Paradise Cast Talks Surprising First Episode Twist, Music, and Modern Luxuries They'd Miss
In Hulu’s new series Paradise, Sterling K. Brown plays a Secret Service Agent assigned to protect a former President (James Marsden). But when he is murdered, a high risk investigation begins in the elite community of Paradise that changes everything. Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with the cast about their layered characters, music, and the shocking twist in the first episode.
Even the cast was shocked by all the twists and turns in Paradise. “I was such a huge fan of Dan Fogelman’s before I read these. He's such a brilliant writer. I was sent the first four scripts and I just was gasping at every turn of the page by all these unexpected reveals,” Julianne Nicholson told me about playing Sinatra. “Then it was just a thrill to be able to fully explore this woman who [is] making very extreme decisions. You know, check your morals at the door, but she feels like she's doing all these things with the best of intentions and with protecting her family and the greater good. It was really interesting to try to go as extreme as you could with those decisions and still make them believable and not a straight up bad guy.”
That’s the appeal of Paradise. Every character presents themselves in a certain way, but they may not be who they claim to be. “There's so many layers to each of these characters and to this whole story. What was exciting and engaging every time was approaching a scene and preparing, ‘Okay, what am I showing, what am I revealing to the person I'm speaking with? Who am I to them, what am I presenting versus what what is underneath?’” shared Jon Beavers. “When you get to do work like that as an actor, it's a joy every single day.”
“For me, one of the great joys about playing Robinson is the way that she code switches depending on who she's in front of. When she's talking to Sinatra, she's a very reserved, austere version of herself versus when she's with Cal where she's naked in bed. There is such a huge gradation of who this woman is and […] that each of us is a different version of ourselves depending on who we're talking to,” explained Krys Marshall. “That is a testament to excellent writing and really beautiful storytelling is having these characters that are so multifaceted. I found myself always playing catchup in each new script, getting that material, and going, okay, how can I readjust who I know Robinson to be? Because she's so different in this environment than she was when I met her episode one or these scenes episode two so always sort of just moving on the fly and shifting.”
There was a Bible made for the series that had an incredible amount of detail, including playlists for each character. “Every character seems to have moments of vulnerability, as every human being does ,and then also a lot of strength that they discover at different times throughout the series. Personally, getting into character, I listened to a lot of Phoebe Bridgers,” Nicole Brydon Bloom shared. “Getting into the feels. Our costumers actually had playlists for each character. You would go in for your fitting and they'd be playing songs that they think informed the characters and that was really fun.”
Marshall listened to “real badass” European pop techno music, while Beavers was on a Johnny Cash kick. There was also a lot of 80s music being piped into the world, like Guns and Roses and Genesis, that spoke to Nicholson. “It's cool that music ended up having such an essential role and became almost another character in the show,” said Sarah Shahi. “All the remakes that [Dan] put in there — and I love the remakes — it was really cool.”
Not only did this guide book break down music, but it also explained the rules of the world of Paradise City. Because while this show seems like a classic political drama, there is a big twist revealed at the end of the first episode. It’s all set in a post-apocalyptic world. “They were so detailed, so you instantly, as the characters, bought into this fictitious place that everyone now lives in. This is the state of the world,” said Shahi. “We have remote control ducks and we have the sun that's operated by a button. We can change the clouds, you know what I mean? It was fun to live in that space and make that grounded.”
Marshall continued: “Where we are in this world, there is nothing on the Earth's surface. So knowing that you're one of the last 25,000 people to remain, it never leaves you. I think that underpinning is in every single scene, even if it's just a scene at the kitchen sink so that definitely was informative.”
“There's a spooky red pill blue pill element to the whole thing, right? Because on the one hand, be grateful you're alive, and, on the other, it's hard to not just want to kick the walls down and go this is a lie,” explained Beavers. “I think characters are are trying to decide: do I let myself be deluded into being comfortable and happy here and shut off that part of my brain, or do I remain aware of where I actually am and and be miserable but be making an effort to get free from here? That's a whole spooky psycho meta layer to what's going on, on top of everything else.”
The cast even shared the modern day luxury they’d miss if they were trapped in their own post-apocalyptic “paradise.” “I'm addicted to those damn coconut lattes from Starbucks,” laughed Shahi. “If I can't have my quadruple shot of blonde espresso steamed hot, we're gonna have a problem.”
“I would need sushi, like properly good sushi. I love sushi. I feel like LA has the best in this country hands down,” said Nicholson, while Bloom continued: “I would miss feeling the sun. They can make an artificial warmth and light, but I don't think you can capture that feeling. Even though you feel a sense of normalcy when you're down there. I think human beings are very adaptable and malleable, so you might go three months without thinking about it, but then the second that you do think about it, it messes with you.”
New episodes of Paradise are streaming every Tuesday on Hulu.
