La Brea came back in January 2024 with its third and final season. As the dinosaurs become the biggest threat, the clearing people must find a way to stay safe and adjust to life in the village. However, as the first episodes have shown, not everyone makes it into the village. Ty (Chiké Okonkwo), who had previously been in the village due to his relationship with Paara (Tonantzin Carmelo), was sucked by an aurora and sent to 2021.

Now, he must find a way to bring his friends back from 10,000 B.C. while navigating what this means for him. Will he stay in 2021 or return to his love in the sinkhole? These are questions that will hopefully be answered before the season and the show come to an end.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Chiké Okonkwo about Ty, his journey on La Brea and what the final season means.

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This interview is condensed for length and clarity.

Lara Rosales: I wanted to start by talking about this journey Ty has been on since Season 1. I spoke to you a few weeks ago, and you mentioned he had found purpose during this journey. But now he’s back in 2021 and looking to talk to his ex. Why do you think that’s important to him and part of this journey?

Chiké Okonkwo: When you start a show like Ty did, with having more hope being lost, looking to take his own life, as an actor, I had to ask the question, “Why?” What different things might have happened? Because we’re at the beginning of a new show, and as a character that’s not been played before, I got to speak with David Applebaum, our showrunner, and decide what those few things were.

Quite a lot of that work we both did behind the scenes has made it into the show in this third season. He’s become a different person, found purpose again, remarried and found this new life and world in the sinkhole. So, he is deeply thankful he’s made it through and wants to see if he can also make amends in other parts of his life.

Ty and Paara hunting on La Brea.

LR: Do you think that doing this and being in 2021, and trying to bring the people back from 10,000 B.C., would it even cross his mind to stay in 2021? Or is he set on just going back to 10,000 B.C. into the life he found?

CO: I think, first and foremost, he wants to support his friends. He wants to help the community he’s built down in the sinkhole. He wants to help those people get home. But I think the decision also was made in Season 2. Ty got married; he has this new love for Paara and wants to build a family and a community there in the fort.

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So, he’s doing a selfless thing because he could go back to 2021. However, there will be time issues with that because there are probably two Tys walking around 2021. But he doesn’t do that. He decides to support his friends and do everything he can to get his friends back to where he feels they belong and where they want to be. For Ty, 10,000 B.C. is now his home, and it would be great to see a spin-off of La Brea to see what happens in that world.

LR: Now that he’s trying to get the trust of Sam and Gavin to bring their people back, how do you approach your character working with two different versions of Sam and Gavin?

CO: It was a great part of the show. Because for all intents and purposes, Sam and Gavin don’t know who he is; he is a complete stranger. He has to work out the best way to present it to both of them. As we see in episode three, thankfully, they trust him enough, or he feels trustworthy enough that he’s not trying to take advantage of them in some way.

That’s an element of Ty’s character– he’s a solid, trustworthy guy. He seems like he’s being honest. He’s earnestly trying to help other people. That’s what really helps get Sam and Gavin on board. As we’ll see, it’s the catalyst for the rest of the season. It’s nice to be a part of a storyline like that, which is so pivotal and central to the action of the show.

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LR: It definitely has been a great storyline so far from the episodes I have seen. I feel like it’s right because it’s the last season, so it helps connect everything. But I want to ask, knowing it’s the last season, what has been your favorite thing about playing Ty or about your storyline?

CO: Compassion. It’s nice to play a character who isn’t always thinking about themselves. So much of the drama is about what the person is going through. And, of course, Ty is going through quite a lot in La Brea from beginning to end, but he has an outward focus. Eve is a very dear friend of his; he wants to make sure she’s reunited with her family.

He’s very close with Sam and wants to make sure Sam’s okay, and then he also has Paara. As the season progresses, we’ll see that that becomes a weight on Ty because he is disconnected from his family in lots of ways. So, overall, there were so many elements of the character that I’ve enjoyed. But that compassion, playing that sort of character who’s very loving and supportive, is a nice thing to do.

Eve, Sam, and Ty standing in front of an ambulance on La Brea.

LR: You mentioned Eve and how your character was very much connected to her during Season 1. So, without giving it away, will we see more of what the relationship means to Ty now that Eve is missing and Ty is in another timeline?

CO: You see it in his actions. He doesn’t know Gavin all that well. They met only a few days ago in the story sense. But he is very close to Eve and understands what that family means to each other and everything they’ve been through. It’s hard for me to talk about it too much without giving it away. But I can say Ty is driven by the fact that Eve is such an important part of his world. He sees it that Eve and Sam saved his life. So, he owes them a lot, and that’s what’s driving him.

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LR: Have there been any other characters you would have liked playing now that you’ve seen how the seasons progressed?

CO: I never thought about that. No one’s ever asked me that. I don’t think so, if I’m honest, but there’s such a great ensemble of people on this show. Rohan [Mirchandaney], who plays Scott, is such a funny character. He’s the guy who helps others understand what’s happening and helps the viewer understand that. Lily Santiago, who plays Veronica, has been on such an incredible journey.

Josh [McKenzie], who plays Lucas — they’ve built these incredibly rich characters. That’s always the joy for an actor to play something that feels like real life. There’s lots of that on the show. Even though I wouldn’t necessarily want to play those roles, I’m grateful they exist in our show because they’re wonderful characters to play with.

Ty and Izzy hiding behind a red car on La Brea.

LR: Aside from Ty’s compassion, what would you like the audience to take away from the show when it comes to an end?

CO: I hope people feel like it’s been a fun ride. It has some great aspects: the time travel and all the creatures. In Season 3, [with] the dinosaurs, such incredible visual effects work has been done. It’s nice that people tune in and lose themselves in this world because it’s different from everything else on television. So, it’s been a real joy to be part of creating that. I hope viewers enjoy the ride and stick with it to the end because it gets really, really great.

Thank you so much, Chiké Okonkwo, for chatting with GGA!

La Brea airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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