Drama Paradise (2025)

[Kevin]

I'm just going to state the obvious: Anybody who watches a lot of genre movies & TV shows won't find the premise of this show to be anything surprising nor shocking, it's a variation on what by now could be considered a plot trope.

But... it is very well executed.

The pace of each episode kept me watching and I ended up marathoning S1. Steling K Brown gives a good performance as the main protagonist with his US Secret Service character and Julianne Nicholson does a wonderful job with her character in keeping you guessing to nearly the end if she is a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy' on the show. James Marsden, as the US President, shows his acting experience and portrays a character that acts carefree but is really hiding his own emotional pain.

One interesting thing was how the 'President's Football' device was used a plot element. I won't give the details but what the football does in this series is something that I don't recall seeing before and it sets up the basis for S2.

If I had to find something that was off it'd be the motivation of Brown's character when he decides to put his plan in action. At the point that he makes his decision there is not a whole lot of evidence to support his decision. Ultimately, as more facts are revealed, his decision plays out to be one that seems to make sense but considering his by-the-books actions as a Secret Service agent up to that point it seems that he started an action plan without justification.

So far Paradise has been doing really great ratings for Hulu and Disney (ABC's parent company) is now also showing it on ABC. I haven't watched any of the ABC episodes but there are likely some minor edits being done to make some scenes more broadcast friendly.