ideas, but not all of them. And some of them were still evolving in season two and changing in ways that I hadn’t expected. So it definitely, knowing that the third season was the last one, it did change my and the writers perspectives about what we needed to do. Because we wanted all of them to be emotionally satisfying and surprising wrap-ups for all of them, but that wasn’t necessarily the trajectory we were going by the end of season two. But once we knew of season three, we had to pivot for a lot of stories and create arcs that would bring to satisfying conclusions for all of them.”
On how much research goes into a series such as La Brea:
“I think any science fiction story is always going to feel more, you’ll connect to it more the more that it’s grounded in reality. So even for every crazy thing that happens in the show, we want to base it in as much reality as we could. So we did talk to theoretic, we had conversations with theoretical physicists, watched a lot of time travel movies and TV shows to try to understand what is real and what’s possible or what’s theoretically possible. But then you have that grounding and then you go off into places where your imagination takes you. So I think tried to have as much grounding in reality as we could and have characters react to things as if they were experiencing things in real life. That’s how I think you get the most emotional investment. But it is also a fantasy show, so you have to leave a lot of room for diversion and where your imagination can take you.”
On what he will remember most from this project:
“I think it’s a lot of gratitude, really. Just amazing how the idea for this just started with me having an image in my mind of a sinkhole opening in Los Angeles. And then from there it’s like hundreds of people, tens of millions of dollars, publicity, people across the world, all just working towards an idea that I had in my mind when I was just driving in my car one day. And it’s really amazing to think that so many people can get behind that. And I’m just really thankful that I had that opportunity to work with so many amazing people, but also have the chance to reach millions of people around the world. It’s a hard thing to comprehend that some crazy idea that you have can involve so many people and reach so many people. So it’s really thankfulness and gratitude I think that I’ll have.”
On what fans can expect from the final season:
“I think they’re going to be more than anything, it’s going to be an emotionally cathartic journey for them. I think that people will be surprised and also be moved by what happens to these characters that they care about. It builds to, these people have been on really an epic journey that’s taken them across time and endangered their lives and caused them to have new realizations. But I think it’s all going to build to an exciting place. It is an action adventure show, but it’s also, I think, going to be really emotionally cathartic for the people, for the fans who care about these characters. Because we’re finishing their journeys, but also continuing setting them up for where they’re going to go, even beyond the show itself. So I think when shows end, sometimes they end abruptly and you feel unsatisfied. But I think since we had the knowledge and the time to plot out these endings for all the characters, I think we put ourselves in a good spot to make it really satisfying for the audience.”
On what he is most excited for fans to see this season:
“I think certainly Gavin’s story is an interesting one. Gavin’s story from the beginning of the show, we’ve known that he’s had these visions and this connection to 10,000 BC, but we’re going to learn that there are other deeper layers to his backstory and his own familial backstory that inform his journey. And that will be a key part of the journey to get back to, at least attempt to get back home. And everything that he’s gone through, I think is really building towards this season. And that character really takes center stage in this season in a way. He’s always been in the Harris family and the father of the family, but he’s really takes center stage in a great way. So I’m really excited for that story, particularly because I think it goes in a lot of surprising directions.”
La Brea season 3 premieres tonight, January 9 at 9pm ET on NBC!
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Photo credit: NBC