Paradise
Pop Culture Happy Hour
NPR
4.5 • 11.6K Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Hulu's twisty drama series Paradise, Sterling K. Brown plays a Secret Service agent caught up in a web of intrigue after the president of the United States (James Marsden) is assassinated, with no suspect in sight. But at the end of the first episode, we learn this show is about way more than the murder of the head of state. From Dan Fogelman (This is Us), the series is back for a second season, so we’re revisiting our conversation about the show.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, |
| 0:05.4 | investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. |
| 0:11.1 | More information is available at Hewlett.org. |
| 0:18.4 | In the drama series Paradise, Sterling K. Brown is a secret service agent caught up in a web of intrigue after the president of the United States is assassinated with no suspect in sight. |
| 0:28.8 | The president is played by James Marsden, because of course he is. But at the end of the first episode, we learned this show is about way more than the murder of the head of state. |
| 0:37.2 | Paradise is back for a second season, so we thought it would be a perfect time to revisit our conversation about the series. I'm Glenn Weldon. And I'm Aisha Harris, and today we're talking about Paradise on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. |
| 0:52.8 | Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, |
| 0:58.4 | investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. |
| 1:04.1 | More information is available at Hewlett.org. |
| 1:07.4 | Joining us today is Ronald Young Jr. |
| 1:09.5 | He's the host of the film and television review podcast leaving the theater. Welcome back, Ronald. |
| 1:14.4 | Hello, Aisha. Hello, Glenn. It's great to have you here. I feel like this conversation is going to be at least as fun as watching this weird kind of silly show. |
| 1:26.3 | Paradise is created by Dan Folgerman, who created the hit show This Is Us, which also starred Sterling K. Brown. |
| 1:33.0 | And it also had a big reveal in its first episode, so that's kind of his thing. |
| 1:37.9 | Brown plays no-nonsense secret service agent Xavier Clowins. |
| 1:41.6 | He's serving under President Cal Bradford, played by James Marsden, |
| 1:45.4 | until he finds Bradford dead on his bedroom floor one morning from an apparent head trauma. |
| 1:50.2 | Who's responsible? Collins is obviously going to investigate. But we learned this is happening |
| 1:55.9 | in a literal doomsday situation. They've all been living in a bunker for a few years, |
| 2:00.5 | following a catastrophic |
| 2:01.6 | environmental event that wiped out most of the world's population. A select few were able to |
| 2:07.1 | escape to the bunker, which was designed by tech billionaire Samantha Sinatra Redmond. She's |
... |
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