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12 TV Shows and Movies to Watch After La Brea

So, you finished La Brea.

You survived the giant sinkholes, prehistoric creatures, mysterious portals, complicated timelines and approximately 400 conversations about getting everyone back home.

Now your watchlist has a La Brea-shaped hole in it.

Fortunately, plenty of other shows and movies combine science-fiction mysteries, dangerous lost worlds, family drama and groups of terrified people asking the extremely reasonable question: “Where—and possibly when—are we?”

Here are 12 TV shows and movies to watch next if you loved La Brea.

1. Lost

Watch this if you loved: The stranded survivors and never-ending mysteries

Let us begin with the most obvious recommendation.

After their plane crashes on a remote island, the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 discover that their new home is anything but ordinary. Strange creatures, secret facilities, mysterious inhabitants and unexplained phenomena quickly turn survival into a much larger puzzle.

Like La Brea, Lost follows a large group of people forced to create a new community while their worried families and complicated pasts remain part of the story.

It also understands one of television’s most important rules: every answer should immediately create at least three more questions.

Where to watch: In the United States, Lost is available on Hulu and Disney+. It can also be purchased through digital stores including Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.

2. Manifest

Watch this if you loved: Families separated by impossible events

A commercial flight lands safely after what appears to be an ordinary journey. The passengers soon learn, however, that more than five years have passed—and everyone else believed they were dead.

The passengers have not aged, but the world has moved on without them.

Manifest shares La Brea’s interest in families divided by an unexplained phenomenon. It mixes emotional reunions with visions, conspiracies, government investigations and a mystery that becomes increasingly enormous.

You may begin by asking what happened to the plane. Before long, you will have a wall covered in theories and red string.

Where to watch: All four seasons are available on Netflix in the United States. Episodes and seasons can also be purchased through Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.

3. Terra Nova

Watch this if you loved: Prehistoric danger and families building a new life

In a future where Earth has become nearly uninhabitable, selected families travel through a time portal to establish a colony in the prehistoric past.

Yes, there are dinosaurs.

Yes, humanity immediately brings secrets and political problems into its supposedly fresh start.

And yes, this may be the closest match for viewers who loved watching the Harris family navigate La Brea’s dangerous ancient world.

Terra Nova combines family drama, time travel, survival and enormous creatures that view humans as convenient snacks.

Where to watch: In the United States, the season is available to purchase digitally through Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home. It has also been released on DVD.

4. FROM

Watch this if you loved: A trapped community that cannot understand its surroundings

A family takes an unexpected detour and arrives in a small town from which nobody can escape.

Every road leads back to the same place. The residents do not know why they are trapped, and terrifying creatures emerge from the surrounding forest at night.

FROM is considerably darker and more frightening than La Brea, but the two shows share plenty of DNA. Both feature stranded communities, changing alliances, desperate families and mysteries that appear to operate according to unknown rules.

The biggest difference is that FROM may make you permanently suspicious of smiling strangers standing outside your window.

Where to watch: FROM is available through MGM+ in the United States. MGM+ can be accessed directly or through participating channel providers, including supported Prime Video subscriptions.

5. Under the Dome

Watch this if you loved: Ordinary people suddenly cut off from civilization

The residents of Chester’s Mill wake up to discover that an enormous, invisible dome has sealed their town off from the rest of the world.

Nobody can enter. Nobody can leave. Supplies are limited, leadership is questionable and the dome may have plans of its own.

Like La Brea, the show examines how people respond when familiar rules disappear overnight. Some residents become heroes. Others see the disaster as an excellent opportunity to gain power.

Apparently, even an unexplained supernatural barrier cannot stop local politics.

Where to watch: All three seasons are available on Paramount+ in the United States, including supported Paramount+ channel subscriptions. The series can also be purchased through Amazon Video.

6. Primeval

Watch this if you loved: Time portals and prehistoric creatures appearing where they should not

Mysterious temporal anomalies begin opening across Britain, allowing creatures from the distant past—and sometimes the future—to enter the present day.

A team of scientists and government specialists must investigate the portals, capture the creatures and determine why the anomalies are appearing.

Primeval delivers many of the ingredients that make La Brea fun: dangerous animals, unstable gateways through time, government secrecy and people trying to explain the scientifically impossible while something with enormous teeth chases them.

It is lighter and more episodic than La Brea, making it an easy choice for viewers who want adventurous science fiction rather than nonstop gloom.

Where to watch: In the United States, episodes are available through Peacock. The series may also be offered for digital purchase through services such as Fandango at Home. Search for the 2007 British television series, since several unrelated movies share the title.

7. The 100

Watch this if you loved: Young survivors creating a society in a dangerous world

Nearly a century after a nuclear disaster, humanity’s survivors live aboard an orbiting space station. When resources begin to disappear, 100 young prisoners are sent to Earth to determine whether the planet is habitable again.

They quickly discover that Earth is neither empty nor safe.

The 100 begins as a survival story and expands into a complicated science-fiction saga involving rival societies, moral dilemmas and leaders forced to make impossible decisions.

Fans of La Brea’s ensemble cast and shifting alliances will find plenty to debate here.

Where to watch: Streaming availability changes by region. Search for The 100 through JustWatch, Reelgood or your preferred streaming service. Episodes and complete seasons may also be available for purchase from Amazon Video, Apple TV or Fandango at Home.

8. The Society

Watch this if you loved: Survivors attempting to rebuild civilization

A group of teenagers returns from a school trip to discover that every other resident of their wealthy town has disappeared.

The roads out of town are blocked, communication with the outside world is impossible and no adults remain to enforce the rules.

At first, this sounds like the greatest unsupervised weekend ever. Then food, safety, government and justice become very real problems.

The Society focuses less on prehistoric monsters and more on the social consequences of isolation. It is ideal for viewers who were most interested in how La Brea’s survivors organized themselves and handled conflict.

One warning: the series was canceled after its first season, so several mysteries remain unresolved.

Where to watch: The Society is a Netflix original and is available through Netflix in supported regions.

9. Jurassic Park

Watch this if you loved: Humans discovering that prehistoric animals are not interested in cooperating

A billionaire invites a group of experts to inspect a revolutionary theme park populated by cloned dinosaurs.

Everything is carefully controlled.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Obviously, almost everything goes wrong.

Jurassic Park does not involve a sinkhole or a time portal, but it remains essential viewing for anyone who enjoyed the prehistoric threats in La Brea. It delivers suspense, adventure, memorable characters and the definitive lesson that large carnivorous dinosaurs should not be treated as tourist attractions.

Where to watch: The film regularly moves between subscription services. Search for it on JustWatch or Reelgood to see its current home in your country. It is also commonly available to rent or purchase through Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google TV and Fandango at Home.

10. Journey to the Center of the Earth

Watch this if you loved: Discovering an impossible world beneath our own

In this 2008 adventure film, a scientist, his nephew and their guide become trapped underground and discover an enormous hidden world.

Naturally, this underground environment contains unusual creatures, dangerous terrain and very few conveniently marked exits.

The movie is considerably lighter than La Brea, but it offers a similar sense of discovery. It is a good choice for families or viewers who want a lost-world adventure without three seasons of emotional trauma.

Where to watch: Search the title and the release year “2008” through JustWatch or your preferred streaming app. The movie is often available to rent or purchase from Amazon Video, Apple TV and other major digital stores.

11. The Tomorrow War

Watch this if you loved: Families, time travel and enormous monsters

Soldiers from the future arrive in the present with terrible news: humanity is losing a war against an alien species, and modern-day civilians must travel forward in time to help.

A former soldier and teacher joins the fight, but his mission becomes deeply connected to his own family.

The Tomorrow War combines time-travel rules, creature action and an emotional parent-child storyline. It is louder and more explosive than La Brea, but it shares the show’s belief that repairing a family can be just as important as repairing the timeline.

Where to watch: The Tomorrow War is an Amazon original and is available through Prime Video in supported regions.

12. Land of the Lost

Watch this if you loved: The basic premise of La Brea but wanted far more chaos

A scientist, his assistant and a survivalist are transported into a strange alternate world filled with dinosaurs, lizard people and bizarre dangers.

Unlike La Brea, the 2009 Land of the Lost movie treats its lost-world premise as a comedy.

It is ridiculous, energetic and fully aware that being chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex can be funny when it is happening to somebody else.

Watch this after the heavier shows on this list, preferably when you need to stop thinking seriously about temporal physics.

Where to watch: Search for the 2009 film through JustWatch, Reelgood or your streaming device. It is frequently available to rent or purchase through Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.

What Should You Watch First?

Your ideal next show depends on what you enjoyed most about La Brea.

For another huge science-fiction mystery, start with Lost.

For emotional family drama mixed with impossible events, choose Manifest.

For portals, dinosaurs and prehistoric survival, watch Terra Nova or Primeval.

For something much scarier, enter the nightmare of FROM.

For a fast movie night filled with creatures and time travel, try The Tomorrow War.

And for the closest thing to seeing a community dropped into a mysterious survival puzzle, Under the Dome should move near the top of your list.

How to Find Current Streaming Information

Streaming catalogs change regularly, and a title available in one country may be missing from another.

To find the latest viewing options, search the exact title on:

  • JustWatch
  • Reelgood
  • Google TV
  • Apple TV
  • Amazon Video
  • Your smart television’s universal search feature

Be sure to check whether a title is included with a subscription or available only as a rental or purchase.

Official network and streaming-service pages are also useful for trailers, episode descriptions, cast information and renewal news. IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and TV Guide can provide additional details, although viewers should watch out for spoilers.

Now choose your next destination, pack emergency supplies and remember the most important lesson of La Brea:

When an enormous sinkhole suddenly appears in the middle of the city, do not stand near the edge taking pictures.

Written by Ailie Macquarie

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