Colin Farrell's TV Year Kicks Off With The Trailer For Sugar, His Apple TV+ Noir Drama
Since he made his Hollywood debut in the 2000 Vietnam War drama "Tigerland," Colin Farrell's career has had some downs ("Alexander," "Daredevil,") and some ups (especially his collaborations with director Martin McDonagh, like the 2008 career-shifter "In Bruges" and 2022's critical darling "The Banshees of Inisherin"). All in all, though, he's largely outgrown his 2000s playboy reputation and is deservedly recognized as one of the best movie stars we've got. Farrell's got the eloquent soul of an artist, the way only an Irishman does.
After Farrell's earlier and fruitless efforts to be an action hero (I'm looking at you, 2012's "Total Recall"), he's learned to not let his occasional franchise gigs distract him from more personal work. Not all his work is on film either. In 2024, he'll be returning to television with two crime drama roles.
He plays Oz Cobblepot in the Max series "Penguin," spinning out of his supporting role in 2022's "The Batman." Before he returns onscreen as the Penguin, though, he's going to star in (and executive produce) "Sugar" for competing streaming service Apple TV+.
"Sugar" was created by screenwriter Mark Protosevich ("I Am Legend") and directed by both Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") and prolific TV director Adam Arkin ("Justified"). Farrell plays Los Angeles private investigator John Sugar. Sugar is investigating the disappearance of a young woman, Olivia Siegel, the granddaughter of Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell).
Get a sweet sample of "Sugar" with the series' first trailer above.
You're going to want some of Colin Farrel's sugar
Running about two minutes long, the "Sugar" trailer opens with a calming tone; Sugar, dressed in a fine suit and shades, drives a convertible through Los Angeles (his pet collie sitting in the passenger seat) as a jazzy trumpet bellows softly in the background. Then, while investigating an apartment, he stumbles into a knife fight and walks away bloody; "Good can be in the eye of the beholder," he narrates.
Then, he meets with Siegel and takes the job, against the advice of Ruby (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). John Sugar starts combing Los Angeles — from the red carpets to the bars — in search of Olivia. In the latter, he meets Melanie Mackie (Amy Ryan), which is definitely a name right out of a hardboiled dime novel. As the trailer proceeds, it hints Sugar will unearth secrets that powerful people want to be kept hidden (this is a detective noir story, after all). However, it's also said that Sugar is hiding something himself — I can only wonder what his box of secrets holds.
Your mind might be jumping to "True Detective" season 2 now, another SoCal neo-noir starring Farrell. In that, Farrell played Ray Velcoro; far from the debonair Sugar, Ray was a small-town detective with the bad temper and dress sense of a cowboy (bolo tie and all). That season is still widely considered the worst season of "True Detective," but Farrell rocked the show (Rachel McAdams too). Ray Velcoro was an important step in the 2010s Colin Farrell renaissance. I'd even argue that he took better advantage of the new respect than Matthew McConaughey did after season 1, but that's a conversation for another time. One hopes that "Sugar" will be a strong enough show to support Farrell's sure-to-be-great lead performance.
"Sugar" premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 5, 2024.