I loved the movie and the soundtrack was addicting as well. When the show finally came to fruition I had to binge it as well. I will recommend on watching American Satan first just understand the background but it's not needed. The music was my absolute favorite.
305 Reviews
It was... was it was
sjkoslova29 March 2021
Paradise City lacked the darkness that American Satan had, the movie it is kind of a sequel for. It was more like a spinoff that was made into a PG-14 version for teenagers than the gritty, sex, drugs, &rock and roll rollercoaster the movie was. At the end of the last episode I was left wanting, like it should have kept going. I have so many questions and it just wasnt a good ending. Two.more episodes would have been great. That being said, I do hope there is a second season. The biggest flaw tho, was casting Bella Thorne as Lily Mayflower and not keeping the original character from the movie. It was still a great show, despite a few minor flaws. Just watch the movie first.. or dont, maybe Lily's character won't upset you as much.
Good not great
ktkdjnc27 March 2021
You have to watch American Satan to understand the series and I was definitely not a fan of American Satan. Hard for me to see the guys from SOA play such different roles not showing off their full acting skills. That being said seeing my man hopskin was awesome and the whole concept for devil and angel is still good running through the series, the storyline has a lot of potential but not a lot happened in 8 episodes... has a lot of potential but hasn't quite got there yet. All the music was awesome though from all the different musicians.
Metal fans will be disappointed!
Idahogirlx14 May 2021
First off I wanted to really like this, Im a big metal / rock fan and Im always waiting for edgy shows with good music to come out. They are rare and I was really hoping this one would be dope af. But I got pretty disappointed on so many levels. Let me start by saying I know most of the characters are played by actual musicians and not actors but the not perfect acting was not even my issue here it was more the cringe lines and awkward super cliche scenes that made it bad. This had sooo much potential to become a super cool show also with some of the SOA cast included but it was just badly written and executed. Why the weird chick in different roles overacts constantly is a riddle to me. It made so many scenes unnecessarily awkward. The music was way too commercial for my taste not metal enough but ok I can live with that just please make it more badass in case there will be a 2 season! My bf watched two episodes and said this is clearly made for teenage girls and yes that's how it seems like! I want this to continue only bc I know they can do much better, and we need more rock n roll on TV but again please for the love of god do a better job on the writing part and less cliche and overacting!!
Amazing follow-up to American Satan!
paisleysmommy-0695428 March 2021
Paradise City is a series following where American Satan left off and let me just say that it was worth the wait! The storylines are evolving into even more greatness, with the addition to new characters that make the show that much better. With Cameron Boyce's last role as Simon, it was the best new addition to the cast. May he rest in piece!
I love that the show is kind of a mini reunion with people from Sons of anarchy. Drea, Mark, and Ryan were great! Mark was in American Satan, so I'm glad he came back.
I love that the show is kind of a mini reunion with people from Sons of anarchy. Drea, Mark, and Ryan were great! Mark was in American Satan, so I'm glad he came back.
High hopes, but left disappointed
katlynalbright27 March 2021
I won't lie, I really wanted to watch this because it had some of my favorite musicians cast in it. I liked the concept as well, and watched American Satan and thought that it was just alright. I was hoping the series based off of the movie would go better; however, it did not in the slightest. The acting was just....really not good. The shots also felt very awkward and somehow empty. There's also scenes that just really don't need to be there and feel like a complete and utter waste of time. I really wanted to like this... but am sad to say, the show falls short in every way.
It was good, but it dragged
elizabethannevolk18 April 2021
I think if the devil aspect from the movie is brought back into season 2 it would be so much better. You have an amazing cast, use them better. Season 1 was good but it dragged for me. Each time I thought we were finally getting into some drama it just like disappeared with no real resolution. Like I see the devils in the details approach but it was a little confusing. I want to see the struggle between Johnny and the devil. I want to see the devil being like "where's my money b*tch we had a deal" type of scenes.
As an independently produced show it was amazingly done! And I will definitely watch the second season, I just hope to see a little more action and drama like American Satan had.
As an independently produced show it was amazingly done! And I will definitely watch the second season, I just hope to see a little more action and drama like American Satan had.
Honestly, disappointing
betterunborn2 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Here we are, after a few years of anticipation and needless to say, it was atrocious.
First off, you get a horrible script that feels like someone who has just basic knowledge on music, music industry, movie making and writing skills attempted to produce something that had potential but failed spectacularly.
The actors.. oh god I love the SOA actors, they were as good as they can be. Especially seeing one of them in American Satan, seeing the others in other shows, they can play but this was just so poorly written, no screen time to develop the characters, the only good performance was of Drea De Matteo and it's because she had enough screen time and felt genuine. Also Ben Bruce nailed the first interview and felt like he spoke from experience, although not having almost any lines (all the actors) felt like they just existed to have this drama going around. No metal music, not much time recording, not much time focusing on all these 3-4 storylines they tried to combine into one. Why start so many stories and just leave them halfway through? And oh god, music wise, the musicians didn't even look like they're playing whatever the audience is hearing and seeing. Bass when the bass wasn't playing? Same with the keyboards and guitars, needless to say drums too. You have actual musicians and you fail in such degree... Oh god. Also did anyone else notice that the TV show took videos from Ben Bruce's AA tours and Andy Biersak's BVB? Is that why it got taken down? Because as a photographer, I noticed, cannot fool me hehe. Anyway, what was even the devil's role (if it was the Devil not just a demon). The Devil had an awesome role in AS but here it's this.. joke. I liked Gabriel but it felt meh. Also why was Opie.. pardon, Oliver, being recorded only in his house? This guy had no role apart from being a part of his APARTMENT (get it?) And a father to Simon? Also RIP Cameron, he could have made a great performance with enough screen time and better script. Overall, if you can avoid watching it, please do, stick to American Satan, that at least made sense.
First off, you get a horrible script that feels like someone who has just basic knowledge on music, music industry, movie making and writing skills attempted to produce something that had potential but failed spectacularly.
The actors.. oh god I love the SOA actors, they were as good as they can be. Especially seeing one of them in American Satan, seeing the others in other shows, they can play but this was just so poorly written, no screen time to develop the characters, the only good performance was of Drea De Matteo and it's because she had enough screen time and felt genuine. Also Ben Bruce nailed the first interview and felt like he spoke from experience, although not having almost any lines (all the actors) felt like they just existed to have this drama going around. No metal music, not much time recording, not much time focusing on all these 3-4 storylines they tried to combine into one. Why start so many stories and just leave them halfway through? And oh god, music wise, the musicians didn't even look like they're playing whatever the audience is hearing and seeing. Bass when the bass wasn't playing? Same with the keyboards and guitars, needless to say drums too. You have actual musicians and you fail in such degree... Oh god. Also did anyone else notice that the TV show took videos from Ben Bruce's AA tours and Andy Biersak's BVB? Is that why it got taken down? Because as a photographer, I noticed, cannot fool me hehe. Anyway, what was even the devil's role (if it was the Devil not just a demon). The Devil had an awesome role in AS but here it's this.. joke. I liked Gabriel but it felt meh. Also why was Opie.. pardon, Oliver, being recorded only in his house? This guy had no role apart from being a part of his APARTMENT (get it?) And a father to Simon? Also RIP Cameron, he could have made a great performance with enough screen time and better script. Overall, if you can avoid watching it, please do, stick to American Satan, that at least made sense.
Awesome!
thezerohour26 March 2021
I'm a huge fan of American Satan and everything about it, so you can guess I'd be a fan of Paradise City too 😊 which I absolutely am! I honestly loved everything about this too and plan to rewatch it. So now, I'm really hoping they'll come out with a season 2!
Could have been better
zeynepdemirkol5 July 2021
Had so much potential but some of the characters were really cringy especially Gretchen. Honestly Olivia Culpo is the worst actress I still don't understand why they decided to keep her in the series.
But it's worth watching, even just for the soundtrack.
But it's worth watching, even just for the soundtrack.
So so bad
kezerian-casey29 March 2021
I wanted to like this. I love almost every actor in it and was excited to watch. But it's just terrible. The acting is atrocious, the script is hilarious but not because it's trying to be, the plot is non existent. All these great actors but they can only do so much with the script they're given. The girl who played Gretchen is hands down the worst actress I've ever seen. Eva Marie is hot af but cannot act at all. I just.. I don't understand how this show ended up on television.
Watch for the scenery
melignite3329 March 2021
This is the best thing to happen to 2021
stephholgate17 April 2021
This show is amazing from start to finish! I've watched it so many times, and I just camt get enough. The more I watch, the more I want. All the cast are amazing, and sit perfectly with the story. Thank you Ash for giving this gift to us all. Keep up the good work guys, hope to see you in the next season.
There has to be a season 2 just to fix season 1
jjswag-1196827 April 2021
Way too many mixed up storylines and things left hanging to end like that. There are certain people that should not act, ever, and they are in this show. Andy Black, Ben Bruce, James Cassells, and Juliette Simms all do well with their roles. There are other musicians that should stick to music. The actual actors in this did a good job, although the storyline was way too sporadic and chaotic to make any actual sense. I feel horrible that Cameron Boyce can't continue on with his character and would love to see him written off as being famous somewhere out of the country or something else respectful and grand. The last episode felt like it was 27 episodes crammed into one. You could do an entire 2nd season just addressing everything that happened in that episode. Yikes.
Lordy...
rawrxgoesxthexzebraxbear26 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I was curious due to the SOA actors being in here and Randy Blythe, but I'm finishing it up and all I can say positive is that the camera shots didn't look low budget. However, the acting was just soooo bad. The storyline was terrible and the music was ehhh...I love metal/rock but wasn't impressed at all. I really did try to get into this...I watched every episode like someone said to do because it's supposed to get better. Nope...the girl who played Gretchen was awful...the guy who played Johnny was attractive but not any better. Chemistry with this whole group was awful other than Mark Boone's character with the baby lol....just go back to the drawling board and get these people into acting classes.
AMAZING SHOW
sanchezcrystal-453641 April 2021
Good or great is not enough to describe this show , I've been waiting for 2 years maybe for this show to air and when it did they did not disappoint! I love Andy for the role he's been my favorite since I was 13 and I am now 22 yrs and hes still my favorite! This show is definitely recommended and binge worthy!
Occasionally interesting but flawed
Floated22 May 2024
Warning: Spoilers
After enjoying the film American Satan, seemingly this follow up or spinoff had some anticipation. Paradise City doesn't explain much after it left off from the film so for those who have not watched American Satan may be confused at certain things and the characters. The lead of Johnny Faust is the same actor but the major change is the character of Lily (now portrayed by Bella Thorne- the character almost feels entirely different). Perhaps they could have cast an unknown actress for the role of Lily.
A main problem with the show is it feels somewhat cluttered with many different subplots and an overload of characters. The first few episodes these characters were seemingly unconnected but eventually within the final three episodes we start getting a sense of connection and the reason as to why they were heavily featured. Mainly referring to Cameron Boyce's character. It was very clear in the final episode they had major plans for him in the follow up season but due to his real life death we doubt there will a second season.
Also there were many short scenes which jumps very quickly from scene to scene. They try to cram in everything into one episode. Perhaps they could have made each episode about an hour opposed to its 35 - 40 minute runtime. The final two episodes were very good but the finale felt like there were things unanswered, and it looked obvious they were going to explain things for the next season but it's been over three years and still no second season.
At times it felt like Johnny or his wife Gretchen were supporting roles though their storylines were the most prominent. Some unnecessary characters which dragged episodes down such as the other bands (Over it all) along with the other struggling rap artist Fritz. Also the band members besides Johnny and Lily were unlikeable and didn't exactly have much to do except be there and nag on Johnny. The trio of them weren't great, specifically the two British acts.
For instance it wasn't too clear who exactly were the characters of Gabriel and Capricorn. Were we to believe Gabriel was a guardian angel figure (good person) while Capricorn was more so Satan (bad person). We wonder as to why none of the main characters in the end questioned as to who they were and why they were seemingly everywhere. Assumed Gretchen was going to do so but nothing happened. The very last scene showed her (Capricorn) taking the photograph of the entire group with a very strange grin.
Overall this tv series should be viewed after watching the film American Satan. The film is a lot more raw, supernatural, unhinged and doesn't exactly hold back. It's better because there's more focus on the main plot and it isn't cluttered with supporting characters. Paradise City is solid but definitely feels quite tamer, more drama based realistic which was expected. Somewhat disappointing but given it's only 8 episodes it is relatively quick to binge the entire season all at once.
A main problem with the show is it feels somewhat cluttered with many different subplots and an overload of characters. The first few episodes these characters were seemingly unconnected but eventually within the final three episodes we start getting a sense of connection and the reason as to why they were heavily featured. Mainly referring to Cameron Boyce's character. It was very clear in the final episode they had major plans for him in the follow up season but due to his real life death we doubt there will a second season.
Also there were many short scenes which jumps very quickly from scene to scene. They try to cram in everything into one episode. Perhaps they could have made each episode about an hour opposed to its 35 - 40 minute runtime. The final two episodes were very good but the finale felt like there were things unanswered, and it looked obvious they were going to explain things for the next season but it's been over three years and still no second season.
At times it felt like Johnny or his wife Gretchen were supporting roles though their storylines were the most prominent. Some unnecessary characters which dragged episodes down such as the other bands (Over it all) along with the other struggling rap artist Fritz. Also the band members besides Johnny and Lily were unlikeable and didn't exactly have much to do except be there and nag on Johnny. The trio of them weren't great, specifically the two British acts.
For instance it wasn't too clear who exactly were the characters of Gabriel and Capricorn. Were we to believe Gabriel was a guardian angel figure (good person) while Capricorn was more so Satan (bad person). We wonder as to why none of the main characters in the end questioned as to who they were and why they were seemingly everywhere. Assumed Gretchen was going to do so but nothing happened. The very last scene showed her (Capricorn) taking the photograph of the entire group with a very strange grin.
Overall this tv series should be viewed after watching the film American Satan. The film is a lot more raw, supernatural, unhinged and doesn't exactly hold back. It's better because there's more focus on the main plot and it isn't cluttered with supporting characters. Paradise City is solid but definitely feels quite tamer, more drama based realistic which was expected. Somewhat disappointing but given it's only 8 episodes it is relatively quick to binge the entire season all at once.
What a disappointment
solmakeupfx27 April 2021
Addicted
natasha_crawley27 March 2021
Meh
geetarz-900897 May 2022
This could've been better. I wish the actors had spent at least a little time learning their instruments. The guitarists and bassist miming was awful! Their fingers were not even close to the notes being played in the actual song. And the drummer was often out of sync with the music. My review is based on the 1st episode only. I'm gonna stick it out to see if the story and the characters get better. The acting from some of the cast is decent (Bella Thorne stood out, despite her limited script in episode 1). But some are pretty bad.
Why not let Andy sing
lacretiapollard2 April 2021
Instant Cult Classic
allirenee-8334626 March 2021
This show much like the movie it's based on (American Satan) is already a cult classic. It leaves off where the movie ends and throws more characters into the mix who are played by famous musicians former wrestlers and former disney channel standouts plus some legendary actors this is the closest look inside the metal music scene you will see because it's written directed and produced by the owner of sumerian records he even acts in the show! I can't recommend this show enough!
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