By Josh Nason
With March coming to a close, the second season of Paradise on Hulu is officially a wrap with one more final season left to go.
And what a fun two seasons it has been. The lovechild of so many post-apocalyptic shows before it, Paradise is a worthy descendant for those who like their dramas with a bit of intrigue, a little sci-fi, questions with the hope there are answers, and some WTF moments.
With 16 episodes in the books, it’s time to get into it and help you determine whether you should watch Paradise if you haven’t already. As always, no spoilers but plenty of info.
Should You Watch Paradise (Hulu)?
How many seasons?
Two.
How many episodes?
16.
What type of show is it?
Political post-apocalyptic drama with a twist or three.
What year(s)?
The crazy thing is this started on January 26, 2025 and the second season ended on March 30, 2026. Two seasons in 14 months feels unheard of in the current state of TV.
What’s the commit level?
834 total minutes for a shade under 14 hours. You can cut about 16 minutes if you skip the credits. It’s a pretty breezy 14 hours without any slack.
Where can I currently find it?
Hulu.
Who is it for?
A copy/paste from above: this is “for those who like their dramas with a bit of intrigue, a little sci-fi, questions with the hope there are answers, and some WTF moments.” It’s also MA, so not exactly for kids.
Is there a bailout episode?
The pilot is about as good as it gets with the weight of having to explain a lot in a short amount of time including a pretty big concept. If you’re not down at that point, you should move on, but I will hold it against you forever.
Any interesting background in the show’s creation?
It was created by Dan Fogelman (This Is Us, Cars, Tangled, etc.) and was greenlit to move ahead in April 2023. It wasn’t from a book or any pre-existing IP — it was an original idea. Imagine that.
Are there actors the average TV watcher would recognize?
Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, James Marsden, Shailene Woodley (s2)
What’s the reaction been?
Metacritic has the average at 70 (generally favorable) while Rotten Tomatoes has an 88/83 split which is also very good. The first season nabbed four Primetime Emmy nominations including best drama, as well as a bunch of smaller award nominations. It has yet to win any, though.
As of this writing, the show is a MASSIVE hit with over 12 billion total minutes watched. That’s a lot.
What’s the main plot in a sentence?
The world has a bunch o’problems (thanks, environment!), but a group of people had a plan.
How about another sentence?
Conspiracies, politics and humankind meet at an intersection.
What’s the rewatchability factor?
Medium as it’s A) a show that will be very recommendable by those who have seen it and B) will be worth a rewatch by those same people.
If you like these shows, you’ll like this one?
Lost, Station Eleven, Mad Max, Westworld, The Leftovers
Is this a first or second screen show?
First. Just put your damn phone down.
Should you watch Paradise?
Oh hell yes, you should.
There’s a big push to celebrate original IP, but this absolutely earns all the platitudes, latitudes and attitudes it gets. Paradise is an excellent, fun watch with some well-known actors and a supporting cast that does its job well.
I also love that the series has (we think) a concrete end. That makes for a tighter story and one that is worth going back and watching at some point. The creators of Lost famously have discussed how they didn’t have an end point when they first got the go-ahead for season one and had to figure things out as they went. It’s still an incredible series, but I feel like creators of descendants like Paradise learned from that.
Also, season two is as good as season one which is a feat these days.
From an accessibility standpoint, it’s incredibly bingeable and easy to watch, but not in a simpleton kind of way. There’s some mystery and intrigue, but not so much that your head is spinning. The episodes are generally under 50 minutes and at eight episodes a season, there’s no slouch in the middle that so many shows have these days. It’s built for a modern audience.
Watch Paradise.
