Sugar has the ingredients for a great noir and waits too long to use them.
The first few minutes of Sugar throw a lot at you. Colin Farrell hunting a missing kid in Japan. Dialogue switching between Japanese and English. Images flipping between black-and-white and color. Then Farrell's gravelly narration makes it sound like he's wandered out of a 1940s detective novel. Before you know it, he's back in Hollywood whipping around in a vintage blue Corvette.
John Sugar is a private investigator hired to find a missing Hollywood heiress. The deeper he digs, the less this feels like a normal missing-person case. It's got all the classic noir ingredients: a moody jazz score, hard-boiled voiceover, wealthy families hiding secrets, and a detective who can't stop poking around where he shouldn't.
The problem isn't the destination. It's how long it takes to get there. There's a late-season twist that you can read about online if you're into spoilers. Some people think it jumps the shark. We don't. In fact, it's the thing that pushes Sugar to a 7. We just wish the show got there three episodes sooner.
Once it does, everything clicks. The mystery sharpens. The action gets better. There are some badass beatdowns and a wild shootout. The final stretch is genuinely fun television and left us wanting a second season.
Sugar will surely lose some of you in the first episode. But if you're a sucker for Colin Farrell and game-changing twists, the back third is worth the wait.
The Rundown
Performances
Colin Farrell spends eight episodes gliding through Los Angeles in tailored suits, driving vintage cars, and solving crimes with a dog riding shotgun. Detective work has rarely looked cooler. Amy Ryan continues her streak of improving everything she's in.
What You Come Here For
A missing-person mystery. Noir throwback. Hollywood secrets. A sprinkle of sci-fi. And a late-season swing that spices up the whole series.
Best Episode
S1E6 — the moment Sugar stops keeping secrets from the audience and starts having fun. Sugar himself is having a terrible day.
Weak Spots
It's slow. The first five episodes move at the speed of a detective staring thoughtfully out a car window. And the shaky camerawork is often more distracting than stylish.
Pair With
True Detective, Under the Silver Lake, Severance.
What Our
Ratings Mean
Learn More →Your Mileage May Vary: There's a good chance you'll enjoy these, especially if they land in your wheelhouse. But there's a lot of range in the 7s — handy time-fillers, comfort watches, or easy crowd-pleasers.
