With as many original series as Netflix puts out every month, some of them are inevitably going to fall through the cracks, doomed to wallow in obscurity. But others manage to cut through the noise and find an audience, even when the odds are stacked against them. That is the case for the Norwegian disaster series La Palma, which has risen to the top spot of Netflix’s TV charts a week after its four episodes premiered on the service.
The limited TV series follows a family on vacation in La Palma as well as a group of geological researchers trying to sound the alarm before the volcano erupts. Martin Sundland (The Quake), Lars Gudmestad (Headhunters), and Harald Rosenløw Eeg (The Wave) created La Palma. All four episodes were directed by Kasper Barfoed (The Nurse).
There haven’t been many reviews yet, but Netflix subscribers who have seen it don’t seem to be very impressed. On Rotten Tomatoes, viewers called it “truly ridiculous,” “dreadful,” “cheesy and unrealistic,” and “possibly the most annoying TV show I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Others were far more forgiving of the plot and the acting, with YouTuber Movies and Munchies saying that “the stunning visuals, palpable moral dilemmas, and family dynamics work to offset the shortcomings so this isn’t a full-on storytelling disaster.”
La Palma made the news in 2021 when the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge erupted and destroyed more than 3,000 buildings on the island, but the show is not based on a true story. That said, the team behind the show clearly drew inspiration from the 2021 eruption.
If you’re a fan of wacky, over-the-top disaster movies like 2012, San Andreas, or The Day After Tomorrow, you’ll probably have a good time with La Palma. If not, you might end up joining the throng of scathing reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.