Apple TV+’s Sugar kicks off with a neo-noir vibe, gorgeous black-and-white and backed by a classic detective film-inspired track. But don’t settle in and expect the eight-episode season to remain true to that opening noir nod in every scene. With Oscar nominee Colin Farrell leading the way, the series takes viewers on a roller coaster ride through various genres (while remaining true to the hard-boiled detective aesthetic) as the titular character unravels clues in his search for a missing woman.
Created by Mark Protosevich, Sugar refuses to be stuffed into a specific genre box, subverting expectations and teasing twists. Whatever expectations you have for Sugar based on its first two episodes, Protosevich has something entirely different in store.
Farrell’s lead character delivers voice-over exposition throughout, and his engaging performance as a gumshoe with a love of Hollywood and classic films draws you in. However, it’s the promise of surprises to come that will have you hooked. Mysterious societies, a referenced but unseen big boss, and hints about Sugar’s personal life are enticing enough to make viewers stick around for answers.
And now on to the recap of episode one, “Olivia.” Spoilers ahead!
Sugar’s first six minutes in black and white take place in Japan and plunge viewers into an ongoing investigation of a missing boy. John Sugar (Farrell) questions a man in his apartment, and when the man denies any knowledge of the child, he informs him of the child’s powerful crime boss parentage.
The kidnapper compounds his mistake by choosing to pick up a knife and fight rather than accepting John’s offer to flee now while he has a chance. John doesn’t like to hurt people but has no choice when the man doesn’t comply. John’s stabbed him in the arm but is more upset about his suit being sliced than his arm being injured.
A sliver of light on the floor draws his attention, and he finds the child and the kidnapper’s wife in a secret room. The crime boss arrives to retrieve his son and thanks Sugar while his henchman hands over an envelope full of cash.
Sugar does as the boss suggests and doesn’t stick around to learn the kidnapper’s fate.
The scene shifts from black and white to color as John returns to his hotel room. He provides some exposition on who he is, confirming that he dislikes violence. There’s enough suffering in this world without his help. “Finding people that are lost, bringing them back to those that miss them…that part of the job I like,” Sugar explains as he takes care of his stab wound.
Later, he enjoys a meal as a fly catches his attention. He traps it with his chopsticks and then releases it unharmed. A visit to a bar shows John enjoying a stiff drink, interrupted briefly by a text from Jonathan Siegel requesting his services in Los Angeles.
Sugar arrives in LA and a chauffeur picks him up at the airport. He listens as the driver carries on a phone conversation in Arabic regarding his daughter’s health. Munzer, the driver, is shocked to discover that his passenger speaks Arabic, and John reveals he spent time in Damascus.
When Sugar exits the vehicle, he gives Munzer his doctor’s number and assures him the doctor will take care of his sick daughter. Munzer’s incredibly grateful and agrees to take John’s bags to the hotel and to keep his current location a secret from the dispatcher.
As John walks to the residence’s front door, his left arm spasms, and he drops his cell phone. He looks a little distressed but quickly recovers and wipes his brow. Ruby (Kirby) greets John with a warm hug at the front door, happy to see him after a long absence.
John explains he ran into an old friend in Tokyo who said his local cell had disbanded. John told him he’d be welcome in LA, and Ruby assures him that’s fine. Ruby’s cat is equally happy to see John, and John showers her with attention before getting down to business.
Ruby hands over his mail and cinematography magazines and asks what he’s been doing in the four hours since he landed. Sugar admits he stopped by Jonathan Siegel’s mansion, and Ruby is shocked because she’d told Siegel’s attorney that Sugar was unavailable.
Siegel (James Cromwell) is a powerful movie producer, and Sugar, being a huge cinephile, has seen each of his films multiple times. A flashback fills in the missing four hours and confirms Sugar has committed to finding Siegel’s missing granddaughter, Olivia (Sydney Chandler). Siegel did his research and learned that John does one thing and one thing only, he finds the missing – and he’s discreet while doing so.
Olivia’s been missing for two weeks, but Jonathan only learned from his son, Bernard, about it a few days ago. Olivia’s disappeared before while she was on drugs, but even then, she’d still call Jonathan. He hasn’t heard from her while she’s been gone. She’s been sober for two years, and Jonathan hasn’t seen her in a month. Jonathan recalls she was full of life and confident the last time they had dinner together. He thought she was finally on her way to becoming herself.
Olivia’s the person Jonathan holds most dear.
Ruby’s upset that the client spoke directly to John and that he broke their agreement that he’d take a break after Tokyo. John confesses he took the job because as a film addict he couldn’t turn down Jonathan Siegel. John also admits Olivia reminds him of Djen. Ruby knows who he’s talking about, and John says nothing else about this woman who is evidently significant in his life.
Since she can’t get him to back off, Ruby hands John his renewed California private investigator license and a concealed carry permit. John doesn’t want the carry permit because he hates guns. Ruby’s only able to convince him to take it when she gives him the gun Glenn Ford used in The Big Heat. John fanboys out over the gun that Ruby bought off a private collector. (She knows him well and manipulates him into taking the gun.) Ruby also makes him promise to visit Dr. Vickers, which John resists – claiming he’s in great health. She calls him on his bullsh*t and knows there’s something going on with his arm.
Ruby gets John to swear this will be his final case until she says otherwise before handing over his keys to a classic Corvette Stingray convertible. His first stop is at Olivia’s building where he meets with building supervisor Gary Bascombe. Gary shows him Olivia’s parking space and informs him her car hasn’t moved in two weeks. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a set of Olivia’s car keys but has duplicates for her condo.
After Gary lets him in, John requests he turn over the duplicate key. The key is technically Jonathan Siegel’s since he owns the condo, and Gary doesn’t need access unless asked for assistance. John walks through the unit and notes it’s a nice place. His tour is interrupted by David Siegel (Nate Corddry) and his gun-toting bodyguard, Kenny (Alex Hernandez), just as he locates a suitcase behind Olivia’s bed.
David, a former child star, is Olivia’s half-brother and he was sent there by his dad, Bernie, to see if Olivia had returned. John thinks it’s weird that David used his dad’s keys to enter Olivia’s place and didn’t even bother to knock first. David reveals that Olivia’s past drug history suggests that she would be passed out if she were at home.
“Once a junkie, always a junkie,” says David.
John believes David’s lying but doesn’t know why. He suggests David and his minion leave and, in a voiceover, describes David as a scared little boy. But what or who is he scared of?
John finally has time to look through Olivia’s suitcase and discovers photos of Olivia’s deceased mom, actress Rachel Kaye (Natalie Alyn Lind). He continues his search and finds recent photos of Olivia with her ex-stepmom, rock star Melanie Matthews (Amy Ryan). The back of the photo strip shows it was taken at the Step-Hi on January 18, 2023.
Step-Hi Lounge is John’s next stop, but before going inside, he asks an unhoused man named Carl and his friendly dog, Wiley, to watch his car. John’s respectful introduction and offer of $200 shocks Carl, who’s used to being shunned or ignored. John hands over a cell phone and his business card, pets Wiley, and calls Carl a good man.
Melanie’s drinking at the bar while singing as John enters Step-Hi. The customers applaud, and John realizes Melanie must be a frequent customer of the joint. John orders the same top-end bourbon Melanie’s drinking. He’s normally a Scotch drinker but enjoys the bourbon.
John and Melanie bond over their appreciation of fine Scotch, and Melanie’s stunned to realize that although they’ve been drinking for a while, John appears stone-cold sober. He claims to have a strange metabolism that processes alcohol 50 times faster than normal. Basically, he can’t get drunk.
They discuss John’s love of movies, and Melanie reveals she likes sci-fi. They keep talking and Melanie deduces he has secrets he shares with a trusted few.
Hours have passed since John entered the bar, but Carl and Wiley are still outside watching the car when John emerges from the bar with Melanie. John thanks both Carl and Wiley, and lets him keep the phone. John suggests Carl should find a good place to sleep for the night and should call his sister in Milwaukee to see if he can come home. If Carl’s sister says she’ll help, John will pay for him to fly home. He even promises to get Wiley on the flight as a service dog. (John’s an incredibly decent, empathetic man.)
Carl shakes on it and promises to call John tomorrow after speaking with his sister.
Melanie keeps up a steady stream of conversation, most of it is her take on John’s personality. She believes he chooses to be alone but that there’s hope for him.
John tries to say goodbye at her door, but steps inside like a gentleman when she asks him to make sure no one’s inside. Melanie offers him a drink and suggests he spend the night, but John turns her down. He notes that she’s drunk and he refuses to take advantage of her condition, even if she claims it’s what she wants.
Although he wanted to learn about Olivia, John realizes that’ll be impossible now since Melanie’s too inebriated. He gently takes off her shoes, covers her with a blanket, and turns the TV on to an old film before leaving.
Kenny’s parked a few houses away, and John tells him to stop tailing him because he’s terrible at it. John makes it easy on Kenny and tells him he’s staying at the Del Corazon. Kenny can pass that on to his boss to prove he followed orders.
John wonders why David’s having him followed since he’s one of the good guys.
His next stop in the dead of night is Olivia’s building’s garage, specifically her car. Donning gloves, John looks through her glove box and the car’s interior. He then downloads the history of her car’s navigational system into his phone.
After gathering clues from inside the car, John opens the trunk and is stunned to discover there’s a dead man in a body bag inside it. John thinks the man looks like a biker or a banger, and he quickly uses an app to save a scan of the dead man’s fingerprint. He also snaps a photo of his face.
John’s been a private detective so long that he’s almost grown used to violence. “I know what it says about the world, but I wonder what it says about me,” muses John as he finally makes it to his favorite LA hotel.
He’s greeted warmly by the staff and assured his bungalow is set up just how he likes it. Once alone in his room, he gets busy setting up his own interior and exterior surveillance cameras. Room service arrives, and he speaks Spanish to Consuelo as she sets up his dinner. He asks about her husband and kids, and she hands him an envelope that was just delivered.
Inside is an invitation to a party hosted by the Societe Polyglotte Cosmopolitaine. John asks himself why, if it would be good to see his associates, he keeps avoiding them. As he eats, he continues to look through Olivia’s suitcase and plays a clip of her deceased actress mom. He reads an article on her death in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Olivia was just an infant when her mom died.
John browses Olivia’s social media accounts and finds a video of her performing that same scene from the clip of her mother. He wonders if she’s following in her mom’s footsteps and describes both women as strong. John continues to look through Olivia’s things and finds risque Polaroids of Rachel nearly nude, seated on the floor and leaning against a sofa.
John’s forced to stop his investigation when blood streams down his left arm. He makes it to the bathroom and into the shower before passing out. Sugar comes to in the shower and realizes his arm’s been bandaged. He manages to get to his bed and gives himself an injection in the neck. John drifts off to sleep while repeating that he has to find Olivia.
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Sugar premiered on Apple TV+ on April 5, 2024 with the release of the first two episodes. New episodes will stream on Fridays.
- Season 1 Episode 2 “These People, These Places” Recap
- Sugar Season 1 Episode 3 “Shibuya Crossing” Recap
- Sugar Season 1 Episode 4 “Starry Eyed” Recap
- Sugar Season 1 Episode 5 “Boy in the Corner” Recap
