''Sugar'' is an American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

created by Mark Protosevich for

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

. The series premiered on April 5, 2024, with

Fernando Meirelles Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (; born 9 November 1955) is a Brazilian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for co-directing the film ''City of God (2002 film), City of God'', released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the Un ...

directing five episodes while

Adam Arkin Adam Arkin (born August 19, 1956) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the role of Aaron Shutt on ''Chicago Hope''. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony Award, Tony (Best Actor, 1991, ''I Hate Ha ...

directed three. The series stars

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...

in the lead role, who also serves as an executive producer. The first season received positive reviews and was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It was created as Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series, incorporating si ...

at the 2024 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. In October 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

Described as "a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles," it follows John Sugar, a private investigator recruited by a wealthy movie producer to investigate the disappearance of his granddaughter.

Cast

Main

as John Sugar *

Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...

as Ruby *

Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski (born May 3, 1968), known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress. She began her professional stage career in 1987 and made her Broadway debut in 1993 as a replacement in the original production of Wendy W ...

as Melanie Matthews *

Dennis Boutsikaris Dennis Boutsikaris (; born December 21, 1952) is an American stage and film actor. A two-time Obie Award Winner, he has appeared on and off Broadway, being the first American to play Mozart in '' Amadeus''. On television he is best known for h ...

as Bernie Siegel *

Nate Corddry Nathan Harris Corddry (born September 8, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Adam Branch in the NBC drama series ''Harry's Law'' and for his role as Gabriel in the first two seasons of the CBS sitcom '' Mo ...

as David Siegel * Alex Hernandez as Kenny *

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his extensive work as a character actor, he has received a Primetime Emmy Award as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Babe'' ( ...

as Jonathan Siegel

Recurring

* Sydney Chandler as Olivia Siegel * Eric Lange as Stallings *

Anna Gunn Anna Kathryn Gunn (born August 11, 1968) See also: * is an American actress. She is known for playing Martha Bullock on the HBO Western series '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and Skyler White on the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008� ...

as Margit * Paula Andrea Placido as Charlie * Darwin Shaw as Clinton

Guest

* Maeve Whalen as Djen *

Miguel Sandoval Miguel Sandoval (born November 16, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his role on the NBC/ CBS drama series '' Medium'' (2005–2011), where he played D.A. Manuel Devalos. Biography Sandoval was born in Washington, D.C. He began wo ...

as Thomas Kinsey * Travis Richey as Gary Bascomb * Jon Beavers as Carl * Natalie Alyn Lind as Rachel Kaye * Jason Butler Harner as Henry *

Scott Lawrence Scott Lawrence (born September 27, 1963) is an American actor best known for his role as Cmdr. Sturgis Turner on the CBS series '' JAG''. Lawrence played the role from 2001 until 2005, when the series ended. He is also known for being a majo ...

as Dr. Vickers *

Jonathan Slavin Jonathan Slavin (born November 8, 1969) is an American actor. Early life Slavin was born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Career Slavin portrayed illustrator Andy Richter Controls the Universe#Character ...

as Everett Roberts *

Joey Pollari Joey Pollari (born April 9, 1994) is an American actor, musician, and director who became well known for his role as Eric Tanner on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's second season of ''American Crime (TV series), American Crime'', and in 2018, ...

as Moss * Elizabeth Anweis as Mrs. Siegel * Adrian Martinez as Glen * Txunamy Ortiz as Patricia * Massi Furlan as Carlos *

Paul Schulze Paul Schulze (born June 12, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in ''The Sopranos'', '' Nurse Jackie'', '' 24'' (2002–2004), and ''The Punisher'' (2017), and his films roles in ''Panic Room'' (2002), and ''Rambo'' (2008). C ...

as Miller * Cameron Cowperthwaite as Ryan Pavich *

Ben Mankiewicz Benjamin Frederick Mankiewicz (born March 25, 1967) is an American television journalist and host for Turner Classic Movies (TCM). He is a progressive political commentator for ''The Young Turks''. He has served as a film critic for the 2008–2 ...

as himself

Episodes

Production

It was announced in December 2021 that

had won a bidding war for the rights to the series, which had

attached to star. Farrell would officially join the series in June 2022, when it was given the greenlight from Apple TV+. In August 2022,

, Alex Hernandez and

Lindsay Pulsipher Lindsay Pulsipher is an American actress. She has had several roles in film and television and is known for her series regular role as Rose Lawrence on A&E Network's ''The Beast (2009 TV series), The Beast'' (2009). She joined the third season of ...

joined the main cast, with

and

cast to recur. In September,

, Sydney Chandler,

, Elizabeth Anweis and Jason Butler Harner were added to the cast. Karyn McCarthy was offered a producer role on the series but declined in favor of the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

series '' The Acolyte''. Production for the series began in August 2022, which was expected to extend into the fall, delaying another project for series star Farrell. In October 2024, the series was renewed for a second season. In March 2025, Jin Ha,

Laura Donnelly Laura Donnelly (born 24 June 1982) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before her early roles on stage and screen. She is known for her collaborations with playwright Jez Butterworth acting i ...

, and

Tony Dalton Álvaro Luis Bernat "Tony" Dalton (born February 13, 1975) is an American and Mexican actor. For much of his career, he has acted in Mexican films, television shows, and stage plays. He is best known for his portrayal of Lalo Salamanca in ''Bet ...

were announced to have joined the cast as series regulars for the second season. In April 2025,

Shea Whigham Shea Whigham (born January 5, 1969) is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He also appeared in the first season of ''True Detective'' and the third season of '' Fargo'' a ...

, Raymond Lee, and

Sasha Calle Sasha Calle (; born August 7, 1995) is an American actress. She starred in the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' from 2018 to 2021, for which she received a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award. She made her film debut as Supergirl in the ...

were also announced to have joined the cast as series regulars.

Release

The first season premiered on April 5, 2024.

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 82% of 74 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A modern noir steeped in the classic tradition, ''Sugar'' could use stronger clues to go along with its ample style, but Colin Farrell's cool performance keeps things compelling." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the series holds a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Apple TV+ 2020s American drama television series 2020s American mystery television series 2024 American television series debuts American detective television series American English-language television shows Apple TV+ original programming Neo-noir television series Television series set in 2023 Television shows set in Los Angeles