‘Almost Paradise’: WGN America Drama Rounds Out Cast As Production Begins

Erik Pedersen

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Samantha Richelle (Syd), Arthur Acuña (Princess and I), Nonie Buencamino (Sparks) and Ces Quesada (Invisible) have joined Christian Kane in the cast of the upcoming WGN America drama Almost Paradise. Production on the 10-episode series that cable net acquired from Electric Entertainment has begun in the Philippines for a spring premiere.

Kane stars as Alex Walker, a former DEA agent who was forced into early retirement. Once the DEA’s most resourceful undercover operative, the combination of his partner’s betrayal and a life-threatening battle with hypertension has sent him as far from the madness as he can go — the small tropical island of Cebu in the Philippines. He now runs the gift shop in the island’s luxury resort hotel, gets his disability payments at the U.S. Naval base and generally manages his transition from Jason Bourne to Jimmy Buffett.

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But the island’s luxury resort has attracted rich, powerful and sometimes criminal elite from around the world, often on a collision course with Alex. Despite his best efforts to begin a tranquil new life, he’s pulled back into a world of dangerous people and deadly situations, either through his friends in the local police or running into people from his old life. And the problem is, he likes it.

Richelle plays Kai Mendoza, the youngest person ever to make detective in the Cebu police force. She’s a woman to be reckoned with who has worked tirelessly to get where she is and must constantly fight to prove herself. When Alex enters the picture, Kai views him as an entitled know-it-all, but as they grow closer, they realize their commonalities. Acuña stars as Ernesto Almares, Kai’s partner and the soul of the law-enforcement team. Buencamino plays Ike Ocampo, chief of the Cebu Police Department, and Quesada is Cory, the manager of the hotel where Alex is staying.

Almost Paradise is produced by Electric Entertainment. Dean Devlin and Gary Rosen executive produce and serve as co-showrunners, and Electric Entertainment’s Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan-Wilson serve as executive producers.

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