Could you imagine a family vacation to a tropical destination turning deadly in a blink of an eye? Hulu’s new thriller Saint X chronicles this captivating storyline and is destined to leave viewers with burning questions.
The Leila Gerstein-produced production is an eight-episode series based on a novel of the same name by Alexis Schaitkin. Ahead of the premiere on April 26, Celeb Secrets sat down with critically acclaimed actor Michael Park to discuss the murder mystery.
The binge-worthy series follows a story of an 18-year-old college student, Alison Thomas. The carefree young adult goes out drinking in the wee hours of the morning, but never returns home. Alison’s younger sister, Claire, recognizes that she’s missing and instantly alerts her parents. Although Alison ends up dead, the vacation destination sweeps her disappearance under the rug.
The series fast forwards to the present day, and Claire is still searching for answers. She changes her identity to Emily and befriends the main suspect in her sister’s case. Park warns fans to hold on tight, because the entire series will be an emotional rollercoaster ride.
“You’re going to be thrown into what the ideal family vacation is, until things go pear-shaped. We don’t really know. No one knows what happened, which is why Emily later in life is wondering what the heck is happening,” said Park, giving viewers a captivating preview. “Leila and Christine have framed it in such a way where we’re skipping timelines.”
Park says that TV junkies may feel lost or confused after the first episode, but it’s their job to help solve the mystery and try to piece the clues together.
“The first episode, you’re going to be like…’ Where am I? Why am I seeing this?’ Then, you as an audience member have to kind of put all those little snippets together,” explained Park. “I gotta tell you, I’m really proud of episodes seven and eight… it’s sensationally done,” he teased.
In episode seven airing tonight (May 24), Emily promises Josh she will seek help. We learn about Young Edwin’s secret. Alison tries to figure out the most exciting way to spend her last night of vacation. He mentioned that every twist and turn will begin to make sense, and the climax will occur, leaving viewers hungry for more.
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He gives a friendly nod to the award-winning author for handling the complex topic of grief with grace. Park plays Bill Thomas, the father of the missing girl. Within the psychological drama, the parents are forced to make difficult decisions to protect their family at all cost.
“There are so many ways to deal with grief,” he pointed out. “The way that Mila [Betsy Brandt] and Bill dealt with grief in the public eye as much as they did, it was sensational. I’m proud of the writers.
Park mentioned that Leila’s storytelling approach made the series what it is today – innovative and intriguing.
“Unfortunately, I really understand what these parents are going through, but Leila has taken the timelines that are set in the book in chronological order, and kind of switched them all up to make the storytelling really, really, incredibly exciting,” he shared. “I read the book. I loved it. I read the first four chapters and put it down, because it really hit home for me.”
Park opened up to Celeb Secrets about a personal experience that encouraged him to get involved in the project. He said starring in the heart-tugging production was a no-brainer.
“I lost a sister to leukemia when I was younger,” Parked shared with a frog in his throat. “When I was reading these scripts, I really got a sense of what my parents had gone through. More so now, than I did when I was going through it at 16-years-old. So, I talked to my mom almost every single day. We are so much closer now, because of this. Because of this role, I was lucky enough to land.”
Saint X is available to stream on Hulu here. Will you be watching this finger-biting series? Let us know by dropping a reaction below or by sending us a Tweet @CelebSecrets.
