Hulus Sterling K. Brown drama is lost

On By Littum

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It’s a big turn – but a big miss – for “this is us” creates Dan Fogelmans Latest project.

Don’t misunderstand me there is so much to admire about hulus new drama with high concept “Paradise,” A “lost” -like mystery of a picture perfect city and a murder that breaks its magic magic form. “Paradise” is a wildly ambitious series with Fogelmans (“Only Murder of the Building”) Trademark emotional manipulation and care twists. It plays Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden and Julianne Nicholson, three actors who raise any material they get. And it is an original, thought -provoking idea in a TV landscape filled with more and more of the same.

But high concept, enterprising and high series come with a lot of risk attached, and “Paradise” (streaming Tuesdays, ★★ out of four) can’t quite live up to the expectations it sets for itself. I know Fogelman and Brown could have done something more complete and compelling. There was potentially a really good show, but it doesn’t quite gather for anything to love. More “Lost” Season 7 than “Lost” Season 1.

It’s hard to discuss the plot without revealing spoilers, but our hero is Xavier Collins (Brown), a secret service agent with a heart of pure gold. He protects President Cal Bradford (James Marsden), a charming policy from old money that hides a dark secret about his tasks. The series flashes between Bradford’s time in the White House and today, when he lives in the titular idyllic city, still guarded by Xavier. When Cal is murdered while under secret service protection, the delicate balance of life in the city in chaos is thrown much to the dismay of the powerful billionaire Samantha Redmond (Nicholson), which has far more influence than seems to be normal. Xavier tries to find out what happened, divert suspicion from himself and deal with his own complicated feelings around Cal.

Like “This is us”, “Paradise” it lives in the big “aha!” Moments that come with each plot twist. But it’s the minutes between the twists and turns that fall short. The eight-episodes series (seven of which were made available for review) is slowly slow despite the urgent in its mystery and suspected tension. The great, mythological story that I cannot talk about is more interesting than the nitty gritty of the murder, but it is hampered by world structure and big-picture that leaves much to be desired. There are a million things to nitpick, and added together they start to become a bigger problem with the show.

It’s such a Darn shame because Brown, as you might imagine, is wonderful to see. The depth of the Xavier is simply increased by the Casting selection; We expect Brown to play a man of strong moral character. He can do it all: action, emotional collapse, flirty interviews, appearance of betrayal and amateur Sleuthing. Marsden is also perfectly role-studded as an aw-shucks nice guy president, as JFK as a country music star. His hair is perfect coiffed, his smile a little crooked, and he looks good in a suit. But Nicholson’s Elon Musk-like character unfortunately falls into broad and dull stereotypes as her back story is enlightened.

Maybe in the final, “Paradise” could pull it all together into a satisfactory conclusion that makes me forgive the dull middle episodes. But unfortunately, the quality of the series is on as down to a course like the death -convicted lives of its characters.

Seeing this is not like being in paradise; It’s a faximile of the perfect show and the cracks are big enough to watch.