**This article contains spoilers for Paradise**
Recently, I’ve found it difficult to find new and engaging shows to watch that don’t explicitly dumb themselves down for the viewer’s sake. A rising trend that some are calling “second screen” viewing has made television more casual, appealing to those scrolling on their phones while watching.
When it comes to the movies and shows that I watch, I’m anything but “casual.” I want something with high stakes and witty, believable dialogue. So, it felt like fate when the perfect recommendation fell into my lap.
Hulu’s Paradise is the perfect blend of mystery, drama, and action, and the recently released Season 2 has cemented its place as one of my favorite shows of all time.
The Plot
Paradise is a political thriller set in a post-apocalyptic America. Season 1 follows United States Secret Service agent Xavier Collins as he tries to uncover secrets surrounding the death of the president.
If that doesn’t sound like your kind of show, give it a chance until at least the end of Episode 1. I promise there’s more to it than just a murder mystery plot.
However, other than that small blurb I gave you, the best way to go into this show is blind. It feels like there’s a new plot twist every single episode, and not one person I’ve talked to about the series has correctly guessed the killer until basically the full final reveal.
Season 1 is great. It’s intriguing, shocking, and surprisingly heartfelt. James Marsden plays a deeply emotional yet comedic Cal Bradford, AKA the fictional president of the United States. He gives possibly my favorite performance of all of his projects here.
Almost every character who should be hated is given such a realistic and complex backstory that it’s easy to sympathize with them all. The writing is just that good.
But what about the show’s second installment?
Season 2
From this point on, we’ll be in a spoiler-free-for-all. You’ve been warned, and anything you read past this point won’t be on my guilty conscience.
Season 2 follows multiple characters and plotlines that expertly intertwine without feeling overwhelming or unnecessary. It expands the in-universe world out past the bunker and shows you how life is for people not as lucky as the citizens underground.
Every single episode feels like its own blockbuster movie, from swoon-worthy romances to gut-wrenching deaths. This isn’t a show that’s scared to put its characters through some traumatizing things.
And don’t get me started on the addition of Shailene Woodley and Thomas Doherty to the cast; they fully transform into their roles, and I didn’t even recognize Doherty until I pulled up the cast list — although that could just be because of the beard.
Foreshadowing and References
While Paradise isn’t the type of show to spell out what’s going to happen right in front of your face, it does provide its viewers with some perfectly placed hints that make a lot of sense when the full context is revealed.
For example, towards the end of Season 2, Link, the young organizer of a rebel group, refers to his meeting with Samantha Redmond as that of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
Later in the episode, it’s revealed that his real name and birthday align with those of Samantha’s, formerly thought to be dead, son. This parallels the iconic plot twist in The Empire Strikes Back.
The series also makes great use of iconic musical throwbacks that reveal the nature of the underground bunker. With songs like “Another Day in Paradise,” “We Built This City,” and “I Think We’re Alone Now.”
The Future of the Show
As of March 2026, only episodes 1-7 of Season 2 are out. The final episode aired on March 30, and I’m very interested to see how it all plays out. It seems like the show may take on a supernatural or science fiction lens, possibly time travel.
It’s been confirmed for a third, and most likely final, season, meaning the series can pull a complete 180 and really lean into the technological aspects that it’s been setting up.
However, my favorite part of the show so far has been seeing the ways that humans cope and interact with each other in a shattered society, so I hope that isn’t lost in Season 3.
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