EXCLUSIVE: Jon Seda & Chiké Okonkwo Talk 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 stars of the series Jon Seda and Chiké Okonkwo ahead of the premiere.
What can we expect from your characters in season three:
Jon Seda: “I’ll say since we’re bonding, I think this season since, look, we only got six episodes. We were fortunate to be able to complete our story from beginning to end. So I think for Sam, it’s a season where he just really just finally in a way finds who he is and finds just some clear minded stuff that he was never able to work through before. And 10,000 BC forced that upon him.”
Chike Okonkwo: “For Ty, I think it’s been a really, actually a really great journey from beginning to end of finding him at the beginning of season one in this really tough spot, him finding a new purpose and new friends and really new family in the sinkhole. And then season three, he’s facing a whole new set of challenges and he really has found what’s important to him, and that’s his friends. And it’s characters like Sam and trying to make sure that the family and the Harris family can find one another again. At the end of season two, they’re separated again. So it’s really about for all of us, I think, but certainly for Ty keeping the main thing the main thing. The main thing is that his friends are all safe and back to where they belong.”
What would you say suprissed you the most about your characters this season:
Chike Okonkwo: “What surprised me most about the season in general was the number of dinosaurs. We spent so much time learning about 10,000 BC and the Ice Age. And I spent two years saying, ‘Well, it’s not dinosaurs. Dinosaurs was a million years before.’ But now we were wrong. Dinosaurs are there. But for my character, I think it was really finding out what really mattered to him when it came down to it. He wanted to be a good guy. He wanted to try and right some of the wrongs perhaps of his life. And also he wants to get back to his love, Pada. And really for Ty, it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up at the end of the season because for so many people, it’s about trying to get back to the current day. But for Ty, it’s about trying to really work out how he can be with his family.”
Jon Seda: “I think the surprising stuff was playing those two different worlds and trying to make sure you knew what was going on here and what was going on here, and just trying to make it work. And so I knew going into the season, I said that was going to be a little challenge and it was going to be fun, but it was also going to be a challenge. And I think for Sam, I would say this season, really a surprise for him was finding out really how vulnerable he really is. And so I think which also became a way for him to grow and learn from as well.”
Can you talk a little bit about how the dinosaurs were portrayed while filming:
Jon Seda: “We’ve had some guys actually jumping around in blue suits, and you’ll have a dinosaur head or a rhinos head or something on it where they’re chasing you with something. It’s pretty interesting how they go about it.”
Chike Okonkwo: “There’s a brilliant scene in episode five, without giving too much away, where Jon and I and Eoin [Macken], we are on a quest, as is often the case, and we had to do this whole scene without a tennis ball, without head, but just imagining this thing coming towards us. And look, it’s fun. It’s like being a big kid. You’re constantly using your imagination. And it’s definitely testament to the incredible team that work on the show, whether it’s special effects or CGI or the practical things we have on the day. We definitely have a lot of the work done for us with the great people who work on this show.”
With this being the final season, are you guys satisfied with your character’s journeys:
Jon Seda: “I think so. I think so. Yeah. Like I said, we got a shortened season because of whatever circumstances. And I’m sure there were different ideas for all of us, and maybe there was a bigger picture of a certain way. But I think given the timeframe they had, and we have some incredible writers, and David Applebaum, his whole vision. I think first and foremost, they had to find a way to find a closure for them. I think David had to find that closure and find a way to do that that was satisfying to him before it was even satisfying to us. And I think I could say, at least for Sam, I think it wraps up pretty nice.”
Chike Okonkwo: “Likewise. It’s so nice and it’s not given on television to be able to end a story, to be able to go from the beginning through the middle to an end. And it’s really satisfying to be able to complete this story and this chapter of La Brea. And for Ty in particular, I was very, very happy that he gets to be effective for the group, for the people around him. I think that was really big, an important part of his journey. And yeah, I’m just intrigued to see what viewers think when they get to see it. Because it’s nice to be able to come back and visit the show maybe in a few years time and know that you’ve got the whole show to watch, not just something that hangs off and doesn’t quite complete itself. So that’s been a really, really big part of this for us.”
To round out the interview, did you ever discuss who of the cast would survive the events in La Brea, if they were happening in real life:
Chike Okonkwo: “I would say Jon. I’m not just saying that because he’s here. I feel really proud that my name might have been mentioned. But we would definitely work well together. Look, you need to be a part of a team in a situation like that. And I think Jon and I would definitely work well together, so I could say that much.”
Jon Seda: “I think Sam [His character] would try to be a little too gung-ho, and probably get stepped on by a dinosaur or something.”
La Brea season 3 premieres tonight, January 9 at 9pm ET on NBC!
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Photos by: Jasin Boland/NBC