One of the surprise Netflix hits of 2024 is La Palma.
Created by Martin Sundland, Lars Gudmestad, and Harald Rosenløw Eeg, the four-episode limited series follows a Norwegian family celebrating Christmas on La Palma, an island in the Canary Islands. But their vacation is interrupted after geologists discover that a volcano is about to erupt, which would cause untold devastation including the threat of “a mountain mass the size of Manhattan [erupting] into the sea and [causing] the largest tsunami the world has ever seen.” Will the family be able to escape in time?
La Palma isn’t based on a true story (and some of the “mega-tsunami” science is dubious), but it’s inspired by real events: Cumbre Vieja, the most active volcano on the Canary Islands, most recently erupted in 2021. As for whether the Norwegian series will get a season 2, well, the creators haven’t said anything. But let’s just say that the fourth episode has a definitive ending.
Here’s more:
It’s Christmas and high season when a Norwegian family checks into their favorite hotel on the island of La Palma. But beneath the idyll, a danger lurks. A young Norwegian scientist discovers alarming signs about the volcano located in the center of the holiday paradise. She must convince her colleagues that the worst-case scenario is about to happen. If the volcano erupts, a mountain mass the size of Manhattan might erupt into the sea and cause the largest tsunami the world has ever seen. Will the family manage to escape the disaster of ash, gas and lava in a fight for their lives?
La Palma is streaming now on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
