In 2016, Dan Fogelman proved with This Is Us that a network drama could be complex, with deep emotional content and complicated storytelling. It was such a successful series that for his next series, he figured the storytelling methods he used on that show can be transferred to something that’s more of an action-thriller. It helps that he brings along Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown for the new series.
PARADISE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A clock ticks. Then we see a man lying awake in the middle of the night. He turns over and puts his hand on the pillow next to him.
The Gist: As we see Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) start his day in the town of Paradise, he has breakfast with his kids (Alyiah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV), and we find out that he’s been raising them by himself since his wife passed away. Then he goes for an early morning jog, and stops at a mansion, where he talks Billy (Jon Beavers), who is wearing a black suit and guarding the entrance.
Collins is the lead Secret Service agent for former President Cal Bradford (James Marsden), which we flash back to after Collins finds a body in Bradford’s bedroom. Five years prior, the very unconventional Bradford had just eked out a win for his second term, and he tells Collins that he picked him to lead his security detail mostly because he’s good at his job, but “it doesn’t hurt that you’re Black.”
Bradford seems to be truthful to a fault. In a later scene on the porch of the White House, Bradford drinks and smokes as he tries to pry personal information out of Collins, who talks about wanting more kids, but his wife’s job as a scientist made her reluctant to have more than two. Bradford talks about his failing marriage and how he won’t get to see his teenage son. He also alludes to what he knows about what’s going on in the world, which is one of the reasons why he smokes and drinks.
Back to the present day, Collins locks down the mansion without explaining anything to the rest of the detail, including Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom), an inexperienced agent who is new to the assignment. His reasoning is that they’ll lose control of the scene as soon as it’s called in and Bradford’s former chief of staff, Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), gets involved.
As he looks at the video, he sees things he doesn’t want to see, like Billy literally sleeping on the job. But what we also find out is that Collins’ relationship Bradford is strained; he blames the former president for his wife’s death.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The format of Paradise is very reminiscent of This Is Us. Both shows are created and written by Dan Fogelman, so that makes sense. The subject matter of each show, though, is radically different.
Our Take: We don’t fault Fogleman for taking his very successful This Is Us formula and transferring it to more of an action-thriller series like Paradise. During the six seasons of This Is Us, Fogelman and his writers became very adept at going back and forth on a show’s timeline, pulling surprises at the ends of episodes and seasons, and teasing out scenarios without driving viewers crazy (at least not to the point some other shows do, anyway).
The storytelling method works just fine for Paradise, and if you were coming to the show without having invested those years with This Is Us, the format would be refreshing and shocking. But if you’re like us and were devoted fans of the NBC tearjerker hit, these storytelling beats feel very, very familiar. And we’re not sure if it’s something we’re ready to sign on for again.
Then again, Sterling K. Brown could read the phone book and we’d be riveted. He brings the same deep soulfulness to Xavier Collins that he brought to Randall Pearson on This Is Us, and the scene where Collins calmly berates a drunken, lonely Bradford for what led up to his wife’s death showed just how deeply he was hurt, but also how loyal he continues to be to Bradford. Marsden, despite a Kentucky accent that goes in and out, verbally spars with Brown in their scenes together in a way that shows that Bradford wants to let someone into his life, but really can’t, for various reasons.
There are a lot of intricacies to life in Paradise, especially with how Bradford’s life plays out. He seems to have a close relationship with Redmond, and a “close” relationship with another government official (Krys Marshall), but for the most part, he putters around his mansion in his robe, which seemed like it was his post-presedential dream, but reality seems to have dealt him a different hand.
The other complication is something we can’t talk about. Let’s just say timeline-jumping isn’t the only storytelling method Fogelman borrowed from his most successful series. It certainly sets up some intriguing possibilities, but let’s hope that it’s not the main driver of the story Fogleman and company want to tell. They’ve done a good job of setting up the personal relationships at the center of Paradise, as well as the timeline, and that’s where they should concentrate things.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: Again, that would spoil things if we mention anything about the final scene. Let’s just see that we get an unexpected view of Paradise.
Sleeper Star: We don’t see Sarah Shahi in the first episode, but she plays a signficiant role during the season. Also, Gerald McRaney has a guest role in the series, playing Bradford’s father.
Most Pilot-y Line: Again, Marsden’s accent wavers throughout the first episode, to the point where we’d rather he didn’t even try.
Our Call: STREAM IT. As much as we don’t want to be sucked in again by Dan Fogelman’s time-jumping, surprises-galore storytelling, Brown’s presence in Paradise, as well as the shocking ending of the first episode, has our attention.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Paradise’ On Hulu, Where Sterling K. Brown Plays A Secret Service Agent Who Tries To Solve A Murder appeared first on Decider.
