Get excited, Paradise fans! President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) and Secret Service agent Billy Pace’s (Jon Beavers) time on the popular Hulu series isn’t over. According to the show’s creator, Dan Fogelman, Marsden and Beavers will likely reprise their roles in the sophomore season of Paradise.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains Paradise Season 1 spoilers.]
Cal Bradford and Billy Pace both died early in ‘Paradise’ Season 1
Paradise began with Secret Service agent Xavier Collins, played by Golden Globe winner Sterling K. Brown, finding the president dead in his home. An investigation quickly ensued in the post-apocalyptic bunker underneath the mountains of Colorado.
As for Billy, he helped Xavier, his co-worker and best friend, gather as many details from the crime scene as possible. But only four episodes into the show’s eight-episode season, Billy died at the hands of his girlfriend, Secret Service agent Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom), after confronting Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond (Julianne Nicholson) about what happened outside the bunker.
In a flashback, viewers discovered Billy, a former gun for hire, killed the bunker’s explorers on Sinatra’s orders when they discovered that the environment above ground wasn’t entirely inhospitable to human life.
Season 1 is ‘definitely not going to be the last we’ve seen’ of the ‘Paradise’ characters
Fogelman revealed in a Variety interview that the fan-favorite characters like Billy and Cal will be part of Paradise Season 2. “It’s definitely not going to be the last we’ve seen [of them],” he said.
“It’s very captivating to fall in love with an actor and then just try and break your story down to accommodate getting those people back in a show,” Fogelman said. As for details on the late president and Secret Service agent’s future appearances, the series’ creator is keeping that under wraps. However, he did say the story will act as a road map.
“The story will dictate where characters like Cal or like Billy Pace can come back and play in our world,” Fogelman said. “But there is a big picture story we’re telling here that will allow more stuff to happen.”
Fogelman also shared that Marsden’s already floated ideas about his character’s return. “James has pitched me, ‘I have a secret twin, let’s do it!’” he said. Fogelman’s response: “We’re not going to do that.”
“But we do love the actor and the character,” he added. “So when there’s opportunity that fits in the story, which it does at times, that will be the goal.”
Fogelman says it ‘won’t be 2 years’ until ‘Paradise’ Season 2
On March 4, 2025, the same day the Paradise Season 1 finale began streaming, Fogelman revealed that fans won’t have to wait years for new episodes.
“Please don’t wait two years to give us season 2 of Paradise @hulu,” the fan wrote on X. Fogelman responded, “We start shooting in just a few weeks. It won’t be 2 years I promise! #Paradise.”
So, look out for more from Paradise as filming on the new season gets underway. In the meantime, feel free to re-watch it on Hulu. (No judgment here!) Or watch all eight episodes when they start airing on ABC beginning April 7, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET.
