Julianne Nicholson: Constant cliffhangers make 'Paradise' addictive

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Winning Time and Mare of Easttown actress Julianne Nicholson says the big twist at the end of Paradise Episode 1 was one of the reasons she signed on to star in the new genre-bending drama.

"What was really exciting is that first episode makes you think you're sitting down to watch this political thriller and then you realize that there's so much else going on in this story, in this world, with these people," the 53-year-old Emmy winner told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"That propels you to want to watch the next episode and that happens throughout the series. Every episode ends with a cliffhanger and that just keeps us going."

Written by This is Us creator Dan Fogelman, the eight-episode series premiered Sunday on Hulu, with two more episodes added Tuesday.

Spoilers ahead

The show follows the investigation into the murder of Cal Bradford (James Marsden), the president of an America left devastated after a cataclysmic, environmental event.

"It does sort of bring up the climate crisis that we're in now and I think that's a good thing to bring into people's living rooms and just sort of remind people that this thing is happening, which we are getting examples of all around the world, week to week, and the rest is pure entertainment," Nicholson said.

The actress plays Sinatra, the billionaire architect of an underground Colorado city where about 25,000 survivors live, a secret not divulged until the end of Episode 1.

Brilliant and accomplished, Sinatra is also grieving the death of her young son.

"I connected with her as a mother, primarily, since that's the big piece of her history that propels her to where she is in our present-day story," said Nicholson, who has two children of her own.

"It was so fun to just take that and put it on a woman in such a position of power and someone so high up on the command chain," Nicholson added.

Red White & Royal Blue and Black Adam alum Sarah Shahi, 45, plays Gabriela, Sinatra's therapist, who is brought in to speak with the Secret Service agents supposedly guarding Cal the night he died.

Sterling K. Brown, Krys Marshall, Nicole Brydon Bloom and Jon Beavers play the agents.

"My character wasn't even in the first episode and I wanted to be a part of it in some way because the story was just so rich," Shahi said.

"To play a therapist was not such a stretch for me. I've had issues my whole life, so I've been in therapy my whole life," she added. "I've also been that to so many other people that to occupy a space in which it was my job to crack people open, to get them to be vulnerable, to help guide them to their best selves, was something that I had a lot of experience with."

Shahi said she also enjoyed being cast against type for a change.

"The characters I've played in the past have always been 'ballsy broads.' They've been kind of spicy numbers," she added.

"This one, though we will see what happens with Gabriela in the future, she really presented as very soft and steady, which was great to be able to play and do something different."

Gabriela and Sinatra have a complicated relationship because Sinatra is not only Gabriela's patient, she is her boss.

"It's a really refreshing one because I feel like there aren't too many times, especially in a TV format, where you have a female relationship that is not pitted against each other or one person wanting something for themselves or trying to out the other person," Shahi said.

While the women are both very strong, they are also completely different, she added.

"They're opposites, but, at the same time, they share a lot of affinity, a lot of respect for one another. It's almost like two heads of the same coin," Shahi said.

"You can't have Gabriela without Sinatra, and vice versa. I'm her safe space. I know her better than anyone. I think where a lot of people fear Sinatra, Gabriela just has a very different understanding of who the human is underneath."

Nicholson said she loves how the show also demonstrates how experienced women from different backgrounds can find ways to work together and have each other's backs.

"It seems to be resonating with people and I feel really proud of that," Nicholson added.

"It was a joy to work with Sarah. From the first scenes we did, there was just something special there. I feel like when I look at her, I'm looking into the back of her soul and it's just so nice to be met in that way," she said.

Shahi then broke the moment of sincere praise by grabbing Nicholson's finger the way Ariana Grande did to Cynthia Erivo in a recent viral press interview for Wicked.

Shahi and Nicholson then dissolved into giggles as Shahi quipped, "We telepathically speak with each other like this."

The other character Gabriela spends a lot of time with is Brown's Secret Service Agent Xavier.

"I have the task of basically trying to discover whether or not he killed the president, so, as a therapist, I'm handed that responsibility to dig until I find the truth," Shahi said, hinting there eventually will be a romantic as well as professional aspect to Gabriela's relationship with Xavier.

Nicholson noted Xavier and Gabriela both have strong personalities and are determined to unravel the show's central mystery.

"They have to get past each other to get there and [Brown] is such a magnificent actor and person and he's so full and connected to his emotional life that there's just always so much going on," Nicholson said.

"Much like Sarah, he's just present with you and it's, literally, just play. You don't know where it's going to go and that's when it's exciting."