Paradise is an American post-apocalyptic political thriller television series created by Dan Fogelman and starring Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, and James Marsden. It was released on Hulu in the United States on January 26, 2025. The series has received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its premise, writing, and performances (particularly those of Brown, Nicholson, and Marsden). The series has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for Brown, Nicholson, and Marsden.
In February 2025, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on February 23, 2026. In March 2026, the series was renewed for a third season.
Contents
Premise
The series is set in a city-sized underground bunker in Colorado three years after a doomsday event. It follows United States Secret Service agent Xavier Collins as he seeks to discover the truth behind the killing of the president of the United States. Xavier comes under suspicion for President Bradford's death, so he searches for answers about what really happened―though he is unsure whom he can trust, as his questions lead to many shocking revelations.
Cast
Main
Sterling K. Brown as Xavier Collins, the lead special agent on the president's Secret Service security detail
Julianne Nicholson as Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond, a rich self-made woman and the chief decision maker in the bunker
Sarah Shahi as Gabriela Torabi, a psychotherapist and grief specialist
Nicole Brydon Bloom as Jane Driscoll, a special agent who is a member of the president's Secret Service detail
Aliyah Mastin as Presley Collins, Xavier's teenage daughter
Percy Daggs IV as James Collins, Xavier's 10-year-old son
James Marsden as Cal Bradford (season 1, recurring season 2), the president of the United States, Secret Service code name "Wildcat", found murdered in the series premiere and seen alive only in flashbacks
Krys Marshall as Nicole Robinson (season 2, recurring season 1), a Secret Service SAIC who was having an affair with President Bradford
Enuka Okuma as Teri Rogers-Collins (season 2, recurring season 1), a mycologist and Xavier's wife
Charlie Evans as Jeremy Bradford (season 2, recurring season 1), the president's teenage son
Recurring
Jon Beavers as Billy Pace, a special agent who is a member of the president's Secret Service detail and a former mercenary
Kate Godfrey as Hadley Redmond, Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond's daughter
Tuc Watkins as Tim Redmond (seasons 1–2), Sinatra's husband and Hadley's father
Cassidy Freeman as Jessica Bradford (season 1), the first lady of the United States and Cal's estranged wife
Gerald McRaney as Kane Bradford (season 1, guest season 2), Cal's dementia-afflicted father and a former oil baron
Richard Robichaux as Carl (season 1), a neighbor of Collins who works in the dome light control station
Matt Malloy as Henry Baines (seasons 1–2), the vice president of the United States and Bradford's designated successor
Ian Merrigan as Trent (season 1), a former project manager who adopts the identity of Eli Davis, the Liberty Grove librarian
Michelle Meredith as a woman who adopts the identity of Maggie Davis (season 1), the lead waitress at the Liberty Grove diner
Shailene Woodley as Annie Clay (season 2), a survivor and former medical student
Thomas Doherty as Link (season 2), a survivor and part of Geiger's group searching for the bunker
Michael McGrady as Geiger (season 2), the leader of a survivor group searching for the bunker
Guest
Patrick Fischler as Henry Miller (season 2), a quantum scientist and former owner of Vestige Quantum
Episodes
Production
In April 2023, it was reported that Hulu had commissioned the series by 20th Television written by Dan Fogelman who is also executive producer via Rhode Island Ave. Productions, along with Jess Rosenthal. Sterling K. Brown and John Hoberg are also executive producers. Brown was also expected to star in the series.
In February 2024, James Marsden was cast as the president, with Julianne Nicholson and Sarah Shahi also joining the cast. In November 2024, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Aliyah Mastin and Percy Daggs IV joined the cast.
In February 2025, Hulu renewed the series for a second season. In March 2025, Shailene Woodley joined the second season in a recurring role. In April 2025, Thomas Doherty, Michael McGrady, and Timothy Omundson were added to the cast of the second season as recurring guest stars. In June 2025, Ryan Michelle Bathe joined the second season in a guest capacity. In October 2025, Patrick Fischler joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season. In April 2026, Julianna Margulies joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the third season.
Filming began under the title Paradise City in Los Angeles in February 2024. Production on the second season began in March 2025.
In March 2026, Hulu renewed the series for a third and final season, which concluded filming on August 14, 2026.
Release
Paradise premiered on Hulu early on January 26, 2025. The series was originally set to premiere with the first three episodes on January 28, 2025. Internationally, the series was released on Disney+. ABC aired the first season starting April 7, 2025.
In December 2025, it was announced the second season would premiere with the release of its first 3 episodes on February 23, 2026, with subsequent episodes planned to be released weekly.
Reception
Viewership
The premiere of Paradise drew 1.4 million viewers in a special 10:09 p.m. broadcast on ABC on January 29, according to Nielsen's Live + 5 Day ratings. Its cable debut on FX on February 1 at 10 p.m. attracted 250,000 viewers per Live + 2 Day data. Hulu reported that the show's TikTok account received the most views and shares among first-season scripted Hulu shows in the past twelve months. The Walt Disney Company announced that the premiere episode of Paradise garnered seven million views globally within its first nine days of streaming. Luminate, which measures streaming performance in the U.S. by analyzing viewership data, audience engagement metrics, and content reach across various platforms, calculated that Paradise was the ninth most-streamed show from Q1 2025, with 3.9 billion minutes of watch time.
Paradise debuted on Hulu's "Top 15 Today"—a daily updated list of the platform's most-watched titles—on its release day and remained on the list for its entire first week. JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 45 million active users across more than 4,500 services worldwide, reported that the show was the top streaming series in the U.S. from January 27 to February 2. It was also the top-ranked show in Canada during the same week. Paradise remained the most-streamed series in the U.S. from February 24 to March 2.
Analytics company Samba TV, which gathers viewership data from certain smart TVs and content providers, announced that Paradise was the third most-streamed program in the U.S. from February 3—9. The streaming aggregator Reelgood, which tracks 20 million monthly viewing decisions across all U.S. streaming platforms for original and acquired content on SVOD and AVOD services, reported that it was the second most-streamed series during the week of February 13. It subsequently reached the first place for the week ending February 27. Paradise also ranked No. 1 on Hulu's "Top 15 Today" list on March 7. Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, reported that from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, Paradise was streamed for a total of 97.4 million hours.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 81 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.75/10. The website's consensus reads: "Teeming with heady concepts and themes, Paradise is an overstuffed but addictively ambitious reunion of Sterling K. Brown and creator Dan Fogelman." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 90 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.75/10. The website's consensus reads: "Paradise season 2 invests in its genre fare and delivers another gripping season filled with deeper intrigue, a stellar cast, and captivating drama." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
