Paradise is murder mystery with a big, fulfilling secret

Hulu’s new series Paradise has all the trappings of an airport page-turner… Yep, that’s exactly it, without irony. In a mode that would delight Michael Crichton, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman layers the ensemble-driven, flashback-heavy dramatic playbook from his NBC drama with political thrills and a grounded science fiction scenario.

Right off the bat, the first season feels like a formula perfected. Over the eight episodes of its first season, Paradise works in every one of its modes: as an absorbing, twist-filled romp; a sensitive character study; a perfect vehicle for This Is Us vet Sterling K. Brown to go full “Jack Bauer on 24”; and, most surprisingly, a searing indictment of ultra-wealthy opportunistic oligarchs who swoop in to grab power after cataclysmic disaster. (Ring any bells?) I was immediately hooked, especially after the Paradise premiere’s major reveal.