diff --git a/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/components/vis_types/timeseries/config.js b/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/components/vis_types/timeseries/config.js
index 1c3a0411998b0..f6863ea4cd4f9 100644
--- a/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/components/vis_types/timeseries/config.js
+++ b/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/components/vis_types/timeseries/config.js
@@ -331,8 +331,13 @@ export const TimeseriesConfig = injectI18n(function (props) {
     ? props.model.series_index_pattern
     : props.indexPatternForQuery;
 
-  const initialPalette = {
-    ...model.palette,
+  const initialPalette = model.palette ?? {
+    type: 'palette',
+    name: 'default',
+  };
+
+  const palette = {
+    ...initialPalette,
     name:
       model.split_color_mode === 'kibana'
         ? 'kibana_palette'
@@ -430,7 +435,7 @@ export const TimeseriesConfig = injectI18n(function (props) {
             >
               <PalettePicker
                 palettes={palettesRegistry}
-                activePalette={initialPalette}
+                activePalette={palette}
                 setPalette={handlePaletteChange}
                 color={model.color}
               />
diff --git a/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/lib/get_split_by_terms_color.ts b/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/lib/get_split_by_terms_color.ts
index e8f81bd8c6045..13f1fe5a1f79d 100644
--- a/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/lib/get_split_by_terms_color.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/vis_type_timeseries/public/application/lib/get_split_by_terms_color.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ export const getSplitByTermsColor = ({
         }
       : seriesPalette.params;
 
-  const outputColor = palettesRegistry?.get(paletteName).getColor(
+  const outputColor = palettesRegistry?.get(paletteName || 'default').getColor(
     [
       {
         name: seriesName || emptyLabel,