Hulu's Paradise shocked viewers of the first three episodes when its premiere revealed that the entire show actually takes place in a community tucked away under a mountain following the end of the world.
While, on the surface, it all seemed like a simple show about a Secret Service agent, the reality is that there's so much more going on.
In order to talk about the stealth sci-fi show and its complicated characters, The Direct was able to sit down with the cast of Paradise, including Nicole Brydon Bloom (Jane), Krys Marshall (Robinson), Jon Beavers (Billy), Julianne Nicholson (Sinatra), and Sarah Shahi (Gabriela).
Paradise Actors Talk Episode 1's Dystopian Ending Twist
"It Feels Far More Grounded In Some Ways."
- The Direct: "There's that big twist [that] you're actually underground [and] the world's basically ended. So how does Paradise differ from other dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories?"
Nicole Brydon Bloom: It feels far more grounded in some ways. It really doesn't lean so strongly into the sci-fi element that you don't feel like you're in touch with our world today. And that was sort of the creepiest part of it for me, and what made it the most fun to play in.
Krys Marshall: I think for me, what I love about 'Paradise' is that whether the story takes place in a Mad Max situation, sort of, you know, end of days or Waterworld, or whatever, or the world in which we've created.
Ultimately, we're talking about human beings interacting with other human beings. And I think that despite being in this bunker under bizarre circumstances, we're still looking at infidelity, jealousy, infighting, power struggles, politics—like these are sort of the core beliefs, but also shortcomings of mankind, and those will be there, everywhere, no matter where, even the end of days.
Jon Beavers: Yeah, it's kind of three layers. The more we keep talking about it, right? You've got the sort of external crisis, which is that the world's over, and we live in a mountain.
Then, inside that, there is a presidential assassination and a murder mystery. But then inside that are characters that are three-dimensional and human and are being explored by these crazy circumstances. So rather than a show that, say would label itself in a similar genre that's based purely on the plot, the development.
The plot development is, in this case, to reveal more about these very real people and what they want and how they're trying to get it, and a power struggle, but also a struggle with internal guilt and identity. It's doing all three things at the same time. And that's just a testament to the writing. It's good. It's pretty damn good.
The Weight That the Founders of Paradise Carry on Their Shoulders
"[Guilt Is] Not Something That She Can Allow Herself to Experience Too Deeply."
In Hulu's Paradise, Julianne Nicholson plays Sinatra, the founder and leader of the Paradise community.
Her right hand is Sarah Shahi's Dr. Gabriela Torabi, a psychiatrist who helped design and plan out the deeper elements of how such a place would affect its citizens—alongside choosing who will reside there.
- The Direct: "Given that both of your characters helped found Paradise and chose what are some of the last people on Earth to stay here, they have a heavy weight on their shoulders. But, clearly, they've had practice masking it. Can you talk about about that and how you worked to translate that into your performances?"
Sarah Shahi: Gabriella, she [did choose] the people who got to come. And then, on top of that, she was the architect of the city, putting things in like insect sounds and robotic ducks and all the other stuff that comes with that.
And I think the guilt weighs on her, but I also believe, as somebody who is there in a service position where she's there to serve, she's there to help other people and maintain the mental health of the city. It's not something that she can allow herself to experience too deeply.
Julianne Nicholson: I think it's [also], like an exploration of how we all, to a certain degree, have what's going on, we have our inner life, and then we have what we show to the outside world. I mean, this is an exaggerated version of that, of course.
And I think Samantha is, you know, after the death of her son, I think she was rocked so deeply by that experience and that loss that she doesn't have, she sort of after, like, almost throwing herself off a building, [she] just had to tuck that somewhere else. And she actually now doesn't have time for the pain.
She doesn't have time for the guilt. It's like, I have to protect what's mine, my daughter, my husband, and this group of people and everything, all decisions are made from that place, so and literally, there's nothing she won't do to to maintain that.
The full spoiler free interviews can be viewed below:
The first three episodes of Paradise are now streaming on Hulu, with episodes released weekly.
