PARADISE. There are two kinds of people: those who do not see most of the twists and revelations coming in the eight episodes of the Hulu thriller series Paradise, and goddamn liars. A possible subgroup would be those intent on ruining their own unstudied response by focusing on what puzzles writers might come up with, rather than enjoying the ride and the interplay of genuinely intriguing characters portrayed by pros. Well, enjoy is maybe not always be the word but there is much to be entertained, distracted and engaged by.
At the center of our story is Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), seemingly carved from stone that warms only in the presence of his children and subordinate Billy Pace (Jon Beavers), a looser, lankier fellow also guarding the president, along with fresh faced Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom). Until, that is, President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) is found dead in the bedroom of his sunny estate, setting off an investigation heightened and hampered by political implications and machinations. In flashbacks, we learn how Xavier, or X to his friends, came to guard Bradford, and how that relationship was strengthened by an assassination attempt before turning sour.
At home, X is single parenting a young boy and high school girl (Percy Daggs IV, Aliyah Mastin), a duty that becomes more complicated as the case unfolds. X’s insistence on commandeering the murder scene, breaking protocol and pursuing his own investigation strains some already shaky work relationships, including with his superior, Agent Robinson (Krys Marshall), who’s in charge despite a conflict of interest, and the powerful but title-less Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson). Also in the mix are the late president’s son Jeremy (Charlie Evans, working under cover of Timothée Chalamet’s hair), aging father Kane (Gerald McRaney) and former therapist Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi). As more details emerge along braided timelines, the investigation occurring in the present becomes, like the relationships between the players, increasingly fraught and marked by paranoia.
One pleasure of stretching out into a series is the time it allows for a character to evolve, or rather, for our understanding of them to do so. And each cast member here is up to the task of carrying their role from one end of that development to the other (and back again, in the case of multiple timelines).
Having not seen Brown in This is Us, he remains an intimidating figure and a reminder to check my posture as he cuts across the screen. (The first time his face opens up with a toothy smile was a little alarming, honestly.) But his stillness and silence carry depth, and it is near impossible to look away while he’s in the frame. It’s a control that pairs well with Beavers’ monotone banter and squinting worry; their chemistry is strong from the outset and carries us along.
The same can be said of Brown’s chemistry with Marsden, whose casting as the day-drinking frat-boy cum leader of the free world is genius casting. (If one saw his headshot and had to guess his name, certainly Cal Bradford would be among the first guesses. And with his twinkling, whitened smile, Marsden sells the president’s taste in music convincingly.) The charm and lowered bar with which Bradford slips past his own mistakes cannot satisfy someone like X. And yet the latter’s sense of duty locks them together. Nicholson is fantastic in the role of Sinatra — as far a cry from her pivotal performance in Mare of Easttown (2021) as one can imagine but accomplished with equal force and nuance.
In 2025, I doubt it risks spoiling much to say the billionaires in Paradise and their unelected positions of power and influence over government reflect our own troubles, though with more focus and gimlet intelligence than any of the real-life examples we’re burdened with could muster. The show’s title and each successive episode point not only to clues in the murder and other mysteries, but to our idea of a society and whether it ought to be based on values or comforts, obligations to one another or power held over another. It was not, by its final episode, the show I signed up for, but it’s one I’ll return to when Season 2 arrives. TVMA. HULU.
Jennifer Fumiko Cahill (she/her) is the arts and features editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400, extension 320, or jennifer@northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Bluesky @JFumikoCahill.
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For showtimes call: Broadway Cinema (707) 443-3456; Mill Creek Cinema 839-3456; Minor Theatre (707) 822-3456.
This article appears in 10 Foliies Anniversary.