‘Paradise’ Star James Marsden Would ‘Love’ to Reprise Cal Bradford Role in Season 2
Back to Paradise. James Marsden wants to return for a potential Paradise Season 2. The only problem? The TV show started with the death of his character, President Cal Bradford. But the actor’s been in a similar situation before only to come back.
James Marsden’s character is found dead in the first episode of ‘Paradise’
The Paradise premiere started with the president (Marsden) being found dead in his home by Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown). An investigation quickly began as Xavier searched for answers and thought back on his relationship with Cal courtesy of flashbacks.
The trailer (above) put Paradise in the political thriller genre. Thanks to a big twist from creator and writer Dan Fogelman, however, viewers learned at the end of the episode that Cal’s death was part of a much larger story. Everyone in the picturesque town lived in a bunker underneath the mountains in Colorado, meaning whoever killed Cal was one of Paradise’s 25,000 residents.
Marsden doesn’t know how it ‘would work’ but he’d ‘love’ to return to ‘Paradise’
Just because Cal died on the show doesn’t mean the door is forever closed on Marsden’s return. Speaking to TheWrap, the 51-year-old actor shared that he’d “love” to come back to Paradise.
“I love this group, everything they do,” he said. “I’m finding myself in the same situation as Dead To Me, which is, hey, I know I’m supposed to be around for one season, but how do we get to continue this party?”
Similar to Paradise, Marsden’s character on the Netflix series met an early death. However, he later returned as a twin.
“I’d love to. I love [creator] Dan [Fogelman]. I love his writing,” Marsden continued. “Everybody on set is a kind human being that’s super talented, [and at the] top of their game.”
“I would love to do it again,” he added. “I don’t know how that would work, but [am] open to the suggestions.” Maybe Cal has a twin brother viewers have yet to see. Or someone who looks remarkably like him finds their way to the bunker in Colorado from the seemingly decimated world above?
‘Paradise’ Season 2 is coming soon
On Feb. 21, Hulu announced it greenlit Paradise for a sophomore season. The response to the series has been overwhelmingly positive since it premiered in January 2025.
Fogelman didn’t intend for the story to end so soon. He reportedly has a three-season story in mind for the show (via Variety). The series creator has also talked about working on Paradise Season 2, telling Variety he wants the next installment to premiere “at least within a year” of the season 1 finale. (The final episode of the season is set to air in March 2025.)
Asked about plans for season 2, Fogelman told the outlet that it’s almost completely done being written. “We have almost the whole season broken, and almost written now,” he said. “The fundamental problem in streaming is these shows that people get hooked on then go off the air for two and a half years. And so my goal is to have this thing back on television at least within a year.”
Watch Paradise on Hulu. A new episode begins streaming every Tuesday.
