Hulu’s Paradise became a standout in last year’s crowded TV landscape by doing something most mystery-box thrillers avoid: resolving major questions within the same season they’re raised. The series blended influences from Silo, 24, and Lost while carving out its own lane, pairing high-concept worldbuilding with brisk narrative payoffs. Now, only months after the season 1 finale, Hulu and creator Dan Fogelman have released the first trailer for season 2, offering early answers to the show’s cliffhanger and teasing a markedly larger scope.
Unveiled at CCXP 2025 in São Paulo, the new footage wastes no time addressing where the story picks up. Season 2 follows Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) immediately after his failed escape attempt. The trailer reveals that his getaway flight didn’t survive the journey; instead, he crash-lands into a devastated America reshaped by overlapping natural and human-made disasters. The landscape — and the survivors who remain after three bleak years — suggest a world far beyond the bunker’s insulated crises from season 1.
While Xavier navigates this transformed wasteland, the situation inside “Paradise” is deteriorating. The bunker’s fragile social structure, already destabilised by last season’s revelations, appears to be cracking further. Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) hints that the city holds deeper secrets than residents realised, suggesting that the show’s mythology is set to expand in directions the first season only implied.
The trailer also reinforces that Teri (Sarah Shahi) survived, though the footage positions her in the middle of a new mystery rather than simply reconnecting with Xavier. Other familiar faces appear in intriguing fragments: Cal Bradford (James Marsden) returns, likely in flashbacks given his season 1 fate, and Thomas Doherty enters the narrative wielding heavy weaponry — a signal that the external world may be more militarised and fractured than viewers have yet seen. Shailene Woodley appears as a scientist from before “Day,” indicating a deeper exploration of the events that led to Paradise’s creation.
Writers have suggested that the new season will balance fresh mysteries with concrete answers. Season 1 writer Nadra Widatalla previously noted that the creative team wants to maintain the show’s momentum while expanding its scale, promising that the second season will confront lingering questions while introducing new ones that broaden the series’ world.
With its blend of flashbacks, wider geography, and escalating stakes, Paradise season 2 aims to maintain the show’s fast-paced approach while exploring the story beyond the bunker walls. The series returns on February 23, 2026.
