At this point, it can be safely argued that television isn’t short on choices where thrillers are concerned. The white-knuckled espionage drama, in particular, is enjoying an active resurgence thanks to Apple TV+’s Slow Horses as well as Netflix’s The Night Agent and Black Doves, to name a few of many currently acclaimed examples. Aside from Netflix’s The Diplomat, however, not as many of today’s major thrillers are utilizing the dramatic tension inherent to the political side of things — an increasingly polarized and insular world ruled by greedy power brokers, the exhausting paranoia of always having to look over your shoulder, the destructive secrets buried behind locked safes and inside wary minds, and the lone hero committed to exorcising the controversial truth.
Paradise, Hulu’s new drama from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and starring that same series’ stand-out performer, Sterling K. Brown, feels like a return to form for the political thriller. Architecturally reminiscent of the classic political thrillers of the 1970s but without the burden of the genre’s more regressive inclinations (i.e., xenophobia and misogyny), and presciently modern in its timely concerns, Paradise’s title is intentional irony at its finest. World-shattering conspiracies turn the residents of an idyllic town into pawns, a deadly mystery requires investigation, and even those closest to Brown’s stalwart hero conceal darker motives at best and a dagger up their sleeve at worst. Yet despite shifting gears from This Is Us’s grounded family drama to the sociopolitical sphere, Fogelman infuses Paradise with all the heart for which he’s known — and human hearts hold both the ugliest afflictions and the purest love.
What Is ‘Paradise’ About?

Image via Hulu

Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins (Brown) is the head of President Cal Bradford’s (James Marsden) security detail. Despite the severity of his role and the non-stop vigilance it requires, Xavier takes morning runs through his beautiful, cozy neighborhood, he banters with his two children (Aliyah Mastin’s Presley and Percy Daggs IV’s James) over breakfast, and he makes casually obscene jokes with his closest friend and subordinate agent, Billy Pace (Jon Beavers). In other words, he’s a normal man, job description notwithstanding.
Xavier’s peaceful routine shatters the moment he finds his charge — the most powerful person in the world — lying on his bedroom floor in a pool of blood. As the last person to have seen the President alive and the first agent at the scene of his crime, Xavier becomes both the prime suspect and the main person leading the investigation into Bradford’s death. Naturally, the murder of a sitting president has connotations beyond our imagining, especially when each interlocking strand in Paradise’s spiderweb is as dangerous as a noose around Xavier’s neck.
‘Paradise’ Is a Compelling and Unsettling Thriller

Given This Is Us’ sterling reputation, it comes as no surprise that Paradise — Fogelman’s first new series since This Is Us wrapped in 2022 — delivers in-depth character work and intricate plotting in equal measure. From the directing team’s coherent vision to the sharp editing and immersive production design, Paradise balances sleek elegance with a thrum of tension that never dissipates; like a circling shark, it just fades into the background before rearing its head again. Fogelman and his writing team — including Katie French, Jason Wilborn, Scott Weinger, Stephen Markley, Gina Lucita Monreal, John Hoberg, and Nadra Widatalla — structure the eight-episode series (seven of which were provided for review) non-linearly, ensuring the main narrative remains easy to follow while weaving in flashbacks designed to reveal key worldbuilding facts and contextual clues.

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Likewise, Paradise’s driving tension invokes a murder mystery set-up that doubles as a playground for Fogelman to psychologically dissect his complexly human ensemble. Between assassination attempts by strangers and President Bradford’s many estranged relationships, the series’ driving question isn’t just discovering who killed him, but the logistics of their “how” and “why.” Fogelman juxtaposes the series’ past and present timelines to dissect how each character’s trauma informs their current actions and how everyone within Bradford’s orbit has ties with one another, be they innocuous or mildly nefarious. The result is a discomfitingly claustrophobic and messy tangle, full of enough lies to eat with a spoon. Still, these tropes don’t exist merely to tick off a political thriller’s requirements. Like This Is Us, Paradise heavily focuses on trauma and familial grief, be it parents mourning their children or the haunting reverse. And when the series nosedives into genuinely surprising turns, those moments carry the ominous gravitas of a self-contained horror film — or watching one hour of the present-day news cycle.
Sterling K. Brown Gives an Unmissable Performance in ‘Paradise’

To that end, Paradise’s impressive cast is more than up to their nuanced and twisty task. Second to Brown, Julianne Nicholson, an Emmy Award winner for Mare of Easttown, wields arguably the most viscerally emotional material as Samantha Redmond, a woman whose contributions secured her a “power behind the throne” role in Bradford’s government. Red, White & Royal Blue’s Sarah Shahi provides a comforting, discerning presence as Gabriela Torabi, a grief therapist privy to the main characters’ closest-kept secrets and concealing her own conflicted loyalties. Krys Marshall of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind is the indomitable yet vulnerable Agent Robinson, whose connection to the President runs deeper than professionalism. Marsden emerges as a dark horse in tandem with Bradford’s slowly revealed depth, while Bradford’s teenage son (Charlie Evans) grieves the loss of his father before they could heal their troubled relationship. Closer to home is Mastin’s Presley, a welcome presence whether she’s dancing around her crush or dryly mocking her dad, and Beavers’ Billy, Xavier’s trusted ally whose troubled past casts aspersions upon him in the wake of Bradford’s murder.
That said, and without lessening the aforementioned performers’ stellar work in any way, Paradise is absolutely a vehicle for Brown. The two-time Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee delivers at the supremely high level we’ve come to expect from his work; he proves impossible to look away from, lest we risk missing a single glance and its layers of meaning. Brown’s detailed micro-expressions perfectly suit a character who is both the hunter and the hunted — an agent trained to constantly observe, to instinctively throw himself in front of a bullet, and to hear every quarrel but remain silent. A shift in his jaw, a slight tightening around the eyes, or a grief-stricken pause as he leaves notes on a whiteboard tells us everything we need to know about Xavier, a man who personifies selfless, duty-driven professionalism but whose reserve, while appropriately steely, is rarely cold. After all, he’s also a loving husband, father, and a son with endless warmth to give. Xavier’s work life and home life are two sides of the same deeply humane man, not contradictions existing in conflict with each other.
Fogelman and Brown’s post-This Is Us reunion would be exciting no matter the concept, but Paradise proves neither artist intends to rest upon their well-deserved laurels. Fogelman keeps the story’s emotional throughlines familiar while taking bold swings viewers aren’t likely to soon forget, and Brown’s turn is nothing short of captivating. As both a sociopolitical thriller and an exhumation of the human condition, and among all the other series vying for audiences’ attention in the new year, Paradise is well worth your time.
Paradise premieres January 28 on Hulu and ABC.

Paradise

Paradise, which reunites Sterling K. Brown with This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, feels like a proper return to form for the political thriller.

Release Date

January 28, 2025

Pros & Cons

Sterling K. Brown’s captivating performance is some of his most superb work to date.
The writing team effectively balances the main storyline with revealing flashbacks.
The production elements are sleek, elegant, and immersive.

Watch on Hulu