“Paradise” Directors Glenn Ficarra & John Requa on Crafting the California-Made Emmy-Nominated Thriller

One of only seven TV projects approved for California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program during the 2022-2023 cycle, Dan Fogelman’s latest offering is an intense amalgamation of a murder mystery, political thriller, and post-apocalyptic survival drama all in one. True to his signature style a la This Is Us, a jaw-dropping twist at the end of the pilot uncovers a multitude of tragic truths and secrets alike. A stoic father in a seemingly picture-perfect town called Paradise, Xavier Collins (the Emmy-nominated Sterling K. Brown, who pulls double duty as Executive Producer) is also a Secret Service agent in charge of President Cal Bradford’s (James Marsden, also an Emmy-nominee) security detail. Zigzagging between two main timelines, the events that led to how they all ended up here slowly unravel. When Bradford is found brutally murdered in his residence, Xavier becomes the initial suspect.

Thanks in part to the $12.2 million in tax incentives (against $59.3 million of in-state qualified expenditures), Paradise was shot entirely in California over 84 filming days, mostly on the Warner Bros Studio backlot. This Is Us alums and directing duo who helmed half of the episodes, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to work right in their hometown alongside 200 cast and 250 local crew members. “We were incredibly lucky to be shooting here, and that was at Dan and Sterling’s insistence. We love it because we get the best crew and infrastructure around here. And you get to see your family during the week, which is even better,” remarks Ficarra. “These artisans and their families, like grips and gaffers, have done it for multiple generations. This is the best place in the world to make movies, and it’s dying,” says Requa. With renewed urgency to revive Southern California’s hallmark industry after local production reached a new low, Fogelman’s team fought to keep the show local. “Dan was determined not to let it happen. He wants to do whatever he can to get productions to stay in L.A.,” Requa adds.

Speaking to The Credits on their third day of shooting Season Two—which garnered another $12 million in tax incentives—Ficarra and Requa­ take us through the closely guarded secrets of Paradise.

Does this feel like a This Is Us reunion of sorts?

Glenn Ficarra: Yeah, there are a lot of the same people from This Is Us, both on the studio side and the crew.

This series has not a single wasted moment. The opening frame teases the mystery right away—the clock is ticking, Xavier hasn’t slept a wink, and we see his bullet scar from the first assassination attempt on President Bradford. How did you decide to begin the story with that scene?

John Requa: This is fundamentally a mystery. We’re trying to plant those seeds. What happened to his wife? Why does he have a devastating wound in his shoulder? The pilot uses every trick in the book—visual language, writing, and performance—to let the audience know that it may look like paradise, but underneath the surface, something’s not right.

Ficarra: You have to really lean in, listen, and try to figure it out.

[Spoiler!] At the end of the pilot, someone walks by a billboard that reads “Dawn will be delayed by two hours.” What a fantastic cliffhanger!

Requa: We shot about 20 things like that; Dan needed a bunch of things to foreshadow this big surprise. So, we shot that sign, the mechanical ducks, and a bunch of others that didn’t make the cut. We wanted the pilot to be this growing sense of foreboding and mystery—everything looks perfect, but something’s not right. We didn’t know until the editing room whether we got it.

In terms of themes, what do you want audiences to get out of this story?

Requa: The inspiration for the story came from Dan—he had a meeting with a very powerful person and wondered what it’s like to have infinite amounts of power. The show examines the inequities in our world.

Tech billionaire and grieving mother Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) has total control over Paradise and everyone in it, having personally constructed the underground bunker. Why does she think the only way to survive is to be Machiavellian and cold-blooded?

Requa: Paradise is sort of the manifestation of her damage, and she’s a control freak who lost her son to a tragic disease. She wasn’t able to control that, so she decided to build this world to have something she could completely control and also to protect her daughter. It’s her idealized world, and we imply a sort of world that she feels her son would have loved. So, the town is a manifestation of her unprocessed damage.

What does it mean to be one of the rare series that films in and around Los Angeles?

Requa: You’re preserving a century-old tradition of artists and artisans coming to Hollywood to make movies. My house was built in 1922 by a production designer, and it has been occupied by a succession of people who work in the industry; however, that tradition is now at risk. We don’t want to see this tradition die.

Can you discuss some of the locations used for the town, which turns out to be miles underground in a Colorado bunker? Where was Cal’s residence?

Ficarra: That was the Azria Estate in Holmby Hills. We had to cobble together a lot for the underground city. The hangar and the entrance to the underground city were filmed in the Tustin Blimp Hangar #2, one of the largest wooden structures in the world. There’s an incredible housing development in Santa Clarita called Bridgeport, which was where Xavier and the agents live, where you see him jogging in the pilot. This small community is picture-perfect with idyllic homes. That’s also where we filmed the lake with the mechanical ducks. It was just a perfect location for the art direction of the show.

The town of Paradise resembles a throwback to the 1980s or early 1990s, especially with everyone being so excited about the annual carnival. What ambiance or aesthetic were you going for and why?  

Ficarra: It had to be believable as a town where a U.S. President would retire to, but also an idealized version of a Midwestern town with an all-American feel. It feels very familiar and cozy—we shot that in the Warner backlot. That’s another reason why shooting in L.A. was really great. 

Check back tomorrow for what the directors have to say about the most emotionally lacerating episode and what makes Paradise different from other post-apocalyptic stories.

Paradise is streaming on Hulu.

Featured image: PARADISE – “Wildcat Is Down” – It’s just another day in Paradise until Agent Xavier Collins discovers one of the world’s most powerful individuals has been viciously murdered. Xavier analyzes the crime scene while recalling his complex relationship with the victim. (Disney/Brian Roedel) JAMES MARSDEN, STERLING K. BROWN