La Brea: Who Is Gavin's Mother & Who Plays Her?

If there's one thing NBC's "La Brea" loves to do, it's giving each of its major characters the most complicated and messy family dynamics possible. In fewer cases is this idea more true than with Eoin Macken's Gavin Harris, as audiences see the father-of-two not only interacting with his ex-wife and kids as they're flung through time, but eventually also his own mysterious parents. Indeed, Season 2 reveals that Gavin's parents aren't dead, and their role in the narrative only gets larger from there.

One-half of the big reveal regarding Gavin's true parentage is that his mother is none other than a scientist from decades into the future, Dr. Caroline Clark. Played by Melissa Neal, Clark is one of the creators of the Lazarus Project — the very experiment that is largely responsible for the time-traveling mess that all of the characters find themselves in over the course of the series. Season 2 sees her making her way to the past in the hopes of rectifying her mistakes, though, as viewers see by the conclusion, things don't exactly go the way she planned.

While "La Brea" marks Melissa Neal's first recurring role in a TV production, she has a small list of acting credits from prior to her work on the show. The actor was notably part of the cast for the 2021 Paramount+ sci-fi movie "Infinite," in which she portrayed a character named Shawna. That same year, she played a minor role in the Harry Wootliff drama "True Things." She has also guest starred on a single episode of "FBI: International."

Neal's Caroline proved to be a major addition to the cast for the sophomore season of "La Brea." Nonetheless, it doesn't seem likely that she'll be returning in the same capacity for "La Brea" Season 3 and beyond, based on how Season 2 ended things off with the character. Then again, this is a series about time travel, so a fresh appearance from an old character is never truly off the table. In any case, Neal appears to have enjoyed wrapping up her stint on the series, as she shared a collection of behind-the-scenes images on her personal Instagram account.