Sterling K. Brown Teases What's Ahead in Paradise Season 2

When you sit down with Sterling K. Brown in a nondescript conference room on the Paramount Pictures studio lot where Hulu's first-season phenom series Paradise is shot, you know that the actor isn't going to start dropping truth bombs about the anticipated second season. He's not going to spill exactly what's about to befall his character, Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins, as he forays into the world beyond the Bunker — a world that just may reveal the secret fate of Xavier's wife Teri, long left to the horrors or mercies the landscape, which itself may or may not actually be as post-apocalyptic as Xavier's been led to believe. 

But after starring in six seasons of This Is Us — also from Paradise co-creator Dan Fogelman and also rife with long-simmering, if less world-altering, mysteries — Brown has developed his own flair for dodging and weaving around spoilers while also offering coded glimpses of the road ahead. And after TV Guide joined a cohort of international journalists eager for any scrap Brown had to offer, a few choice morsels were put on the table, and we happily gobbled them up. Here's what Brown had to say about Season 2 of Paradise.

On how the second season will continue to explore the heights and the depths that the world of Paradise can push people to:
Brown: I think that catastrophes, the natural disasters, anything that sort of creates scarcity in the world has a tendency to bring out the best and worst of humanity. The worst is to sort of hoard and gather things for yourself so that you can ensure your own survival. And then the best is there is an instinct to share, to create and build community, which is necessary for the highest level of life to do so in communion with one another. 

And so I think in Season 2 you see examples of both as Xavier ventures outside of the bunker to see how people have been existing for the past three years, [they] didn't have resources, [they] didn't have planning, but had to make it happen as catch-as-catch-can. And he encounters people who are nefarious. He encounters people who are benign.

First of all, we're trying to make a show that's entertaining, that people just enjoy. But I also, I think there is an underlying message that if and when you can have enough trust at the root of your soul to believe in the best of people that a higher life is possible when we are in community with one another. So that's an overarching sort of thing that I think you'll see play out over the course of Season 2.

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On how Xavier's experiences in the first season have primed him to better understand the mantle of authority and making big decisions for others as he enters into new and unpredictable territory:
Brown: I always find that when you aren't in a position of power, it's easy to question the decision makers. And then when you find yourself in a position of authority, you're like, "Oh man, it's harder to make decisions than I actually thought it was!" Right? So that's not me being nice to Sinatra, because Sinatra can get a pew!-pew! [Laughs] But I guess Sterling has a little bit of empathy for the people that have to make decisions for society. 

And then I think stepping outside of it and having to make decisions for himself as an autonomous person and just sort of navigating his way through the world in an attempt to find his wife — knock on wood, hope Teri's alive! — there is… Gosh, what can I say about this? I think he was hard on the president, in terms of decisions that he made. And I think by the time we get to [Episode] 107, a lot of the audience is like, "Man, you shouldn't be so hard on the president! That's a good man! That's a good white man! [Laughs] Let him do his thing! He did the best he could to make sure your wife is OK. And he told you "Don't let her go to Atlanta. And what did you do? You try to give her a kiss and make her stay." My wife to this day is like, "You should have done a little bit more, sir, to keep your wife at home."

It's a whole different world that he's navigating because he is outside of the bunker, so the rules that he's been accustomed to for the past three years are sort of out the window, and he's figuring it out, brand-new brand-new, while things are still happening inside of the bunker. We have an exploration of both inside and outside. 

And then there is sort of a moment in which both of these worlds collide with one another — but it's almost like a whole new thing. And the way that I liken it is almost like The Wire, where Season 1 was on the corner, and in Season 2, "Are we on the docks now?" And then at some point we find out that the docks and the corner kind of come together in a very interesting way. That's the best tease I can give you without giving you anything. [Laughs] 

On one key clue to where the season is heading that will emerge very early on:
Brown: There's something that is going to make people so giddy! There's something that's going to make people so MF giddy and they'll be hinted at from [Episode] 201.There will be hints about… Should I say 201 or 202? There's a hint in 201 that will sort of be peppered throughout the season that will be one of the main driving forces as we enter into Season 3. So just pay attention. That's what I got to say.

On Paradise's use of a billionaire-class antagonist:
Brown: I think it's the way we already see them. I think if I'm just being perfectly honest, that there is an indictment of the level of capitalism's involvement in government. And is government really a government that is for the people? Is our democracy something that is for the people, or is our democracy something for the people that contribute to campaigns and then allow them to sort of govern for them, right? 

It's frustrating. I think it is frustrating for all of us to see things unduly influenced by the wealthy and as much as there's a separation of church and state with regards to our government, there needs to be, I think a greater separation of commerce and state. Yeah, that's not, like, a hot button thing. That's not like a crazy take. That's just kind of like the truth.

On the surprising character corners that Dan Fogelman will explore to make the audience rethink what they know:
Brown: I think Dan in particular loves the idea of "Can you redeem the irredeemable?" Like, once we think we understand somebody, is there another color that we can introduce to that person that changes our minds about them as an audience? So I think that's something that we'll be exploring in Season 2. But you can't help but take what people sort of reacted to and try to give them a little bit more of that — and also surprise them with it.

On whether Paradise will ultimately surprise viewers by exceeding its planned-for three-season endgame:
Brown: I don't think so. And there's always a chance per se, like depending on how the show does, and I'm sure the network and studio will ask, as they did with This Is Us, too. But I think Fogelman, he sort of holds on to his artistic integrity with regards to, "I have conceived of this much story and I have a beginning, middle, and end." 

And I think what was appealing on This Is Us is the same thing that is appealing to why I signed on for Paradise: It's because there's an arc that we have in mind, and TV is usually the only medium where there is no end point, sometimes. When I read a script for a play or a movie, I know exactly how it's going to play itself out. And so without necessarily all the scripts, but with the outline, I know how this is going to play itself out and it makes me feel good knowing that we're building towards something. We don't have to meander, we don't have to create filler. Every episode will sort of further the plot to get to our end point. 

They'd have to drop a massive bag [of cash] on your boy! A massive, massive bag! [Laughs] But even still, the bag is not the most important thing to me. It's the story and I always love to leave them wanting more. The idea of them being like, "Oh, that show's still on?" I hope that never happens in my career. [Knocks on wood.] So I think we're going to end with three.

Paradise Season 2 is expected to air in early 2026 on Hulu.