Colin Farrell was born to play a cynical Los Angeles private detective who zooms around neon-lit streetscapes in a vintage convertible, his internal monologue narrated by flashbacks to classic noir movies. That’s the role he portrays to perfection in the agreeably cliche-strewn Sugar (Apple TV+, from today), a murky mystery series that gets its first big reveal out of the way at the outset. You’ll be shocked to discover that Farrell is a natural as a laconic PI with great hair, a handy right hook and a past strewn with demons.
His character, John Sugar, is introduced in classic James Bond/Indiana Jones fashion at the tail end of his latest successful mission. A Tokyo yakuza boss has flown him to Japan to track down the gangster’s abducted son.
Sugar locates the kidnapper and offers to give him a head start if he reveals the location of the missing boy. When the thug foolishly reaches for a knife, Sugar stoically beats him up. It is a bittersweet moment for a man to whom violence comes as naturally as breathing but who would rather speak softly than thump people over the head with a big stick (or two bunched fists).
Sugar, directed by City of God’s Fernando Meirelles, is a fantastic serving of old-school noir. Or at least it is until a twist towards the end of the eight-part season that will either deepen your appreciation of the series or have you reaching for the off button in derision. It’s a plucky choice – and a genuine surprise that Farrell works hard to sell. But if you don’t go with it you may feel you’ve wasted the previous five hours.
From Baby Reindeer and The Traitors to Bodkin and The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In: The best and worst television of 2024
100 Years of Solitude review: A woozy, feverish watch to be savoured in bite-sized portions
How your mini travel shampoo is costing your pocket and the planet - here’s an alternative
My smear test dilemma: How do I confess that this is my first one, at the age of 41?
In the first two episodes, however, there is lots to enjoy. Back in LA – and with the palette having turned from black and white to glorious colour – Sugar takes on a new job. It’s another missing-person case, this time concerning the granddaughter of a famous Hollywood director played by LA Confidential’s James Cromwell (later revealed to be one of Sugar’s favourite films).
The story from there expands into a gritty journey into the underbelly of Los Angeles. Kirby – formerly Kirby Howell-Baptiste – plays Sugar’s perpetually exasperated assistant, while Only Murders in the Building’s Amy Ryan turns up as a woman connected to the missing granddaughter.
It chugs along agreeably – up to that big pivot. But that’s all in the future. (The episode where everything shifts won’t be available until next month.) For now Sugar functions perfectly well as a shop window for Farrell, who excels as a conflicted anti-hero driving around Los Angeles thinking about Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum. He’s great – and, until the sky falls in, so too is Sugar.
