Paradise, the Emmy-nominated drama from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and starring Sterling K. Brown, is returning for season 2. In the series, Brown plays Xavier Collins, the head security guard to former President Cal Bradford (James Marsden). When Cal is found dead, an investigation is put into motion that opens Xavier's eyes to a far-reaching conspiracy that changes everything he has been led to believe is true.

Returning in season 2 of Paradise are Krys Marshall, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV and Charlie Evans. Newcomers to the cast include Thomas Doherty, Shailene Woodley, Erik Svedberg-Zelman, Betsy Moore and Enuka Okuma.

Read on for a recap of what happened in the first season of Paradise and details on when season 2 will premiere.

Read more: Hulu Review: Strong Library of Network TV and Exciting Originals at a Competitive Price

What happened in season 1 of Paradise?

After an extinction-level event sent the world into chaos, a select group of elites moved into a high-tech underground bunker. The community, complete with a leadership structure, suburban neighborhoods and small businesses, all exists underneath a false sky that helps to mirror life on the surface. 

Cal was the forward-facing leader, but the real person pulling the strings was a powerful woman named Samantha Redmond. Also known by her nickname "Sinatra," she's the billionaire who funded the entire project. 

As the season progressed, it became clear that she had sinister motives (which haven't yet been revealed) in how she kept the bunker operating and the secrets she held close to the vest.

To keep the population under control, lies about the state of the world outside the bunker were told. But as the season progressed, that narrative began to crack under the pressure of Xavier's tenacity in his hunt to find the culprit who murdered the president. And even though the murderer was not Sinatra, all roads led back to her.

Who killed President Cal Bradford?

While Xavier was an excellent Secret Service agent, his relationship with Cal wasn't all sunshine and roses. Throughout the season, we got flashbacks that informed their contentious relationship -- especially the decision the president made to escape the disaster without telling Xavier that his wife, Teri, wouldn't be able to leave in time. Essentially, this positioned the president as the one Xavier blamed for her potential death. 

But is she dead? More on that in a bit.

Xavier's investigation into the president's murder stemmed all the way back to the construction of the bunker. Back then, safety warnings were ignored, and some employees died due to arsenopyrite poisoning.

The killer turned out to be the former construction project manager, and his motive for sneaking into Paradise under a false identity was revenge against the establishment. The lack of accountability behind all the damage and pain the bunker project caused fueled his motive.

Is Xavier's wife alive?

A multifaceted nuclear war, which kicked off a bevy of natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, a huge tsunami and a giant earthquake, fed the lies that Sinatra and her crew told the nearly 2,500 inhabitants of the bunker. But was the reality topside a nuclear wasteland?

Xavier was dealt a glimmer of hope that his wife was still alive when he discovered that President Bradford had decided against using the country's nuclear weapons. Instead, he shut down the system, sparking a worldwide technological collapse. This move meant, in Xavier's eyes, that there were potential survivors on the surface. And Teri may be one of them.

How did season 1 of Paradise end?

Xavier's meddling exposed a power struggle within the bunker's leadership. Jane Driscoll, who worked as a Secret Service agent alongside Xavier, was revealed as a potential villain who will have a bigger role in season 2. She shot Sinatra (aka Samantha Redmond), but she didn't die. Filling President Bradford's shoes, meanwhile, was President Baines -- a soft-spoken, hesitant person who Sinatra had little confidence in. 

The younger citizens formed a resistance group after Xavier's work exposed Sinatra's lies. The season ended with the future of the bunker and its leadership in question. 

As for Xavier, he took his mission outside the bunker. He acquired coordinates to guide him to the survivors on the surface and took off to find more answers and, hopefully, his wife.

When does Paradise season 2 premiere?

The second season of Paradise will premiere its first three episodes on Monday, Feb. 23, on Hulu and Disney Plus. The series will then move to a weekly episode release schedule until the finale, which is scheduled to drop on March 30.

Here's the complete episode release schedule:

Episode 1: Graceland - Feb. 23
Episode 2: Mayday - Feb. 23
Episode 3: Another Day in Paradise - Feb. 23
Episode 4: A Holy Charge - March 2
Episode 5: The Mailman - March 9
Episode 6: Jane - March 16
Episode 7: The Final Countdown - March 23
Episode 8: March 30

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