“The Paradise” Season One – TV series review

The first season of the Finnish crime drama “The Paradise” (originally, “Paratiisi”) offers a swirl of languages, locations and plot lines in eight 50-minute episodes. The star is a middle-aged police detective, Hilkka (Riitta Havukainen), on leave to care for her dementia-afflicted husband, Aarne (Risto Tuorila). Most of the family-related script elements are set in her native Finland; the crime stuff mostly in Spain’s lovely Costa del Sol.

The series opens with a nice Finnish family of four driving their camper to Spain for vacation. Don’t bother getting to like them, since they don’t last long enough. Shortly after their murders, another old Finnish woman is found dead in her nearby home. It seems that region is a popular emigration destination for many Finns. That latter death is what brings Hilkka to Spain, reluctantly leaving Aarne in the care of others. As crimes against Finns mount up in Spain – some involving land grabs by greedy developers; others for less obvious reasons – Hilkka winds up partnering with two Spanish detectives – Andres Villanueva (Fran Perea) and his new colleague, Luisa (Maria Romero). The former has some thorny personal issues in his backstory; the latter resents the intrusion of the foreigner in their sleuthing.

That’s part of the plot swirl. Settings alternate frequently between the two countries, giving us not only Spanish and Finnish dialog, but a lot in English, since that’s the only common tongue for many who don’t speak each other’s. All is subtitled in English for US viewing.

The half-dozen credited writers manage to blend the sub-stories coherently, with flashbacks for context of current events and emotions. Seemingly unrelated crimes merge into overlapping patterns with motives, throwing in twists with mostly logical fits, apart from one head-scratcher development. The whodunit element is kept well in the air to the latter episodes. The production makes good use of exteriors in both countries, adding a visual dimension of almost cinematic quality. Some mild action; a couple of brief flashes of naughty bits.

As is often the case for season-long mysteries, I thought the series unfolded a bit slowly. A trim to six episodes could have advanced the story arcs more briskly without sacrificing any essential details. Hilkka, as drawn, might not be the most appealing protagonist. Her character is hard to like. Even though her default dour demeanor and frumpy appearance are understandable, they don’t make for the most engaging anchor for such proceedings. Valenzuela is more interesting; Luisa grows on us as the season progresses. Aarne’s worsening senility is perhaps the best aspect of the writing and performances. This debut ties up all the matters well enough without cliffhangers, even if parts of the closure aren’t what many viewers would prefer.

This is the first of three seasons that aired from 2020-23. There may be more to come. It’s quite likely that the existing years will follow in streaming rebirth here in short order. Despite its arguable flaws, I’ll be back for them.

“The Paradise” Season One (originally “Paratiisi”), in Finnish and Spanish with English subtitles and in some English begins streaming MHz Choice on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars