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Almost Paradise (TV series)

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Almost Paradise
GenreCrime drama
Created byDean Devlin & Gary Rosen
Starring
Theme music composerFred Coury
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Philippines
Original languages
  • English
  • Filipino
  • Cebuano
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producers
  • Dean Devlin
  • Gary Rosen
  • Marc Roskin
  • Rachel Olschan-Wilson
Production locationsMactan, Cebu, Philippines and New Zealand
Running time45 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkWGN America
ReleaseMarch 30 (2020-03-30) –
June 1, 2020 (2020-06-01)
NetworkAmazon Freevee
ReleaseJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)

Almost Paradise is an American-Philippine 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 on March 30, 2020, on WGN America (now known as NewsNation) in the United States.[2] The series was renewed for a second season on Amazon Freevee, with all 10 episodes premiering on July 21, 2023.

Premise

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Former DEA Agent Alex Walker, forced into retirement, moves to the island of Cebu in the Philippines. He purchases a hotel gift shop in the hope of managing his stress and high blood pressure, but the wealthy and criminal elements on the island keep drawing him back into law enforcement. Alex struggles to balance his time running his gift shop, which is worn down and in extensive need of repairs and upgrades, with solving various high profile crimes that threaten the island and its residents, often working alongside Mactan Police detective Kai Mendoza, her partner Ernesto Alamares, and Chief Ike Ocampo.

Cast

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Main

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  • Christian Kane as Alex Walker, a former DEA agent who moves to the Philippines following a forced retirement due to medical issues. He buys a gift shop at an upscale resort but also lends his expertise to the Mactan Police Department from time to time.[3]
  • Samantha Richelle as Detective Kai Mendoza, a detective with the Mactan Police who often works with Alex. The two often clash over how to handle a case but a deep friendship bordering on attraction develops between the two.[3]
  • Arthur Acuña as Ernesto Alamares, Kai's partner. He, like Kai, is often irritated by Alex's methods but the two develop a deep respect and friendship. He has a very calm demeanor.[3]
  • Nonie Buencamino as Ike Ocampo, chief of the Mactan Police Department and Kai and Ernesto's boss. He is quick to take credit with the press for the cases that Alex helps to solve.[3]
  • Ces Quesada as Cory Santos, the manager of the hotel and Alex's de facto landlady as, while Alex owns the gift shop, his utilities come from the resort. She initially acts hostile towards Alex but it is shown that she does have a certain fondness for him.[3]
  • Sophia Reola as Rita Cordero, daughter of one of the resort employees. Alex befriends her after her father is murdered. After Alex helps solve the case, he hires Rita to help out at the gift shop.[3]

Supporting

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Episodes

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Series overview

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
110March 30, 2020 (2020-03-30)June 1, 2020 (2020-06-01)WGN America
210July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)Amazon Freevee

Season 1 (2020)

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Finding Mabuhay"Marc RoskinDean Devlin & Gary RosenMarch 30, 2020 (2020-03-30)0.220[4]
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 RoskinDean DevlinApril 6, 2020 (2020-04-06)0.263[5]
The body of Ernesto's friend washes up on shore. Alex goes undercover with Kai to catch smugglers while Ernesto tracks down the murderer.
3"Reef Eel Soup for the Soul"Francis Dela TorreTy Freer & Nick KeetchApril 13, 2020 (2020-04-13)0.188[6]
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 VillegasCalvin SloanApril 20, 2020 (2020-04-20)0.226[7]
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 TodorovicKerry GloverApril 27, 2020 (2020-04-27)0.207[8]
Alex has to find a way to help his friends as well as a US State Department bureaucrat there to work with an arms dealer when a typhoon hits the islands and the arms dealer's men---who infiltrated as a rowdy sports team arrested for disorderly conduct---take them hostage.
6"Rise of the Kalangay"[9]Hannah Espia-FarbovaSean PresantMay 4, 2020 (2020-05-04)0.198[10]
Alex works to solve a murder before a celebrated detective does, but things tie back to the murder of Kai's mother, fifteen years earlier.
7"Uncle Danny"[9]Francis Dela TorreGary RosenMay 11, 2020 (2020-05-11)0.227[11]
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"[9]Irene Emma VillamoreTy Freer & Nick KeetchMay 18, 2020 (2020-05-18)0.259[12]
When Alex' favourite country singer 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-FarbovaCalvin SloanMay 25, 2020 (2020-05-25)0.210[13]
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 DevlinSean PresantJune 1, 2020 (2020-06-01)0.249[14]
Alex's daughter and old partner both show up on the island, and Alex must protect his daughter from his ex-partner.

Season 2 (2023)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [15]
111"The Magellan Cross"Dean DevlinDean Devlin, Gary RosenJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
When a local priest is murdered over a long-lost ancient cross, Alex, Kai and Ernesto must solve the priest's murder.
122"Badminton"Gary L. CampMarco SchnabelJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
When Alex's friend from the local gym is found murdered, Alex investigates and discover that his friend was involved in an underground badminton competition. Alex and Ernesto must go undercover as badminton players to solve the murder.
133"A Fisherfolk Tale"Dan VillegasCalvin SloanJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Alex befriends a boat mechanic who was wrongfully accused of murder in a remote fishing village.
144"Bahala Na"Dan VillegasCalvin SloanJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Alex temporarily moves in with Ernesto and is drawn into a generation-spanning family drama.
155"Deus Ex-Wife Machina"Francis dela TorreSean PresantJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Alex's ex-wife shows up with her new fiancé, asking Alex to sign her divorce papers---which leads to the fiancé's kidnapping by a crime lord whose hired hands mistake him for Alex.
166"Ghost Month"Irene VillamorJames WongJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
During the traditional "Ghost Month" in the Philippines, Alex is seemingly visited by the spirit of a dead man who was wrongfully accused of a crime and seeks justice.
177"All In"Irene VillamorKristen Cloke, Glen MorganJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Before the grand opening of Mactan's new resort casino, owned by the Villegas family, Ann Villegas recruits Alex to test the casino's security system.
188"Uncoupled"Hannah EspiaKerry GloverJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Kai and Alex go undercover at a self-help retreat in order to extract a naïve young woman from what is really a cult.
199"Old Times"Marc RoskinCalvin SloanJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
When Alex becomes entangled in a homicide investigation, he is forced to befriend an older couple with peculiar personality traits.
2010"Brigade"Francis dela TorreSean PresantJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Alex goes undercover as a prisoner and, with the help of Kai and Ernesto, figures out how The Waterboarder has been running his criminal empire from behind bars.

Production

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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.[16]

In September 2019, it was announced that ABS-CBN would be venturing into Hollywood television production with the American television and media production company 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.[17] 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.[18] On January 19, 2021, it was announced that Almost Paradise would stream online on IMDb TV (rebranded Amazon Freevee in May 2022). All season one episodes of the show were made available on demand as of February 1, 2021.[19] The series was eventually picked up for a second season, by IMDb TV, on February 8, 2022.[20]

The show is distributed by Electric Entertainment in Europe, South America and the Middle East,[21] and by ABS-CBN Studios in the Philippines.[22] The second season was produced by Arcade Film Factory.[23]

Release

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On January 19, 2020, the first trailer was released along with the announcement that the series would premiere on March 30, 2020.[2]

In the Philippines, the series aired in a Filipino dub via Kapamilya Channel's Yes Weekend Sunday primetime block, Kapamilya Online Live and A2Z from March 21 to May 23, 2021, replacing Pinoy Big Brother: Connect and was replaced by the first season of He's Into Her.[24] On April 9, 2021, the original version was released on iWantTFC. The series re-aired the dubbed Season 1 from January 7 to February 5, 2023 replacing Maalaala Mo Kaya and Click, Like, Share.

On February 8, 2022, it was announced that Almost Paradise was renewed for season 2.[25] All 10 episodes of the second season premiered on Amazon Freevee on July 21, 2023.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Petski, Denise (April 1, 2019). "WGN America Acquires 'Almost Paradise' Drama Series From Electric Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Jacobs, Meredith (January 19, 2020). "Christian Kane Is Trying to Avoid Stress in 'Almost Paradise' (VIDEO)". TV Insider. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 31, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.30.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 7, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.6.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 14, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.13.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 21, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.20.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  8. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 28, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.27.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 5, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.4.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  11. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 11, 2020). "Updated: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.11.2020 | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  12. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 19, 2020). "Updated: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.18.2020 | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  13. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 25, 2020). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (June 1, 2020). "Updated: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  15. ^ "Shows A-Z – Almost Paradise on Freevee". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "ABS-CBN ventures into Hollywood TV production with Dean Devlin's Electric Entertainment". ABS-CBN Corporation. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "Almost Paradise: Season Two? Series Not Returning to WGN America but". June 4, 2020.
  19. ^ "Amazon's AVOD streamer IMDb TV visits 'Almost Paradise' with Electric Entertainment". TBI Vision. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  20. ^ Petski, Denise (February 8, 2022). "'Almost Paradise' Renewed For Season 2 By IMDb TV". Deadline. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  21. ^ "Electric Entertainment Reaches Global Deals for "Almost Paradise"". Señal News.
  22. ^ "ABS-CBN and Electric Entertainment's "Almost Paradise" makes PH debut on Sunday". ABS-CBN Corporation. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Arcade Film Factory reveals its producer role in season 2 of Filipino-American crime drama Almost Paradise". Adobo Magazine. July 25, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  24. ^ "'Together as One in 2021': Here are ABS-CBN's upcoming shows, offerings". ABS-CBN News. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ Chapman, Wilson (February 8, 2022). "IMDB TV Renews 'Almost Paradise' for Season 2; HBO Max Unveils Premiere Date for 'Tokyo Vice'". Variety. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  26. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (June 12, 2023). "Almost Paradise Season 2: Get Freevee Release Date for Christian Kane Series, View Trailer and Poster (Exclusive)".
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