Following the immense success of This Is Us, Dan Fogelman (Only Muders In The Building) and Sterling K. Brown are back working together on a new show, but this time the tone is very different from the hit NBC drama series which ended its 6-season run in 2022. Titled Paradise, the series has been progressing quietly at Hulu for quite some time with only little known until now. Paradise is a political drama series which from the newly released trailer boasts plenty of thrill and intensity and should expectedly have viewers on the edge of their seats. Brown plays Xavier Collins, the head of the President’s Secret Service detail.
The trailer opens with Xavier Collins on the hot seat as he’s being investigated for the murder of the US president, Cal Bradford, played by James Marsden. The investigator runs through his background which apprises us of his profile as a family man with two children. We’re shown the two kids named James and Presley before the shot cuts to match the voice-over where we see the questioning is being done with Xavier wearing a lie detector. As Xavier is asked about the last time he saw the president alive, we see that he was in fact the last person the president interacted with before his shocking death. Xavier is also the first person who discovers the president’s body the next morning, and while the security cameras seem to confirm he’s telling the truth, it’s clear that something sinister is at play with the president’s final words to Xavier, hinting that many want him dead.
The trailer gets more complex when a flashback reveals Xavier being let in on a top-level government secret, which might link to why he’s the prime suspect in the president’s murder. In his next questioning session, we see Xavier being puppeted on how to reply to the question – Is part of you happy that Carl is dead? How twistier can this get? With only a couple of minutes, the trailer succeeds at conveying great intensity and mystery, and should the series sustain this thrilling momentum, then a new hit series would’ve been born on Hulu.
The Plot For ‘Paradise’ Hints At More Twists
The trailer’s tone is markedly different from what the title would suggest, as no semblance of a paradise is seen. Or perhaps “paradise” is a code name for something else. However, the official synopsis does provide a clue as it describes the series as being “set in a serene, wealthy community inhabited by some of the world’s most prominent individuals. But this tranquility explodes when a shocking murder occurs and a high-stakes investigation unfolds.” Perhaps the wealthy community is paradise? Or maybe not. The good thing is, Paradise will premiere with three episodes at once, which should be enough time to explain a lot of things before it all gets further convoluted.
The cast is fleshed out by Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Michelle Meredith, Cassidy Freeman, Gerald McRaney, Krys Marshall, Charlie Evans, and Jon Beavers. Fogelman and Brown also serve as executive producers alongside Jess Rosenthal, John Hoberg, John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, and Steve Beers. Along with the trailer, Hulu is inviting audiences to follow the series’ official Instagram account before it goes private in a few hours. The account promises to share intel and reveal secrets as we anticipate the premiere date.
Paradise premieres on Hulu on January 28, 2025, with 3 episodes with new episodes to be released weekly. Check out the trailer above and stay tuned for more.
