Netflix Is Releasing 3-Part Time Travel Sci-Fi Series Next Week

Netflix will soon be getting a sci-fi series that ran for three seasons.

Although it’s the world’s top streaming service, it’s arguable that Netflix doesn’t currently have a defining science fiction show to match some of its competitors’. It often gets a boost, however, from its ability to license iconic series that began their life elsewhere. That’s true of the sci-fi genre as well, with Netflix becoming the licensed home for gems like Lost, From, and Manifest at different times over the past decade.

Netflix will next be the licensed U.S. home for all 30 episodes of La Brea, NBC’s three-season time travel saga, starting on Friday, May 1. The deal comes as part of the continued success that NBCUniversal has found in licensing its library to Netflix. The most prominent example of that success is likely to be Suits, which famously enjoyed a massive resurgence after it was added to Netflix in 2023.

To a lesser extent, La Brea has already seen some of that success. According to Netflix’s Engagement Reports, the time-twisting drama garnered 167 million viewing hours of viewership in the last month of 2024 and throughout 2025 after being released in select regions. It now has a chance to improve on that performance since it is being added in the U.S.

When it premiered on NBC in 2021, hailing from creator David Appelbaum, La Brea kicked off in an eye-catching way. The story opens with a massive sinkhole forming in the heart of LA, pulling people into the perilous world of 10,000 B.C. In that initial run, as the world attempts to understand the event, the story centers on a relatively small group of characters.

With the main cast of La Brea including Natalie Zea, Eoin Macken, Chiké Okonkwo, Karina Logue, Zyra Gorecki, Jack Martin, Veronica St. Clair, Rohan Mirchandaney, and Lily Santiago, the premise of the sci-fi drama gradually expanded over the course of its run to take more chances and evolve beyond what audiences and critics expected of it right out of the gate.

Ultimately, even though La Brea ends with a shortened season 3, the story is complete. New viewers, who might have missed the original run on NBC, can go in with the knowledge that they will receive closure to the story that was introduced.

Reviews of La Brea weren’t favorable. The network drama sits at 29% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews, with the audience score peeking at 50% for the second and third seasons. Netflix’s licensing strength is nonetheless a benefit, especially since its own sci-fi originals like Avatar: The Last Airbender and 3 Body Problem have taken time to return with new episodes.

Release Date

2021 – 2024-00-00

Directors

Adam Davidson, Cherie Nowlan, Thor Freudenthal, David Barrett, Ron Underwood, Greg McLean, Nick Gomez, Rose Troche, Christine Moore, Tara Miele

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