Warning! Spoilers ahead for Paradise season 1.
Paradise season 3 gets a new tease from creator Dan Fogelman, who reveals he has a role planned for James Marsden’s Cal Bradford. Though Cal was killed off during the first episode of the hit Hulu series, he returns in flashback form for the remainder of season 1 and the upcoming season 2.
Though still about two months away from Paradise season 2’s premiere on February 23, Fogelman now tells EW that he came into the series with a three-year plan. That plan, he explains, always involved more Cal flashbacks. “I have had roles for him in mind both in the second and third season as a way that he can play a part in the story,” Fogelman says.
Fogelman then expands on exactly how these flashbacks will serve the show, explaining that he took some key learnings from his previous TV venture, This Is Us:
“Coming off of This Is Us for so long and knowing how it works when you’re dealing with shows that deal in time and when you have beloved characters in them, there are ways when you have flashbacks where, if it’s not moving the plot forward, it can move somebody’s character forward. And it keeps them in the ether of the show. So that was something that was always on my mind with James. I knew people were gonna love him in it.”
Though Paradise season 2 will feature Cal’s return, it’s set to feature some major changes too. As revealed in trailers, season 2 follows Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) as he leaves the safety of the bunker in search of his wife, encountering a variety of new friends and foes on the surface.
“Our second season was always intended to be a bit of a departure,” Fogelman explains. “I keep reminding myself to stick to the plan, because sometimes the plan can be a little scary,” the showrunner says of the shift after the intense Paradise season 1 finale.
Fogelman continues: “There’s a moment where you go, ‘Wow, people are really enjoying this show in this world and we’re gonna be going to different worlds and different areas. And that’s a scary moment where you check yourself a little bit, but we tried to execute the plan that we always had, the plan that I pitched to Sterling when I first told him what the three seasons were gonna be. And we stuck with that.”
In addition to returning cast members like Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Krys Marshall, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, and Charlie Evans, Paradise season 2 will introduce two new characters played by Shailene Woodley and Thomas Doherty. Woodley, Fogelman teases to EW, will play a major role in the opening episode:
“We have a first episode of the show that is very different. Shailene Woodley really carries the first episode in such an unbelievable way.”
Doherty, on the other hand, who is featured in the third image in the gallery above, plays a character who is introduced as part of Woodley’s character’s orbit. As Fogelman explains:
“He holds a lot of keys and connection to the whole story. Episode 1 tells the story of Shailene’s character and how basically she survives the apocalypse and he’s a character who initially crosses with her, but he has other roles in the story that develop as the show goes on. He’s mysterious and he’s super romantic. He’s also super complicated and you learn why as the season goes on.”
Paradise season 3 hasn’t yet been confirmed by Hulu. Whether the series gets renewed seemingly depends on how well season 2 performs. Considering season 1 was a hit critically and with viewers, the future for the sci-fi mystery series is looking promising.
Release Date
January 26, 2025
Network
Hulu
Directors
Gandja Monteiro
Sterling K. Brown
Xavier Collins
Julianne Nicholson
Samantha ‘Sinatra’ Redmond
