Paradise season 2 called ‘messy’ and ‘disjointed’ in barbed reviews for popular Hulu series’ return

Reviewers argue that Emmy-nominated series doesn’t match up to its acclaimed breakout season

The reviews are in for the second season of Hulu’s post-apocalyptic drama Paradise — and critics are disappointed that the new installment falls short of its acclaimed debut season.

Paradise, which follows Sterling K. Brown as the widowed Secret Service agent Xavier Collins investigating the assassination of the re-elected president Cal Bradford (James Marsden), was one of the biggest surprises of 2025, snagging several Emmy nominations, including Best Drama and Best Actor for Brown.

But critics are less convinced by its second season, highlighting plot inconsistencies, too many unanswered questions, and the inclusion of new characters who add little to the storyline.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han writes that the second season “gets bigger but not better” in a messy turn of events.

Han described the episodes as frustrating and exasperating to watch due to “little plot holes” and “storylines that fizzled out into dead ends.”

Sterling K. Brown plays a former Secret Service agent in ‘Paradise’ (Hulu/Disney)

“While Paradise has always been more heart than head, the latest run prioritizes the former to such a degree that the entire thing feels out of whack,” Han wrote.

Polygon’s Jake Kleinman compared Paradise to Lost, the sci-fi drama about a missing plane, citing similar plot themes, an over-reliance on flashbacks and “piling on ever more unanswered questions.”

Sterling K. Brown was nominated for a Best Actor award at the Emmys for his role in ‘Paradise’ (Hulu)

“New mysteries get piled on, muddying the waters and giving audiences too much to keep track of. It’s the same temptation that doomed Lost: creating enticing new questions is easy, satisfyingly answering them is much harder,” says Kleinman.

Writing for AV Club, Brian Tallerico echoed the sentiments of other critics, arguing that Paradise season two struggles to find the right direction and that several new characters, including Annie (played by Divergent’s Shailene Woodley), feel “generally wasted by the time their arc is complete.”

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However, Tallerico did note that the series was still very watchable and that there “aren’t bad performances on Paradise.”

On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Paradise’s second season matched the 86 percent score it received for season one.

With just 13 months between its first and second seasons, Paradise is another example of a streaming service attempting to cut down on long gaps between seasons to maintain audience interest. Other series, including Hulu’s The Bear, Apple TV’s Slow Horses and Max’s Hacks, have all benefited from short gaps between their seasons.

Season two expands Paradise’s post-apocalypse world further, following Xavier as he journeys to Atlanta in search of his wife, Teri, while navigating a dangerous world after a global catastrophe. The season introduces Woodley’s character, a survivor at Graceland. Meanwhile, the social fabric is crumbling between survivors hiding out at the Colorado bunker.