A former US President is murdered in his own bedroom and when his lead bodyguard finds him, he doesn’t immediately shout ‘code red’ into his sleeve.
That’s strange behaviour from Agent Xavier with President Cal Bradford lying dead on the floor, a pool of blood encircling his head.
Instead, Xavier has a good look around. A hard drive containing a classified secret is missing from the safe and a pair of women’s earrings are lying on the locker. There’s a trail of blood out onto the balcony.
Through a series of flashbacks we also discover that Xavier is no ordinary secret service agent. He has history with the former president and previously took a bullet to save his commander in chief.
Xavier’s determination to find out what happened on his own means that he becomes a suspect in the murder.
That sets up as a decent whodunit murder mystery but Paradise, from the producers of ‘This Is Us’, want to add another layer.
It opens in a perfect, rich suburb of what you assume is Washington.
Xavier Collins (Sterling K Brown) is having breakfast with his two children before returning to the President’s home to relieve the security nightshift.
Then we switch back five years to when Xavier first met Bradford (James Marsden) in the Oval Office. He was starting his second term as President and interviewing for a new head of security.
Bradford admits he doesn’t know that much about the world (such as where Syria is) but “people seem to like me”.
His style is “directness” and he admits that his aim is to get through the four-year term without getting shot so that he can retire in luxury in his early fifties.
He thinks Xavier would be a good fit although he’s disappointed the agent won’t have a drink with him.
Still, Xavier being black helps because he’s meant to be a “progressive southerner”. Two of his senior ministers are also black but Bradford points out that they aren’t standing beside him when he’s giving speeches.
The story is revealed in pieces in multiple flashbacks and you might find yourself pausing to compare notes and about who did what when.
There’s something of Lost to it with continuing reveals, changes and complexity. It certainly keeps you engaged but it’s hard work.
The power behind the throne is Samantha Redmond, a tech billionaire who runs things.
Paradise must be in the works too long for Redmond to be a reference to Elon Musk but it’s a nice coincidence.
Redmond (codenamed Sinatra by her security detail) is all powerful. When the president is murdered she instructs the ruling council that the public will be informed that he died of “natural causes”.
She picks the new leader, writes his speech and dismisses any of his concerns as he’s about to walk on stage.
Though many flashbacks, we learn that although Xavier and Bradford talk a lot, there was also enmity. This is likely to be something to do with the death of Xavier’s wife and also the president sharing a secret about a cataclysmic event coming to the earth
This twist is partially revealed at the end of the first episode when – spoiler alert - we discover that not all is what it seems in the wealthy, perfect manicured suburb.
At this stage Paradise begins it’s transformation into a sci-fi murder mystery whodunit.
I don’t think this is a good sign, but The Simpsons Movie came to mind for me...
