ParadiseCredit: HuluIf you enjoy action-packed political thrillers, definitely give the new Hulu series Paradise a watch. The series, from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, combines traditional political thriller sensibilities with near-future apocalyptic sci-fi to create a twisty-turny story filled with mystery, action and a great cast of characters.The show follows Secret Service agent, Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) and his complicated relationship with president Cal Bradford (James Marsden). It jumps around in time, beginning with Xaviers first days in the White House with his boozy new boss, before leaping ahead to a grisly murder in the present timeline and the first shocking twist, which comes right at the end of the first episode. (More on that below).Its difficult to discuss this show without spoilers, but its the kind of series I recommend you go into blind. Ill get to spoilers in a moment. First, some spoiler-free thoughts for those of you who havent watched yet.Like most political thrillers, Paradise is filled with compelling mysteries, and the first season isnt at all shy about solving those mysteries, which is a breath of fresh air. Too often, shows introduce a bunch of big questions and then drag their feet, ultimately leading to unsatisfying payoffs. Paradise avoids this by telling a self-contained story that works as a standalone season. If it ended after Episode 8, Id be okay with that. But the stage is clearly set for more.The cast is the other big selling point here. Brown is terrific as Xavier Collins, a genuinely good man who finds himself mired in impossible situation after impossible situation, faced with tough choices and overwhelming odds. Marsdens President Bradford is much more than meets the eye, though he seems an affable sort (and Marsden is just such a likeable guy, its hard not to like every character he plays).The third main character is powerful billionaire, Samantha Sinatra Redmond (Julianne Nicholson) the worlds richest self-made woman, whose secrets run dark and deep. She could have easily come across as a mustache-twirling villain, but Nicholson gives her surprising depth.Xaviers Secret Service detail includes Nicole Robinson (Krys Marshall) who has her own illicit ties to the president; Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom) who was perhaps the biggest surprise in the show for me; and Billy Pace (Jon Beavers), Xaviers best friend whose chequered past has given him a unique part to play in Sinatras new world order.The show isnt perfect. It can dally too long in the sentimental. The non-chronological storytelling works well for the most part, but at times it stalls out, spinning its wheels or retreading old ground. What I dislike most of all is the color-grading, however. Why the shows creators felt the need to push everything through a blue filter is beyond me. This, combined with the luminous glow effect makes everything look distractingly cheap in a show that is clearly expensive and largely well-shot. The technique is used to differentiate flashbacks from present day, but this isnt always the case. Some flashbacks look natural, others are still color-graded. Some present-timeline scenes dont seem graded at all! Its confusing!To visualize this, I present you with the same image twice. First, the bad color-grading:ParadiseCredit: HuluNow, the same image with natural color-grading:ParadiseCredit: HuluThe tyranny of beige-and-blue must end! Theres no reason to use different color-grading to signal flashback vs present day. There are other ways to do this, from using a letterbox around some scenes to simply trusting that viewers are able to tell the difference based on context. Weirdly, the show does a terrific job at de-aging characters in some flashbacks. But I found the aesthetic incredibly distracting throughout, and this more than anything else caused me to stop watching after the first episode, waiting several weeks to return.Episode 1 spoilers ahead.Im glad I did. The series, bad color-grading aside, is a lot of fun. In the first episode, Xavier Collins finds the president brutally murdered in his bedroom. He kicks off an investigation that involves not only the murder, but the disappearance of a top-secret tablet containing a bunch of state secrets. But the biggest twist comes at the end of the first episode, when we discover that nothing is as it seems. In the present timeline, this is not the America we know at all, but rather a massive underground bunker made to appear like Anywhere USA, replete with a fake sky that emulates a day and night cycle, weather events and all the rest. As with all utopias, this one is filled with dark secrets that threaten to explode at any minute.The world outside this paradise has plunged into some kind of massive, global catastrophe, and for reasons we dont fully understand yet, Xavier Collins has come to hate the man he has sworn to protect. But even though he despises Bradford, he sets out to find the killer, leading him down a path filled with even deeper, darker mysteries about the true nature of this place and the events that lead them all here. The people Xavier knows and trusts have their own dark secrets, and Xavier soon finds himself in a perilous mission to tear the whole thing down.I wasnt really sure about Paradise until the fourth episode, which makes some bold narrative choices that I wasnt expecting. Episode 7 is the one most people are raving about, and with good reason. Its basically a full-blown disaster movie. The finale isnt quite as good, and some of the storylines wrapped up a little too nicely, but overall I was pretty happy with how things shook out in the end. I can definitely see how theyre planning on a second season, but its unclear how exactly it would work given the fact that most of the big questions were answered. Im also left with one big complaint about Xavier and Cals fraught relationship: Xaviers reason for hating the president simply doesnt make sense to me, though I wont go into specifics.Overall, I give the series a glowing (blue-filtered) recommendation. Its not perfect but its a fun political thriller that keeps you guessing and pays off in the end. Brown, Marsden, Nicholson and the rest of the cast really nail it, and the writing is solid throughout. This isnt the smartest thriller out there. Its not as gritty or unique as something like Apples Silo, though its certainly better-paced. Mostly, its fun and capable and at times even gripping. Its absolutely worth a watch. All eight episodes are now streaming on Hulu.Heres the trailer:Have you watched Paradise? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.