Hulu has been pushing the hell out of its latest series, Paradise — premiering it early, replaying it on ABC and FX — and for good reason: It’s a blast to watch. That doesn’t mean it’s prestige television, exactly, nor does it mean the twist isn’t completely ridiculous. But it’s also ridiculously fun, which is why I’d recommend it and encourage those who don’t want to be spoiled to back out. Honestly, however, I doubt knowing the twist would ruin the experience. If anything, some viewers might assume the show can’t possibly work because of it. I’m here to tell you: It does.
Paradise comes from Dan Fogelman, one of the creators of This Is Us (his frequent collaborator Glenn Ficarra also serves as executive producer). This Is Us excelled at pulling emotional heartstrings while seamlessly weaving together past and present storylines. Paradise does the same, only this time, within a sci-fi mystery.
Sterling K. Brown stars as Xavier, a Secret Service agent assigned to President Cal (James Marsden). Xavier joined Cal’s personal detail at the start of his second term and continues to serve him five years later, after he’s left the White House. We get glimpses of their complicated history before Xavier walks into Cal’s bedroom and finds him murdered.
Instead of immediately calling for help, Xavier investigates alongside two fellow agents, Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) and Billy (Jon Beavers). He quickly discovers that a secure briefcase is missing a tablet, that his boss, head of security Robinson (Krys Marshall), had slept with Cal the night before, that security cameras were paused for the two-hour window in which he died, and that Xavier was the last person to see Cal alive—making him a prime suspect.
Then comes the twist: When Cal was killed, he was still a President, but not of the United States. He was the leader of a 25,000-member community living in a massive underground city built inside a mountain. The rest of the world? Gone. Wiped out by a cataclysmic event. Because Xavier was on Cal’s detail, he and his two children were granted a place in the bunker. His wife, however, presumably was not — she appears to have died in the disaster.
That’s the setup: The President has been murdered. Xavier is both the lead investigator and a suspect. And the entire story unfolds within a sprawling, high-tech underground society founded by billionaire Samantha (Julianne Nicholson). Grieving the loss of her young son, Samantha heeded a scientist’s warnings and built the city to ensure the survival of her other child. Meanwhile, a therapist named Gabriela (Sarah Shahi) has Samantha’s ear and played a key role in deciding who was allowed into the community.
While the main mystery revolves around Cal’s murder, plenty of other questions linger. Why wasn’t Xavier’s wife chosen for the bunker? Why did Xavier despise Cal? And why is he so determined to solve his murder? What Fogelman does so well here — just as he did in This Is Us — is dig beneath the high-concept premise to explore the emotional depth of his characters, their histories, and the moments that shaped them. I’m a sucker for this kind of storytelling, and between Brown’s performance and Fogelman’s signature emotional hooks, it’s clear that Paradise — alongside its Lost-like mystery — will be capable of making its audience ugly cry.
I’m all in. This show takes a big swing, but so far, it’s connecting. The first episode got its hooks in me, and the two others released alongside it sealed the deal. I love murder mysteries, conspiracy thrillers, and touchy-feely dramas. Paradise somehow manages to be all three.