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, Marsden and Shailene Woodley). The series has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for Brown, Nicholson, Marsden and Woodley.
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 and final season.
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 (season 1–2), 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 Cameron Britton as Gary Jones (season 2), a survivor and former mailman Julianna Margulies (season 3)
Guest Patrick Fischler as Henry Miller (season 2), a quantum scientist and former owner of Vestige Quantum
Episodes Series overview
Season 1 (2025)
Season 2 (2026)
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 1.4million 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 3.9billion 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 45million 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 20million 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 97.4million hours.
Critical response
Season 1 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.
Season 2 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.
Accolades
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result 2025 Astra TV Awards Best Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Best Cast Ensemble in a Streaming Drama Series Paradise Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series James Marsden Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Julianne Nicholson Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Actor in an Action Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie Sterling K. Brown Best Villain in a Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie Julianne Nicholson Golden Trailer Awards Most Original TV Spot – TV/Streaming Series Hulu Gotham TV Awards Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Drama Series James Marsden Online Film & Television Association Best Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Best Drama Series Paradise Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series James Marsden Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Dan Fogelman, Jess Rosenthal, John Hoberg, Sterling K. Brown, Steve Beers, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, Gina Lucita Monreal, Jason Wilborn, Scott Weinger, and Chris Nguyen-Gia Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series James Marsden Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Julianne Nicholson Television Critics Association Awards Outstanding New Program Paradise 2026 Actor Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Artios Awards Television Series – Drama Paradise Astra TV Awards Best Drama Series Paradise Best Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series James Marsden Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series Shailene Woodley Best Streaming Drama Ensemble Paradise Best Directing in a Drama Series Best Writing in a Drama Series Critics' Choice Awards Best Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Best Drama Series Paradise Golden Globe Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama Sterling K. Brown Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Hanelle M. Culpepper Outstanding Drama Series Dan Fogelman, Jess Rosenthal, John Hoberg, Sterling K. Brown, Steve Beers, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Jason Wilborn, Scott Weinger and Melissa Glenn, Chris Nguyen-Gia, and Randol Perelman-Taylor Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Sterling K. Brown Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Julianne Nicholson Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Tiffany Little Canfield, Josh Einsohn, and Brian Sutow Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Shailene Woodley Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode John Weckworth, John Stewart, Chapel Folger, John Brennick, Evan Underwood, Christian Day, Chris Messineo, Scott Gastellu, Linda Tremblay, Meliza Fermin, Kristofer Cross, and Blair Foord Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Drama or Genre Series Sterling K. Brown
Notes
References
External links Paradise on Hulu Paradise on TheTVDB