“I’ll get enough sleep when I’m dead”: Christian Kane on action drama Almost Paradise

Season one of action series Almost Paradise is finally coming to the UK via Amazon’s free streaming service, IMDb TV, after first launching in the US back in 2020 at the start of lockdown. It stars Christian Kane (Leverage: Redemption) as Alex Walker, a former undercover US DEA agent who, after being betrayed by his partner and faced with a life-threatening battle with hypertension, takes early retirement and relocates to a tropical island in the Philippines, where he runs a local gift shop in a luxury resort. But of course, his past life catches up with him and he soon finds himself pulled into the criminal world. But, as it turns out, he likes it.

It’s the brainchild of Dean Devlin, the writer and producer behind Independence Day and Godzilla, director of Geostorm, and long-time collaborator of Kane’s. The crime drama is also the first ever American-Filipino production, celebrating the beauty and culture of the country, rather than simply taking its shores as a backdrop. Kane thrives in the role, putting to use his stunt skills and winning combination of action tough guy with a side of wry humour. For those as taken with it as the Kaniacs (Kane’s own fan club), a second season has just had the green light.

The Upcoming had a brilliant chat with Kane, ahead of the series landing in the UK, about the initial appeal of playing Alex Walker and working with Dean Devlin again, creating the American TV series to be filmed in the Philippines, performing his own stunts, having to launch the series in the US initially as lockdown hit, bringing it to a UK audience through IMDb TV, his fan club the Kaniacs and how he hopes the series brings the release and escape people need right now.

Sarah Bradbury

Almost Paradise is released on IMDb TV in the UK on 15^th April 2022.

Watch the trailer for Almost Paradise here: