Good news if you became addicted to Hulu’s post-apocalyptic mystery Paradise when it arrived around this time last year: season two is nearly upon us. The new trailer reveals our best look yet at the Earth’s surface now that Sterling K. Brown‘s character, wayward Secret Service agent Xavier Collins, has busted out of the survival bunker on a quest to find his wife, the long-lost Teri. As the big revelations of season one suggested, it’s not an uninhabitable wasteland after all.
There may be trees and horses, but there are still dangers, as what looks like a helpful new character played by Shailene Woodley warns Xavier. But all’s not well back in Liberty Grove, the bunker-contained uncanny valley small town created by a sinister billionaire (Julianne Nicholson) intent on keeping the human race safe… as long as everyone plays by her rules.
And if this glimpse is any indication, there are new rules and rule-breakers afoot in season two.
The official synopsis: “Xavier searches for Teri out in the world and learns how people survived the three years since the Day. Back in Paradise, the social fabric frays as the bunker deals with the aftermath of season one, and new secrets are uncovered about the city’s origins.”
Fans will recall much of season one was wrapped up in the murder mystery of Who Killed the President, after James Marsden’s POTUS was found dead in episode one (though Marsden, who’s also in this season two trailer, was still in the main cast thanks to the power of flashbacks). With that case solved, now there’s more bandwidth to explore the cracks that started to show during the investigation into that crime.
But while we love bunker drama, we’re also very intrigued to follow Xavier across the surface—and learn more about what’s been happening to Earth in the years since that supervolcano, subsequent tidal wave, and near-nuclear annihilation ripped the rug out from under everyone.
In addition to Brown and Nicholson, along with “recurring guest stars” Marsden and Woodley, Paradise stars Sarah Shahi (Dr. Torabi), Nicole Brydon Bloom (Agent Driscoll), Krys Marshall (Agent Robinson), Enuka Okuma (Xavier’s wife Teri), Aliyah Mastin (Xavier’s daughter Presley), Percy Daggs IV (Xavier’s son James), and Charlie Evans (Jeremy, the POTUS’ son).
Additional recurring guest stars include Thomas Doherty (the floppy-haired new character seen in the trailer) and Jon Beavers (the late Billy Pace, so assume more flashbacks are incoming).
We almost forgot about Agent Driscoll and her Wii obsession, but now we remember: don’t trust her! Paradise season two drops its first three episodes February 23, followed by a weekly rollout after that, all on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
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