I Just Realized Why I Recognize 'Paradise' Star Sarah Shahi and I Can’t Believe I Almost Missed It

Hint: She was in a steamy, sexy Netflix series

Sarah Shahi Paradis Hulu
Disney/Gilles Mingasson

In case you somehow missed the memo, Paradise season two has officially landed on Hulu. The post-apocalyptic thriller made serious waves when it debuted last year, and, honestly, it’s easy to see why. The premise alone hooks you (a Secret Service agent investigating the president’s murder inside a massive underground bunker? Say less). Add in a stacked cast featuring Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, James Marsden, Sarah Shahi, and now new additions like Shailene Woodley and Thomas Doherty, and you’ve got prestige-TV gold.

But if I’m being honest, it wasn’t just the plot keeping me locked in. It was the cast. More specifically, Sarah Shahi. Every time she appeared on screen, I had the same thought: Why does she look so familiar?

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Disney/Brian Roedel

Shahi plays Dr. Gabriela Torabi, a brilliant, empathetic psychologist who helped design the bunker itself. She’s thoughtful, a bit of a “people-pleaser,” and serves as a close confidante to the bunker’s leader. Basically, she’s central to the drama. But still, I knew I’d seen her somewhere before.

And then it hit me.

She led two seasons of Netflix’s extremely steamy, very NSFW drama, Sex/Life. The series, created by Stacy Rukeyser and inspired by the novel 44 Chapters About 4 Men by BB Easton, premiered on June 25, 2021. The second (and final) season dropped on March 2, 2023.

In Sex/Life, Shahi stars as Billie Connelly, a suburban mom of two and former academic who finds herself deep in a midlife spiral. Restless and nostalgic, Billie becomes fixated on memories of her passionate ex, Brad, while torn between him and her dependable husband, Cooper. It's messy, sexy and wildly bingable.

Of course, once I went down the IMDb rabbit hole, I realized her résumé goes way beyond that. She’s appeared in Red, White & Royal Blue, Person of Interest, The Rookie, Chicago Fire and The L Word, plus episodes of The Sopranos, Dawson’s Creek and ER.

You can catch her now in Paradise season two, streaming on Hulu.

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