Almost Paradise (TV series)
Almost Paradise is an American-Filipino crime drama television series produced by Dean Devlin and Gary Rosen.[1] The series is the first American television series to be filmed entirely in the Philippines. It premiered March 30, 2020, on WGN America (now known as NewsNation) in the United States,[2] and in the Philippines, it premiered on March 21, 2021, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live and A2Z Channel 11.[3] The series has been renewed for a second season on Amazon Freevee.
| Almost Paradise | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Dean Devlin & Gary Rosen |
| Developed by | Steven A. Lee |
| Story by | Sean Presant |
| Creative director | Malay Javier Albert Langitan Toto Natividad |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United States Philippines |
| Original languages | English Filipino Cebuano |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production locations | Cebu, Philippines and New Zealand |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Distributor |
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| Release | |
| Original network | WGN America (United States; Season 1) Kapamilya Channel/A2Z (Philippines) |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release |
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Premise
Former DEA Agent Alex Walker, forced into retirement, moves to the island of Cebu in the Philippines. He purchases the hotel gift shop in the hopes of managing his stress and high blood pressure, but the wealthy and criminal element on the island keep drawing him back into law enforcement.
Cast
Main
- Christian Kane as Alex Walker, a former DEA agent[4]
- Samantha Richelle as Detective Kai Mendoza[4]
- AC Bonifacio as teenage Kai.
- Arthur Acuña as Ernesto Almares, Kai's partner[4]
- Nonie Buencamino as Ike Ocampo, chief of the Mactan Police Department[4]
- Ces Quesada as Cory Santos, the manager of the hotel[4]
Supporting
- Zsa Zsa Padilla as Gov. Nina Rosales
- Angeli Bayani as Dra.Sara Patel
- Sophia Reola as Rita Cordero[4]
- Ketchup Eusebio as Julio Torres
- Lotlot De Leon as Gloria Bautista
- Guji Lorenzana as Lester Cordero
- Raymond Bagatsing as Detective Cesar Rabara
- Will Devaughn as Jimmy Teo
- Ryan Eigenmann as El Diablo
- Richard Yap
- Zaijian Jaranilla
- Elijah Canlas
Episodes
| No. | Title [5] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [6] | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Finding Mabuhay" | Marc Roskin | Dean Devlin & Gary Rosen | March 30, 2020 | 0.220[7] | |
| After being betrayed by his ex-partner, ex-DEA agent Alex Walker moves to an island in the Philippines for his health. Despite his doctor's orders, he falls back into his undercover ways to help the local police with a drug sting operation. | ||||||
| 2 | "It's Personal" | Marc Roskin | Dean Devlin | April 6, 2020 | 0.263[8] | |
| The body of Ernesto's friend washes up on shore. Alex goes undercover with Kai to catch smugglers while Detective Alamares tracks down the murderer. | ||||||
| 3 | "Reef Eel Soup for the Soul" | Francis Dela Torre | Ty Freer & Nick Keetch | April 13, 2020 | 0.188[9] | |
| Alex goes undercover to stop mobsters from shaking down local street food vendors and discovers that the situation is far worse than he expected. | ||||||
| 4 | "Pistol Whip" | Dan Villegas | Calvin Sloan | April 20, 2020 | 0.226[10] | |
| A reality TV show crew arrives to explore sunken World War II battlegrounds and Alex gets involved in an illicit diving operation. | ||||||
| 5 | "Unbecalming" | Milan Todorovic | Kerry Glover | April 27, 2020 | 0.207[11] | |
| A typhoon hits the island and criminals their hostages get trapped at the police station. Alex has to find a way to help his friends as well as a US bureaucrat there to work with an arms dealer. | ||||||
| 6 | "Rise of the Kalangay"[12] | Hannah Espia-Farbova | Sean Presant | May 4, 2020 | 0.198[13] | |
| Alex works to solve a murder before a celebrated detective, but things tie back to the murder of Kai's mother, fifteen years earlier. | ||||||
| 7 | "Uncle Danny"[12] | Francis Dela Torre | Gary Rosen | May 11, 2020 | 0.227[14] | |
| Uncle Danny, Alex's con-artist relative, comes to the island and Alex is caught between protecting Danny from the police and mafia... and protecting the island from his uncle. | ||||||
| 8 | "Lone Wolf"[12] | Irene Emma Villamore | Ty Freer & Nick Keetch | May 18, 2020 | 0.259[15] | |
| When a country singer Alex loves comes to town, Alex takes a job protecting him. The singer is kidnapped and Alex has to figure out who is behind the crime. | ||||||
| 9 | "A Wedding to Die For" | Hannah Espia-Farbova | Calvin Sloan | May 25, 2020 | 0.210[16] | |
| Kai goes undercover at a triad boss wedding. Alex gets dragged into things when a wedding party member is murdered. | ||||||
| 10 | "Something Walker This Way Comes" | Dean Devlin | Sean Presant | June 1, 2020 | 0.249[17] | |
| Alex' old partner and daughter both show up on the island, and Alex must protect his daughter from his ex-partner. | ||||||
Production
Almost Paradise is the first American television series to be shot entirely in the Philippines. The show boasts an all-Filipino staff and crew, assisted by Cebu locals for the shoot.[18]
It was announced in September 2019 that ABS-CBN would be venturing into Hollywood television production for the U.S. film and TV producers Electric Entertainment, which is headed by Filipino-American producer Dean Devlin. A U.S. crime series set in Cebu, Almost Paradise aired in the United States via the cable company WGN America.[19] The series began filming at Bigfoot Soundstage Cebu in November 2019.
Devlin mentioned in an interview on June 4, 2020, that WGN would not renew the show for a second season, but that an unnamed streaming platform was willing to stream all of the episodes to gauge public response for another season.[20] On January 19, 2021, it was announced that Almost Paradise was streaming online on Amazon Freevee. All episodes of the show were made available on demand as of February 1, 2021.[21] It was IMDb TV who would end up renewing the show for a second season on February 8, 2022.[22]
The show is distributed by Electric Entertainment in Europe, South America and the Middle East,[23] and by ABS-CBN Entertainment in the Philippines.[24]
Release
On January 19, 2020, the first trailer was released along with the announcement that the series would premiere on March 30, 2020.[2]
International broadcast
- In the Philippines, the series is aired in Filipino-dubbed via Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live and A2Z since March 21, 2021, replacing Pinoy Big Brother: Connect and replaced by He's Into Her.[25] On April 9, 2021, the original version was released on iWantTFC. It will re-aired again on January 7 and 8, 2023 replacing the 31 year run of Maalaala Mo Kaya and final season of Click, Like, Share on its timeslot.
References
- ^ Petski, Denise (April 1, 2019). "WGN America Acquires 'Almost Paradise' Drama Series From Electric Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Jacobs, Meredith (January 19, 2020). "Christian Kane Is Trying to Avoid Stress in 'Almost Paradise' (VIDEO)". TV Insider. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ "'Together as One in 2021': Here are ABS-CBN's upcoming shows, offerings". ABS-CBN News. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Pederson, Erik (November 11, 2019). "'Almost Paradise': WGN America Drama Rounds Out Cast As Production Begins". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ "Almost Paradise – Episode Guide". Zap2It. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "Almost Paradise – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 31, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 7, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 14, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 21, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 28, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ a b c Giordano, Michael; Canton, Maj. "WGN America ALMOST PARADISE: Interview w Christian Kane, Samantha Richelle, Dean Devlin + Overview". TV Tango. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 5, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 11, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 19, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 25, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (June 1, 2020). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 30, 2020). "'Almost Paradise's Dean Devlin Goes Back To His Roots With First-Ever American TV Series Shot In The Philippines". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "ABS-CBN ventures into Hollywood TV production with Dean Devlin's Electric Entertainment". ABS-CBN Corporation. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "Almost Paradise: Season Two? Series Not Returning to WGN America but". June 4, 2020.
- ^ "Amazon's AVOD streamer IMDb TV visits 'Almost Paradise' with Electric Entertainment". TBI Vision. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 8, 2022). "'Almost Paradise' Renewed For Season 2 By IMDb TV". Deadline. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ "Electric Entertainment Reaches Global Deals for "Almost Paradise"". Señal News.
- ^ "ABS-CBN and Electric Entertainment's "Almost Paradise" makes PH debut on Sunday". ABS-CBN Corporation. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ News, ABS-CBN (December 21, 2020). "'Together as One in 2021': Here are ABS-CBN's upcoming shows, offerings". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
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External links
- Almost Paradise at IMDb