Streaming: Why this is the first serial hit of the young year

It only takes a few minutes, then the US President is dead. He lies motionless on the heavy carpet, a dark red blood laugh shimmers around his head. Actually, his most important security employee wanted to pick him up-but from now on he is considered a murderous.

This is how “Paradise”, a new US political series with excellent ensemble and many surprising twists, begins to see at the Disney+streaming service.

The thriller series by Dan Fogelman, who created a successful mix of emotion and quick action at the family series “This Is Us”. Fogelman throws a lot of balls in the air in the first two episodes, but the series never seems overloaded.

Secret service agent is accused

The family life of security guards Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), who raises his two children alone, is a topic as important as the youth of President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) and the business world of the powerful entrepreneur Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson).

It is certainly thanks to the actors that the figures in “Paradise” are welcome to follow from the first few minutes and that several seasons can be imagined.

Brown plays the security guard as well as Randall Pearson in “This Is Us” with great intensity, so the comparison “The Denzel Washington of his generation” seems to be justified for the Emmy winner and Oscar-nominated. With his appearance, Marsden as president could be descendant of the Kennedys anyway.

Many relevant topics without partiality

Entrepreneur Samantha Redmond is also complex, played by Julianne Nicholson. In conversation with the dpa news agency, she emphasizes that the focus was important to her.

In fact, several important social issues are negotiated convincingly. Nevertheless, “Paradise” does not take a specific position, even the party affiliation of President Bradford remains unclear.

Only in the dialogues there are some weaknesses that Fogelman already showed in “This Is Us”: from time to time he lets his characters tell too nicely decorated and nicely formulated stories and metaphors. Sometimes the plot scares just past the shallow.

But these are little things. In view of the current political world situation and the second term of Donald Trump, “Paradise” can hardly be seen without thinking about the symbolic power of a political series.

Again and again political zeitgeist series

Usually US presidents often accompanies a series: the comedy series “Modern Family” drew the image of a new America, “House of Cards” during his second term, from the intrigues behind the scenes of Washington.

“The Handmaid’s Tale – The Report of the Mag” at the beginning of Donald Trump’s first term of office designed a dark future in a religious state and “succession” that Joe Biden, which appears to be good -natured, would not remain calm.

“Paradise” has great opportunities to become the series about which everyone is talking about during the second Trump Presidency-despite all the thriller elements, she has a lot to say about what our society holds together.