Sterling K. Brown's big return to live-action television in the 2025 TV schedule with Hulu's Paradise proved that he can handle the leading man role after sharing the spotlight in This Is Us. The political thriller with a dystopian twist is returning early in the 2026 TV schedule for anybody with a Hulu subscription, and there are a lot of questions after Season 1 ended with his character, Xavier, leaving the relative safety of the bunker to search for his wife. Brown has now revealed when in Season 2 to expect a huge twist, even if he didn't spoil the particulars of what the twist will be.
Paradise, which was renewed before the first season even ended, hails from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman. Based on Sterling K. Brown's comments to TVLine about the upcoming Season 2, the producer hasn't lost his touch for twists even if the Hulu series is vastly different from the NBC hit. Brown previewed an upcoming game-changer:
I can't tell you what it is, [but] it happens in Episode 3 — one of the big ones — but then you backtrack and you start to clock things that were even present in Episode 2, as well.
Whatever the future holds, fans can at least say with certainty that they won't have to wait three weeks to see what this Episode 3 twist is. Unless there's another surprise early premiere like the first time around, Hulu is releasing the first three episodes on February 23 before switching to weekly releases for the rest of the second season.
The leading man also previewed that Billy Pace (Jon Beavers) will appear in Episode 3 despite seemingly being killed off at the end of Season 1, but the format of the series means that Billy isn't necessarily back from the dead. His return could be a flashback. After all, President Bradford (James Marsden) appears in the teaser for Season 2, and Cal is definitely dead after Season 1.
Sterling K. Brown knows to expect twists from creator Dan Fogelman after working with him for six seasons of This Is Us. While that emotional rollercoaster of a series was not dystopian in the way that Paradise is, the leading man went on to share that Fogelman still brings the shockers:
He loves a good jaw-drop. It's one of his favorite things, especially amongst cast and crew. I remember when he came up to me [on 'This Is Us'] and he goes, 'Hey, what do you think about William Hill being gay?' And I was like, 'Huh?' And then it unfolds, and you're like, 'Son of a gun!'
With Paradise airing on Hulu rather than network television, Xavier and Co. can say more than just "Son of a gun!" I wouldn't blame the character if he hits a limit in Season 2 based on the teaser for what's to come, including the arrival of Shailene Woodley as a new character. Take a look:
Season 2 of Paradise will premiere on Tuesday, February 24 with the first three of the next eight episodes. While the future isn't currently guaranteed beyond the upcoming second season, Brown shared that he and Fogelman have "three seasons of television planned," so be sure to tune in to prove that there's an audience for a Season 3.
In fact, if Paradise keeps up the pace of releasing a new season every year like a traditional network TV show, fans could get answers to all of their questions in a timely fashion. Dan Fogelman definitely doesn't seem to agree with the Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things fans when it comes to releasing TV shows every year!
