Almost Paradise has dropped its second ten-episode season in full on Amazon Freevee, with Christian Kane returning as a rascally former DEA agent who retires to Cebu Island in the Philippines, where instead of the peace and quiet he’s looking for, he finds himself aiding the crime fighting efforts of two local police detectives. Paradise was created and executive produced by Dean Devlin, who also produced The Librarians, Leverage, and its reboot, Leverage: Redemption, all co-starring Kane; it originally premiered on WGN America (now NewsNation) in 2020 before finding its new home with Freevee. It’s the first American series to be shot entirely on location in the Philippines.
Opening Shot: “Don’t play stupid. We know you found it, so hand it over.” Two thugs are ransacking a Catholic church and threatening the parish priest. But their taunting gets out of hand, Father Gabriel (Carlos Orosa) is stabbed to death, and they set fire to Sacred Heart to try and cover their tracks.
The Gist: As Alex Walker (Kane) always says, he came to the laid-back resort town of Mactan to ease the hypertension that forced him into retirement from the DEA. All he wants to do is relax and operate his little island gift shop. And yet, Alex always seems to find his way into whatever case detectives Kai Mendoza (Samantha Richelle) and Ernesto Almares (Arthur Acuña) are working on, cases that invariably involve lots of car chases and fist fights. Dr. Patel (Angeli Bayani) at the American naval base warns him that his heart condition can easily be aggravated. But that doesn’t stop Alex Walker from punching criminals and dodging bullets at least once an episode.
Sacred Heart was a haven for the community, and losing Father Gabriel was a blow. But as Kai, Ernesto, and Alex are helping to rebuild the church’s burned-out interior, they learn that before his death, the priest had announced his discovery of the Magellan Cross, a priceless artifact tied to the Portuguese explorer’s local legacy. A lot of people would love to get their hands on that cross, which was believed to be lost to history. And Alex’s hunch that those people might have been willing to kill for it quickly proves true. So Mactan police chief Ike Ocampo (Nonie Buencamino) orders Kai and Ernesto, with the help of Alex and his “unique perspective,” to find Father Gabriel’s killer and hopefully recover the artifact at the same time.
There are a few suspects. Is the priest (Reece Ritchie) who introduces himself as Father Rodrigo really just a concerned ally from the church? What about the rumored involvement of an international antiquities collector/money launderer that Alex knows of from his DEA days? And what are the motives of refined and wealthy local citizen Ann Villegas (Filipino-American actress and model Max Collins), who seems to want the cross for herself? Alex decides to explore that last question personally. But when he tries to turn on the charm to get closer to Ann, all that does is make them both a target of the same thugs who attacked Father Gabriel. And this time they brought their guns.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Tom Selleck-starring Magnum PI, which originally aired 1980-88 and now streams on Freevee, feels like the core touchpoint here, with Alex Walker horning his way into life on the island, getting into random scrapes with area toughs, and becoming invaluable to the local police force. You can throw in a bit of Burn Notice, too, mostly in its tone and the ability of Jeffrey Donovan and Christian Kane to each play versions of an extremely capable but also slightly odd duck. And while it often feels like Almost Paradise should feature main character narration like both of those shows did, it largely leaves that out but for a brief introductory segment.
Our Take: In another time, Almost Paradise would be sturdy mid level cable fare, falling into a pack alongside stuff like Breakout Kings, which lasted for two seasons at A&E (What a cast! Nowadays it streams on Hulu), the early 2000s cops-and-crime actioner Fastlane, with Peter Facinelli and Bill Bellamy and Tiffani Thiessen, the aforementioned Burn Notice, or any of the productions that Christian Kane’s quirky tough guy persona also featured in. (Kane’s Eliot Spencer character from the Leverage universe in particular feels like a cousin to Alex Walker.) Almost Paradise and its “case of the week” format settles easily into comfort watch mode. There is never any question that Kai, Ernesto, and Alex are going to ultimately catch the bad guys. There is gunplay, but it’s of the safe variety. (In the season two premiere, a goon gets his gun literally shot out of his hand.) And the car chases that usually evolve into foot chases are edited with propulsion but remain mostly meaningless. They move the camaraderie between these characters along, reserve lots of space for light banter, and generally contribute to Almost Paradise being the easily accessible watch that it is.
Sex and Skin: Nothing here, unless you count self-described “old dog” Alex Walker plunging headfirst into dating apps. Insert a few lovably lame jokes about the proper use of eggplant emojis here.
Parting Shot: After Alex bumbles his latest attempt to charm Ann Villegas, Kai and Ernesto are ready with the digs. “Is that the Walker magnetism you were talking about?” And remember, Ernest tells him with a slug on the arm, “magnets both attract and repel.”
Sleeper Star: Arthur Acuña is slow-burn terrific as Detective Ernesto Almares in Almost Paradise, with the interesting choice of his square-frame spectacles obscuring a set of formidable fighting skills and Ernesto’s ability to unnerve Alex with only a few well-considered words.
Most Pilot-y Line: “That means either somebody stole it before, or they’ll kill again to try and find it.” Almost Paradise always finds its way around to a few group exposition scenes that establish whatever action will occur next. You can see all of it coming from a mile away, but like the best versions of this familiar sequence, Kane, Acuña, and Samantha Richelle sell it with their crosstalking rapport.
Our Call: STREAM IT. With a charismatic performance from Christian Kane at its center, Almost Paradise returns for its second season with more island life rhythms, an easy chemistry between its leads, and just enough action and fisticuffs to move things along. Comfort watchability: engaged.
Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges