Today Disney+ premieres the hotly-anticipated series Paradise.
The premise of Paradise is a simple one. Xavier Collins (Sterling K Brown) is head of the security detail for Cal Bradford (James Marsden), a recent former President of the United States. Xavier, who is still grieving his late wife, has a teenage daughter (Aliyah Mastin) and a somewhat younger son (Percy Daggs IV), and they all live in the town of Paradise.
Meanwhile Cal enjoys drinking, making mixtapes, and bantering with Xavier about basketball. But things take a turn when Xavier shows up at Cal’s mansion one morning, concerned that he’s sleeping later than usual, only to find him on the floor of his bedroom, dead.
Xavier breaks with protocol and begins his investigation without contacting any authorities. And that decision looks suspicious when other people, including agent Nichole Robinson (Krys Marshall) and nebulous billionaire Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), find out. Things only get even more suspicious when security footage suggests that Xavier was the last person to see Cal alive.
Very quickly, Xavier begins to believe the only people he can trust is scruffy colleague Billy (Jon Beavers) and psychiatrist Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi).
Xavier is on a quest for answers, and this political thriller is more than it appears in the hands of Dan Fogleman. It’s safe to expect red herrings and emotional moments, but there is also a clever use of flashbacks as the mystery deepens to fill in the gaps.
Brown and Marsden give memorable performances through the 7 episodes provided for review, who take up the bulk of the pilot in setting the story, with subsequent episodes allowing for the supporting cast to shine.
4 Stars
The first 3 episodes of Paradise land on Disney+ today, January 28, with new episodes weekly.