Let Hulu’s head-scratching Paradise suck you in
This Is Us’ Dan Fogelman and Sterling K. Brown reunite for a twisty thriller.
Photo: Brian Roedel/Disney
Paradise is rarely what it appears to be. At first glance, Hulu’s series is a murder mystery about a former President’s death, with his trusted Secret Service agent as the prime suspect. Classic whodunit elements like red herrings, multiple investigations, and intense interrogations are part of the intrigue. But creator Dan Fogelman and star-producer Sterling K. Brown’s previous collaboration, This Is Us, is an indication to expect the unexpected here. The duo strikes gold again with another non-linear, gripping, and schmaltzy narrative, now with far crazier twists and stakes.
This show demands a degree of patience and suspension of disbelief, to be clear, but Paradise is rewarding as its strangeness unravels. The wildly entertaining suspense is peeled back like an onion with every hourlong installment (seven of the show’s eight episodes were screened for critics), blowing up any notion of an ordinary political thriller. Thanks to its incisive if at times goofy scripts and terrific performances, the show evolves into a multifaceted drama that’s both thought-provoking and head-scratching.
Paradise’s hook is the chase between the head of security Xavier Collins (Brown) and whoever killed his boss, POTUS Cal Bradford (James Marsden). In the present day, Xavier hunts for the real culprit after he’s accused of the crime, while flashbacks depict the ups and downs of their friendship once Xavier is assigned to Cal’s detail during his second term. With the White House stint done with, they now live in an idyllic town straight out of Gilmore Girls with their respective families and other government officials. The apparent tranquility shatters when Xavier discovers Cal’s body, sending him on a path that upends his world.
However, the world Xavier lives in already feels askew with cheesy dialogue and visuals in the first episode that might induce some eye-rolling until a couple of curveballs make them track. The action kicks up a notch once the cards are laid out in the three-part premiere (so be patient), with the show relishing in a layered approach to its sociopolitical conflicts and grand themes.