Getting a TV show made isn't easy. You need an interesting idea, good scripts, and a network willing to take a risk. But Apple TV seems to thrive on the unconventional, commissioning shows that defy easy categorization. Among its oddball charmers is Sugar, starring Colin Farrell as Los Angeles private investigator John Sugar.
A Luxurious Labyrinth of Noir
In season one, Sugar probed the case of a missing young woman, uncovering links between her loved ones and criminals, all while maintaining an air of detached melancholy. The show paid homage to film noir with low-angle shots, a wistful voiceover, and clips from classic black-and-white films. But the biggest twist came when it was revealed that John Sugar is an alien, concealing his true blue self beneath a handsome human exterior.
Season two picks up with Sugar back in Tinseltown, still troubled by his missing sister and dedicated to taking on hopeless cases. This time, he searches for the feckless brother of a Korean boxer, leading him through seedy, forgotten parts of the city.
Distressed Urban Beauty
The show's fetish for distressed urban beauty remains strong, with loving shots of peeling paint on closed shops and wide roads at dusk cutting through concrete landscapes. Sugar cruises in his pristine 1960s Corvette, laconically hunting for clues in a pool hall (a clip of Paul Newman in The Hustler plays) and a boxing gym (Humphrey Bogart in The Harder They Fall), before retreating to the nostalgic glamour of his five-star hotel.
John Sugar's alien nature makes him a disconnected observer of a disconnected city. The show adds another layer to its audiovisual collage with soothing shots of cerulean galaxies and cosmic narration. "Everything comes to an end," muses Farrell, as nothing of note happens. "Sooner than you think, sometimes. From the side suns on Andromeda to the terramorphs on Paloma, everything dies."
A Half-Hour Haze
Every moment of Sugar is divine to look at, while the protagonist's main superpowers—weary kindness and naive sweetness—continue to bewilder and amuse. Each episode is a half-hour haze suffused with Sugar's sad, sleepy vibe. This show could only be on Apple TV—it's another world in there.
Sugar is on Apple TV now.
