Creator Dan Fogelman originally had a three-season vision for the show.

Will there be a Paradise season 3? What’s next for Hulu’s hit sci-fi series — and how Alex factors in

Creator Dan Fogelman originally had a three-season vision for the show.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer, and many other publications.

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March 30, 2026 5:00 p.m. ET

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Sterling K. Brown as Xavier Collins in 'Paradise' season 2. Credit:

Gilles Mingasson/Disney/Hulu

- *Paradise* has been renewed for a third season, which will likely be its last.

- Season 2 introduced an AI-powered quantum computer named Alex with the ability to manipulate time.

- According to creator Dan Fogelman, Alex is "at the core of what we're doing" with season 3.

What started as a political thriller has evolved into a post-apocalyptic mind-bender toying with time travel and alternate dimensions.

Hulu's *Paradise*, a sci-fi series that's like *Lost* for those with climate anxiety, just wrapped its second season with a nuclear blast and the introduction of Alex, an AI with the potential to manipulate time. The season 2 finale appears to set the story's endgame in motion, and creator Dan Fogelman has said he envisioned a three-season arc. Will he have the chance to finish it?

Read on for everything we know so far about *Paradise* season 3.

Will there be a season 3 of Paradise?

Sterling K. Brown and Enuka Okuma in 'Paradise' season 2.

Ser Baffo/Disney

Yes, *Paradise* was renewed for a third season prior to the season 2 finale.

This comes as little surprise, as Hulu reports that season 2 has been viewed for more than 30 million hours via streaming thus far.

How did Paradise season 2 end?

Thomas Doherty as Link in 'Paradise' season 2.

Disney/Ser Baffo

Season 2 culminated in a confrontation between Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) and the residents of the underground bunker known as Paradise and a band of survivors led by Link (Thomas Doherty). Link and his team want to use the resources hoarded inside the bunker to help restart civilization in the outside world. But they also want to destroy something inside the bunker called Alex.

Alex is an AI-controlled quantum computer with the power to manipulate time. Link, whose real name is Dylan, helped to create Alex prior to the mass extinction event that sent the world's upper crust into Paradise.

'Paradise' star Enuka Okuma reveals the season 2 moment she thought Teri was a goner

'Paradise' boss Dan Fogelman says episode 2 is one of his favorites: 'It's all Sterling'

The confrontation, combined with a perfect storm of bureaucratic and technological chaos, sent the bunker into a meltdown, resulting in a full evacuation and a nuclear blast occurring inside Paradise. Alex, however, is safe, as it's being stored 100 miles away in a second bunker beneath the Denver Airport.

Sinatra sacrificed herself to ensure the bunker was in lockdown when it blew up (thus preventing the spread of radioactivity), but she seemed oddly at peace with the decision. Why? Because, thanks to Alex's time-warping magic, she believes all of this will be prevented.

Before her death (?), she reveals that Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) is destined to be the one who "activates" Alex and saves the world.

What will Paradise season 3 be about?

Julianne Nicholson as Sinatra in 'Paradise' season 2.

Disney/Ser Baffo

There's no official season 3 synopsis as of this writing, but Fogelman has spoken at length about what's next for *Paradise*.

In an interview with the *Los Angeles Times* following the season 2 finale, he said that a "big part" of season 3 will center around Xavier's reluctance to pursue the mission given to him by Sinatra.

"He just got his nuclear family back... and then a lunatic billionaire is telling you that 100 miles away under the Denver Airport there’s this thing that sounds crazy," he said. "It’s not necessarily a scenario where you run off and do it tomorrow. Part of the journey of the third season is: What is he doing with that information? And does he resist it?"

Fogelman continued, "If he does [accept the mission], how do they get there? What happens?"

He went on to say that the airport is a "very prominent part of the third season," which we imagine means that Alex is, too. In fact, Fogelman said Alex is "at the core of what we’re doing."

"The exciting and the scary part of artificial intelligence is there are things the human brain will not be able to comprehend," he said while discussing the show's approach to this quantum computer. "The best explanation I got was: Imagine there’s an escalator that takes you up, but when you get to the top of the escalator you’re down. Your brain cannot process that, right? I say that as an example of talking about time, of talking about multiverses, of all these complicated things that are part of our science fiction lore and part of our show. These are things that are beyond our mortal comprehension, but that are maybe coming in the near-future. It’s not just science fiction anymore."**

Who’s in the cast of Paradise season 3?

James Marsden and Sterling K. Brown on 'Paradise'.

Brian Roedel/Disney

There's no official cast list as of yet for *Paradise* season 3, but you can expect much of the main cast to return in season 3. That even includes James Marsden's Cal Bradford, the U.S. president who was assassinated in episode 1. Marsden has remained a part of the first two seasons through flashbacks, a core storytelling motif of the show.

"I have had roles for him in mind both in the second and third season as a way that he can play a part in the story," Fogelman previously told *, *confirming that he at least has plans to bring back Bradford in season 3.

And while Fogelman confirmed that Sinatra died in the season 2 finale's blast, he told the *Times* it would "not be surprising to me to see Julianne more." Though we're expecting to see Sinatra in flashbacks, there's also the chance she could resurface in the present (or future?) as part of Alex's time manipulation.

Another character you can expect to return in season 3? Link's baby, which he named Annie in the season 2 finale after the child's late mother, played by Shailene Woodley.

"The baby plays a huge part in season 3," said Fogelman. "Or, I should say, the child plays a huge part in season 3."**

Is there a Paradise season 3 release date?

Sarah Shahi in 'Paradise' season 2.

Disney/Ser Baffo

There's no *Paradise* season 3 release date as of now, but Fogelman confirmed to the *Times* that the season begins filming in April 2026. Season 2 premiered roughly 13 months after season 1, and the creator hopes season 3 can arrive "even quicker."

“My instinct with this show, and all these types of shows, is the sooner you can get them back on air in a regular rhythm, the better it is for the show and for the viewer,” he said,**

Where can I watch Paradise?

*Paradise* is available to stream on Hulu.

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