“Almost Paradise: Season 2” – TV Series Review

Christian Kane has played essentially the same character in four delightful light crime series. In “Leverage” and its successor, “Leverage: Redemption,” he was Elliot. In “The Librarians,” he was Jake. In this incarnation, “Almost Paradise: Season 2,” he’s Alex. All have some sort of military or intelligence background to prepare them for the current undertakings. Each time Kane’s character is smarter than he looks, does his thing with a grim sense of humor, and is tougher than all he must oppose. Underneath the surface of surly, he’s noble, loyal to his colleagues, and hell-bent on helping whoever needs it. He’s always reluctant to use violence but in just about every episode of each, he has to. And does it well. 180 times, collectively. Yet even after all those cloned outings, Kane’s character is still fun to watch.

Dean Devlin was the creator and/or producer of all four series. The two make a dynamic duo without infringing on superhero turf. In both generations of “Leverage,” the crew conned rich, slimy assholes who’d bilked the helpless, undoing the harm the crooks inflicted. “The Librarians” was sci fi-fantasy, grounded on Earth, with a mission to protect civilization from dangerous supernatural forces. This offering places Kane more front and center than when he was part of a team.

Kane plays an ex-DEA agent who tried retiring to a peaceful life in the Philippines but winds up having to help the local cops with more crime and threats than a small resort town would have anywhere but on TV. “Season 2” brings ten more 45-minute episodes, maintaining all the qualities that made the first successful. Scripts consistently deliver challenging crime scenarios with bits of warmth and levity, generally non-lethal action, and evolving relationships with several excellent supporting characters.

Kane’s character works, often reluctantly, with two police detectives. Samantha Richelle’s Kai is beautiful, tough and smart. Arthur Acuna looks like a bookish schoolteacher but his Ernesto is deceptively skilled in martial arts. A running theme is the department trying NOT to involve civilian Alex in their professional duties but eventually doing so, one way or another.

No pressure to binge, since each episode is a stand-alone case, though a couple of minor characters and plot threads recur. Best of all, the season ends in a way that will satisfy fans if the series ends there, while leaving the door wide open for a third round. In these days of surprising non-renewals throughout the broadcast and streaming industry, that type of season finale has become increasingly important to those who crave closure for any set of characters we’ve chosen to spend considerable time with. Like this bunch.

“Almost Paradise: Season 2” streams on Freevee/Amazon Prime as of Friday, July 21.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars