Apple TV+’s New Crime Series ‘Sugar’ Deserves the Top Spot on Your Must-Watch List

As an Entertainment Editor, my job is to report on the current news in Hollywood and recommend shows/movies that are an absolute must-watch. And take it from me: Apple TV+’s newest crime drama, Sugar (starring award-winning actor Colin Farrell), is one of those shows. 

The first two episodes of the series are available to watch on Apple TV+ right now. So, what is the show about? Throughout eight episodes, Sugar follows a private detective named John Sugar (Farrell), who is hired to find the missing granddaughter of famous Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell).

From its gripping storyline to its unique incorporation of the Old Hollywood aesthetic, Sugar is a show that deserves the top spot on your watch list. But, if you don’t believe me yet, here are two reasons why Sugar should be the next show in your queue.

The first episode opens with a scene shown entirely in black and white. This particular scene is immediately reminiscent of film noir crime dramas (like The Big Heat starring Glenn Ford) made in America during the 1940s and ’50s. In the opening, viewers are first introduced to John Sugar, who finds a missing Japanese child who was abducted and held for ransom. After the child reunites with his father, Detective Sugar leaves and walks back to his hotel. As he strolls through the lobby, the entire scene changes from gray to color. Believe me when I tell you I had excitement goosebumps at this point already.

Sugar puts a unique spin on the Neo-noir genre, from its use of the dramatic zoom effect (i.e. to draw the viewer’s attention to a certain object) to the suspenseful music. The show also offers a modern take on the classic “drinking scene” often depicted in Old Hollywood crime dramas. When Sugar sets out to find Jonathan Siegel’s granddaughter, Olivia, he meets a woman named Melanie (played by The Office alum Amy Ryan) in a bar. They get to know each other over a whiskey neat and cigarettes. This was obviously a classic trope used in films like The Unsuspected (1947) and The Asphalt Jungle (1950).