There have been very few series in the last few years that have kept me glued to my television like Hulu’s Paradise.
The series stars Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us) as Xavier Collins, a secret service agent to the President, Cal Bradford (James Marsden, Jury Duty). Created by Dan Fogleman (This Is Us), this series isn’t everything that it seems.
Quite like This Is Us, the first episode brought you into the world of these characters and then seemingly dropped a huge plot twist. While you originally think that the show is about the death of the president, and it is, it ends up being so much more.
Piece by piece, things start to unravel during each episode; just enough to not confuse the audience, but keep them engaged and asking questions. Sometimes, shows reveal too much at once, or the pace ends up being so fast that it confuses audiences, but Paradise did none of that. It revealed enough, right at the right points, to keep audiences up-to-speed and eagerly awaiting the next episode.
The cast of this series is really what drives it home. As a fan of Sterling K. Brown since his Supernatural days, I was excited to see him take on this role. Quite honestly, it’s his best role yet. His facial expressions fly through every single emotion right from the first scene, and you’re instantly captivated by him. James Marsden does an excellent job showcasing the delicate balance between being President and being a human being – flawed, but inherently good.
This series made you fall in love with characters such as Billy Pace (Jon Beavers), who managed to completely captivate the audience in just one episode, episode 4, titled “Agent Billy Pace”. They made their villain, Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson), so vile that you were truly angry at seeing her on screen (a testament to the writers and Julianne for an incredible performance). Each character was so fleshed out and three-dimensional, showcasing each person’s story and the reason for some of their actions.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, can compare to episode 7, “The Day”. It’s an episode long anticipated by audiences, and it delivered in ten-fold. The entire time I was watching that episode, I was quiet because every single second of the show seemed important and tense. Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden deliver the best performances not only of their careers but of the year amongst anyone. It might be the best episode of television I’ve ever seen.
It’s also evident that I’m not alone. Just in the last few weeks as the episodes aired, everyone in my friend circles, family, etc., was talking about Paradise. More and more threads and videos popped up of theories, and it soon seemed like everyone I knew was watching it and loving it.
Let’s talk about that finale. While I’m trying to keep the review vague to not spoil anyone who wants to watch it and hasn’t, the finale really brought things full circle. A testament again to the brilliant writing team, who has been planting seeds (and a few red herrings) all along to lead to the finale.
And while, yes, it’s only March in 2025, this is easily going to be the best series of the year and should win all of the awards come award season. It’s that good.
While season 1 just ended, Hulu did announce towards the beginning of the season that a second season was ordered. We just hope it won’t be too long before we find out what’s next for Paradise.
You can stream the entirety of Paradise on Hulu.
