Steven Spielbergis best known for helping define the modern blockbuster – especially with Jurassic Park. The tale of dinosaurs reborn in the modern world turned out to be a smash hit, even launching a franchise that continues today. It only makes sense that Spielberg would apply the same sense of danger and wonder to a television project, and that’s exactly what happened with Terra Nova. Based on an idea by Kelly Marcel and then produced by Spielberg under his Amblin Television banner, Terra Nova would feature a premise that audiences would be reminded of years later with NBC’s La Brea.
What Is ‘Terra Nova’ About?
Terra Nova‘s story is set in the year 2149, with an Earth on the brink of extinction due to overpopulation and rampant pollution. A portal through time is established to save what’s left of the human race, allowing survivors to travel to an alternate version of the Cretaceous Period and start a new life. The latest batch of survivors includes former policeman Jim Shannon (Jason O’Mara), his wife Elisabeth (Shelley Conn) and their kids Josh (Landon Liborion), Maddy (Naomi Scott) and Zoe (Alana Mansour). Keeping the peace is Commander Nathaniel Taylor (Stephen Lang), the first time traveler who serves as the colony’s leader.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Their potentially peaceful existence is threatened by the arrival of the Sixers, a group of mercenaries looking to strip the Cretaceous of its minerals and make a profit back in 2149. Yes, even in the far future, corporations will seek to profit from any source they can find. Shannon and Taylor work together to fight the Sixers, all the while dealing with their own family problems. Josh resents his father for making him travel back in time without being able to see his girlfriend; Maddy gets in danger every other five minutes, and Zoe’s entire existence is violating the population control laws of 2149. Taylor, however, is in for the shock of his life as his son Lucas (Ashley Zuckerman) is leading the Sixers. That’s not even mentioning the dinosaurs and other dangers that dominate this strange new world.
‘Terra Nova’ Never Really Got Off The Ground Due To Production Problems
Though it had the might of Spielberg as a producer and a genuinely interesting premise, Terra Nova only lasted a single season. A large part of this was due to the creative turmoil behind the scenes. Originally slated to debut in May 2011, Terra Nova wound up being pushed to the fall due to special effects taking time to finish. On top of that, writers started to depart the project as production stretched on. Craig Silverstein, who helped develop Marcel’s original script, left to run Nikita for the CW. David Fury (24, Angel) also departed due to “creative differences”. Eventually, Terra Nova was picked up for a full series – a rarity on television back then – but it was canceled in 2012. Netflix tried to pick up the show for a second season, but that road hit a dead end.
In the years following Terra Nova’s cancellation, the cast and crew reflected on its ending and what could have been. Showrunner Brannon Braga revealed to Digital Spy that there were ideas for a second season involving a race of evolved dinosaurs, as well as conflict between Shannon and Taylor. “The stuff out in the badlands, [there is] still an army out there, but we were going to find they were being massacred by what could be the possible next step in evolution for the dinosaurs… Then [there would be] a big showdown, and Taylor [Stephen Lang] was going to go crazy… The main source of conflict would be between Taylor and Jim Shannon (Jason O’Mara), and a battle for control of the colony and how to deal with these new dangers.”
Scott also reflected on her time filming Terra Nova, and revealed that changes led to the original concept being reworked over time. “I remember there were a lot of political undertones to the original pilot and the meaning, and I think what happens is sometimes that can get diluted into making some type of – not soapy, but it becomes whatever people feel like it needs to be. But sometimes you can dilute something, you lose the uniqueness or the thingy-ness of it, and then it ends up not being really for anyone, or you don’t know where to place it,” she told Collider.
How ‘Terra Nova’ and ‘La Brea’ Both Draw From ‘Jurassic Park’
A dinosaur finds its next (unsuspecting) victim in ‘Terra Nova’Image via FOX
La Brea features a plot that’s somewhat similar to Terra Nova: a group of survivors is pulled into a prehistoric era and soon learns that they’ve been pulled back in time. However, La Brea doesn’t reveal the origins of its “sinkholes” until late in its first season. It also takes a more grounded approach by slowly introducing more futuristic concepts in Seasons 2 and 3. Eventually, the main threat is a group known as the Lazarus Project who wish to strip mine the modern world of resources to save their dying future – similar to the setup of Terra Nova.
Both TV shows also place a heavy focus on family. The Shannon family in Terra Nova may have their ups and downs, but they stick by each other no matter what. Likewise, La Brea focuses on the Harris family as they are initially separated and have to survive the perils of 10,000 B.C. Once again, Spielberg’s work on Jurassic Park serves as a major influence, and La Brea also manages to deliver stylistic similarities to Spielberg’s other iconic franchise – Indiana Jones. Jurassic Park saw Alan Grant (Sam Neill) become a father figure of sorts to John Hammond’s (Richard Attenborough) grandchildren. That same sense of legacy is present, albeit more directly, in Terra Nova than in La Brea, thanks to Spielberg’s involvement.
Terra Nova is available to rent or buy from Apple TV+.
