Everything to Remember About the Post-Apocalypse of ‘Paradise’ Before Season 2
Season two of Paradise lands Monday, February 23, 2026 (ET), with the first three episodes available at launch and the remainder premiering weekly. Ahead of the new episodes, here’s a concise refresher on the post-apocalyptic bunker mystery, the characters driving its upheaval, and a new companion podcast that promises to expand the story world.
What happened in Season 1: the bunker, the murder, the fracture
Paradise started with two jolting revelations: the President of the United States is dead, and the idyllic small town setting is actually an engineered underground city buried beneath a Colorado mountain. Years before, a lone scientist’s doomsday predictions convinced a wealthy benefactor to build an enormous, sealed community — a refuge intended to preserve a select group of people when a global environmental catastrophe wrecked the surface.
The central timeline takes place several years after that evacuation. Residents of the underground town live with the belief that they may be the last people left, but the first episode exposes deep cracks in that illusion. Secret Service agent Xavier Collins finds the president bludgeoned to death and discovers the President’s missing electronic tablet — a device holding secrets that many want kept buried. The season leans heavily on flashbacks, gradually revealing the bunker’s origins, the moral compromises behind its construction, and the web of cover-ups and betrayals that govern life inside.
The city’s architect — a tech billionaire codenamed “Sinatra” — presides over Liberty Grove with absolute authority. Her vision and control are central tensions for the community; power and guilt intersect in a leadership style built on the belief that she saved humanity, even as her choices hurt people close to her. Corruption, secrecy and the consequences of playing god are recurring themes that push residents into alliances and betrayals.
Key players and the stakes heading into Season 2
Xavier Collins, portrayed as a devoted Secret Service agent and single father, anchors the show’s moral center. Haunted by the knowledge that his wife Teri was left behind when evacuation occurred, Xavier’s personal mission drives much of the emotional urgency. The billionaire leader, Samantha Redmond (a. k. a. Sinatra), presents a complex antagonist: visionary yet controlling, protective yet ruthless in defense of her project. The late President Cal Bradford remains central in flashbacks, his death a catalyst that continues to ripple through the community.
As Season 2 opens, Xavier leaves the bunker to search for Teri and to find out how people survived the three years since the disaster known as The Day. Back inside the underground city, the social fabric is fraying. Leadership is contested, new revelations about the facility’s design and purpose come to light, and residents must grapple with whether the choice to save a few was ever justifiable. Expect the new episodes to weave together investigative momentum on the surface with political, social and personal fallout within the refuge.
The companion podcast and why it matters
A companion podcast will arrive on Monday, February 16, 2026 (ET), beginning with a Season 1 catch-up episode before transitioning into weekly installments timed to the show’s run. The series will be hosted by Ryan Michelle Bathé, who also takes on a guest acting role this season and has a personal connection to the project through her relationship with one of the series’ lead performers.
The podcast promises in-depth episode recaps, conversations with writers and producers, and discussions with scientific and thematic consultants to give listeners a deeper look at the bunker’s design, the show’s speculative grounding, and the storytelling decisions behind major twists. Video versions of the podcast will be available alongside audio releases on multiple services, offering fans a multimedia way to revisit plot points and explore the series’ ethical and technical questions.
With Season 2 set to expand the world both on screen and in companion content, now is the time to refresh your memory of the bunker’s secrets and its survivors. Expect tight plotting, character-driven stakes, and new revelations that will complicate everything viewers thought they knew about who gets to survive — and why.
