Okay, so you’ve just watched the last episode of Paradise and now have no idea what to watch next? Here are a few shows that share some similarities with Paradise that you may be into – once you’ve had a chance to have a lie-down and a cup of tea to get over that ending!
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Somehow, I totally missed this show when the first season came out – I don’t know how it slipped under my radar, but judging by the number of people who have said ‘Have you heard of this show, Paradise!? I’ve just started watching!’, I’m certainly not alone.
This show is good. It’s a completely different show to the one I thought I’d buckled myself in for when I started watching it, but personally, I love the places this show goes to. It has an incredible cast, it’s beautifully made and, in my opinion, it’s a sensational watch. I loved the first season – and although the second season isn’t as good, it’s still bloody good TV. And you don’t have to just take my word for it – I met up with a friend who works for a big TV network as a publicist and she said it’s the best TV show out there at the moment (even though she works for a rival).
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILER ALERTS!!!!!!!!!!!
Part of the joy of this show is the wild twist of it all, so if you want to experience that for yourself, stop reading now and just go ahead and watch it.
If you’re someone who just has to know – and look, the turn this show takes isn’t going to be for everyone, so I kind of understand – here’s the jist of things.
We think we’re watching a series about a secret service agent, Xavier Collins (played by the incredible Sterling K. Brown), who is assigned to protecting the President (James Marsden). Very early on in the first episode Xavier turns up for his shift to find the President hasn’t woken up yet – he goes to check in on him, only to find he has been murdered. Xavier immediately acts a little strangely, but is obviously determined to find out who murdered him, although as the episode goes on, things become stranger and stranger.
There are a few little clues along the way – there are artificial ducks that are being serviced and the whole town has a strange artificial Truman Show kind of feel to it. Then, it’s revealed to us that yes, the whole town is fake. We’ll discover over the following episdoes that this town ‘Paradise’ is actually a massive underground bunker built by billionaires under the Colorado mountains. Thousands of people fled to the bunker to survive a catastrophic event happened on Earth. So, yes, we’re watching the political thriller we signed up for, but now, it’s also a post-apocalyptic science fiction show. I love a disaster movie, so honestly, I was here for it.
The series was created to be a three-part act, so, there’s still one more series to come out. Unfortunately, it’s still being shot, so it won’t air until January or February 2027. So, what to watch in the meantime?!
If you loved Paradise, here’s five more shows that we think you might also like:
This Is Us
Okay, this show is completely different in so many ways (it’s not a political thriller nor is it a post apolyptic or science fiction show!), but, it’s also got a hell of a lot of similarities, so stick with me here.
Paradise was made by Dan Fogelman – his name might not be familiar but it’s likely you’ll know his big breakout series, This Is Us. The show came out in 2016 and was easily one of the biggest shows of the last decade.
It’s essentially a family drama, with a twist. It follows three main people, who in the first episode seem to have nothing to do with each other and seem very different to one another, but, spoiler alert here, by the end of the episode we’ll discover they’re actually siblings (a classic Dan Fogelman twist). We’ll then follow the siblings in different timelines, as well as their parents in an entirely different timeline.
The cast is incredible – the mum and dad are played by Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia (yes, from Gilmore Girls) and the siblings are played by Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley and… Sterling K. Brown. This was Sterling’s break out role – and one that earned him an Emmy.
It may tackle a completely different topic, but the show has a similar feeling to it – the characters are so well developed, there are these unexpected connections, lots of twists, the flashback storytelling and an interesting playfulness with the concept of time…
Watch it on: Disney+
Lost
When series two started going down more of a science fiction route, my brain immediately started comparing this show to Lost. This is both a good and bad thing in my opinion, because for so much of the time I invested in watching every season of Lost I loved it, but then, felt a great sense of disappointment because what the hell was that show even about in the end?!? I know I’m not alone in my frustrations about the final episode – but there are also plenty of people who loved the finale (including Capsule co-founder Emma Clifton who still insists to me that the ending was perfect).
Lost is a brilliantly made show, with an all-star cast, following a group of people who find themselves stuck on a strange, deserted island after a plane crash. The more they discover about the island, the goddam stranger things get.
If you loved the twists and turns of Paradise, the incredible character development, the flashbacks and the general batshitness of the science fiction elements, you’ll likely love Lost too (just don’t hold your breath for that last episode tying up all the loose ends or making any of it make sense, k?).
Watch it on: Netflix of Disney+
Wayward Pines
Okay, when it comes to plotlines, Wayward Pines has a lot of similarities Paradise. This show came out just over 10 years ago, and look, I’m not going to lie to you – it’s got some big names in it, but the whole thing is… a little janky? It’s produced by M. Night Shyamala (yes, he of Sixth Sense fame), so you can be assured this is going to take some weird twists and supernatural turns.
It follows a US Secret Service agent, Ethan Burke (played by Matt Dillon) who is investigating the disappearance of two fellow agents in the mysterious town of Wayward Pines in Idaho. But, next thing we know, Ethan’s waking up after being in a car accident – but is unable to contact the outside world, and he’s unable to leave. It turns out the inhabitants of Wayward Pines are trapped there by an electrified fence and the set rules enforced by the town’s Sheriff, Arnold Pope (Terence Howard). Anyone who tries to escape, is killed.
This show has a definite similar feel to Paradise – the town has that same seemingly perfect façade, with something a lot more wacky and sinister happening behind it all. Plus, it has that real sci-fi element to it – but, it’s definitely not as slick or well made as Paradise.
Watch it on: Disney+
Fallout
Okay, so Fallout is executed in quite a different way to Paradise, but it’s a similar premise. This show is based on the hit video game series of the same name and is set in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles.
It’s a lot further along the timeline of things than Paradise though, with all the action taking place in 2296, around 219 years after the ‘Great War’ – a massive nuclear war that turned Earth into a wasteland. Like in Paradise, the ultra-wealthy fled to luxury fallout shelters when the war really kicked off. Then, 200 years after the war, they’re forced to return to the hellscape left behind – which they’re shocked to discover is an incredibly complex, gleefully weird and highly violent new world…
If you love science fiction, this is the show for you. It’s a lot darker and grittier than Paradise, and does have that quirky video game origin kind of feel to it. Personally I found it a bit too intense, but if you’re a true sci-fi fan, it’s a good bet.
Watch it on: Prime Video
Silo
Like Fallout and Paradise, Silo is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a community of people have survived by seeking refuge in a bunker. Only, in Silo that bunker is a massive 144 floor underground silo where a community thrives having no idea of their history – all records were supposedly destroyed 140 years earlier during an uprising. The community lives in a society full of rules and regulations that they believe are meant to protect them. Although, everything begins to unravel when an engineer – Juliette Nichols (played by Rebecca Ferguson) becomes embroiled in the mysteries of its past and present.
This show, like Fallout, is a lot further along in the timeline of an apocalypse, but it’s playing with some similar themes. It’s also got the big budget feel to it – it’s slick, plus it’s got some great actors in it, including Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo and Tim Robbins. But, unlike Paradise it does feel a lot bleaker from the get-go – there’s none of that beautiful facade hiding secrets, the silo is dark and pretty grim from the start!
Watch it on: Apple TV
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