‘Paradise’: Dan Fogelman’s Heartfelt Sci-Fi Thriller Sends Sterling K. Brown After a Presidential Killer

Alci Rengifo

Producer Dan Fogelman has developed quite the reputation as a heart-tugger. Despite a lengthy career, all you need to know is that he is returning to TV following a pause after the end of his biggest hit, NBC’s “This Is Us.” He likes to tell stories with enough feels to create a swooning fan base. “Paradise” marks a shift in genre for Fogelman, where he tailors his style to a thriller within a dystopian fable. Plainly said, it’s heartfelt sci-fi. The showrunner reunites with Sterling K. Brown, who has a natural air of experience and wisdom. He also comes across as naturally nice. This helps the series stay engaging even when the plot starts curling into knots.

Brown is Xavier Collins, a Secret Service agent we see making breakfast and jogging around the town of Paradise. He is assigned to President Cal Bradford (James Marsden), a young commander-in-chief at 50 who suddenly turns up dead in the bedroom of the house where he was staying. This is not a spoiler because this is the mere initiating point of the plot. Flashbacks reveal how Xavier was picked by Bradford because his previous head of security was “old and boring.” Plus, Xavier is Black, which Bradford admits also looks great but what he really wants is decent company. Xavier was then present for Bradford’s public and personal lives, including tensions with the First Lady. The Secret Service agent is himself a widower with two kids, James (Percy Daggs IV) and Presley (Aliyah Mastin). Now he has to jump into emergency mode, calling in trusted Agent Billy Pace (Jon Beavers) as the hunt begins for who killed the president.

The murder of President Bradford is just the first puzzle piece in what turns into a grander revelation about the true nature of Paradise. Fogelman has created a combination of “The Truman Show” with our current apocalypse obsession. You see, the reason the president is not in Washington, D.C. and this town looks like such a pristine utopia, is that it’s not an actual American town as you or I know one. As the pilot reveals during a fantastic closing sequence, Paradise is an elaborate, underground creation. The world has undergone a cataclysm of the sort you can probably, easily predict. Now we have this cryptic, encased community deep inside a mountain in Colorado with artificial sunlight and nights. The writing has fun giving us clues early on, from people buying groceries from a curious band-like objection while model ducks are placed in creeks. Dawn gets delayed because of maintenance issues. 

Murders and futuristic speculation form the basis of “Paradise,” yet Fogelman remains true to his voice. While the plot carries on with intriguing characters like Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), a tech billionaire with the code name “Sinatra,” who clearly has much control of the town, the narrative builds layers through more grounded elements. The suspense, which can get overcooked or sluggish, revolves around the relationship between Xavier and Bradford. The two men became friends. Bradford confides in his head of security about the kinds of issues people really need a buddy for. Bradford confesses he’s sure his wife voted for the other candidate, and that once his term is over, she will leave with their child. Do the presidents get this chatty with the Secret Service? In Fogelmanverse they do. More intrigue builds when in another flashback Bradford asks Xavier if he will ever forgive him “for what happened.” Of course, we need to keep watching to find out what that was. Though, we get clues it might have had something to do with a woman. We are talking about a president, after all. 

As in “This Is Us” and his feature directorial effort “Life Itself,” Fogelman’s characters can be in any situation while naturally flirting or having meet cutes. Billy is the cocky, somewhat sloppy agent who is loyal to Xavier but is getting very flirty with fellow agent Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom). Even Redmond gets scenes where she goes grocery shopping with the kids. Fascinated by American ideas of domesticity, Fogelman at times lets those elements overtake the central mystery of who killed the president. Ironically, it is precisely the side stories about office romances, angst-ridden teens and home life that keep “Paradise” from becoming overwhelmed by the need to stretch out its sci-fi plot over a whole season. We’re more intrigued by Xavier being rattled by his son reading “James and the Giant Peach,” due to an enigmatic, painful memory and association with the book. The mystery does build towards higher stakes and tension, as it must, yet the human angle shines best. That is welcome instead of more autopilot action that can easily grow stale without a beating heart.

“Paradise” season one begins streaming Jan. 28 with new episodes premiering Tuesdays on Hulu.