WHAT IT'S ABOUT Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) is a Secret Service agent tasked with protecting President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) while he's in office, and afterward — while Bradford's living in bucolic retirement in a sprawling McMansion where during his off-hours he slings back whiskeys and entertains another member of his security detail (Krys Marshall,

Dan Fogelman created the eight-episode drama, which co-stars James Marsden and Julianne Nicholson and isn't exactly the series it initially seems to be.

As the twisty whodunnit-cum-conspiracy plot plays out in the show’s present, flashbacks tease out background on Xavier and Sinatra’s relationships with the slick Bradford. These glimpses of the past also flesh out the human drama and bring in themes of grief and trauma.

Disney is throwing the full weight of its portfolio behind Sterling K. Brown and "This Is Us" creator Dan Fogelman's new Hulu series "Paradise."

The political sci-fi thriller is a great sign for TV this year, though it routinely reveals itself to be better on paper than in practice.