{"id":1039163,"date":"2026-06-20T16:43:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1039163\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T16:43:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:43:45","slug":"sugar-season-2-investigates-a-gritty-new-case-while-ripping-into-old-wounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1039163\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Sugar’ Season 2 Investigates a Gritty New Case While Ripping Into Old Wounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the elephant in the room, but season one<\/a> put it right out there, so you must know going into Sugar season two<\/a>: the main character of Apple TV\u2019s neo-noir private detective series is, in fact<\/a>, a blue-skinned alien<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That said, John Sugar, played with a sort of mournful yet optimistic curiosity by Colin Farrell, blends in thanks to his flawless human disguise. But the longer he stays on Earth, the more he\u2019s in danger of some major mental side effects, as well as something his culture dreads more than anything: assimilation.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a growing concern because Sugar is stuck on Earth, probably forever. In season one, the broader extraterrestrial mission Sugar was part of came to an abrupt end. The other aliens fled in a hastily organized evacuation, but he decided to stay, hoping to unravel the truth behind his sister\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n

A portion of that unfinished business is resolved within the opening moments of season two. (io9 watched all eight episodes for the purposes of this spoiler-free review.) But that doesn\u2019t mean Sugar is suddenly purged of his ghosts. If anything, he becomes even more haunted. If the use of \u201cMr. Lonely\u201d as an early needle drop doesn\u2019t clue you in, a big theme this season is Sugar\u2019s existential agony at being the only one of his kind left on the planet.<\/p>\n

\"Sugar\u00a9 Apple TV <\/p>\n

But again, he chose to stay behind. Occasionally he allows himself to regret this. \u201cIt\u2019d be nice to talk to someone\u201d is one of his frequent refrains, and he makes a habit of sending messages with his personal contact device, hoping that someone who\u2019s also an extraterrestrial might still be within range.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re privy to his melancholy inner thoughts because Sugar\u2019s narration keeps us informed\u2014a film noir-style flourish that carries over from season one, even though he\u2019s no longer jotting extensive notes as part of his \u201cobserve and report\u201d assignment. That\u2019s done now. Ruby (Kirby), his handler, is deeply missed; she kept the nuts and bolts of his private-eye business on track, but more importantly, she was a sympathetic fellow traveler.<\/p>\n

In life and work, Sugar has to find his own way now. Fortunately, he still has access to a seemingly unlimited bank account; the sleek suits, vintage Corvette, and swanky hotel with pool and room service are all secure. He has enough connections of his own to pick up a new case, which he does soon after season two kicks off. He doesn\u2019t need the money, but he desperately needs something to occupy his time.<\/p>\n

That chance comes with Danny Moon (Only Murders in the Building\u2019s Jin Ha), a rising star in the boxing world. Danny\u2019s originally from Korea, which makes him \u201can immigrant like me,\u201d Sugar muses. He and Danny have another thing in common: a missing sibling. In Danny\u2019s case, it\u2019s his older brother, Ji (Raymond Lee, star of the overlooked Quantum Leap remake), a former athlete who\u2019s lately been spiraling into drug use.<\/p>\n

\"Sugar\u00a9 Apple TV <\/p>\n

Ji suddenly dropping out of sight isn\u2019t too surprising, considering his lifestyle. But his last phone calls to his younger brother were a worrisome array of scuffling sounds and paranoid ramblings about witnessing something unimaginably awful.<\/p>\n

The first season of Sugar also dealt with an addict gone AWOL, but Sugar\u2019s client then was a famous Hollywood producer with a sprawling mansion and a namesake film studio. This time, Los Angeles takes on a far grittier hue as Sugar chases leads into unhoused encampments, neighborhoods plagued by gang violence, and after-hours clubs. The perpetual threat of violence that goes along with his job is heightened by frequent visits to Danny\u2019s boxing gym, and Sugar himself sets up a punching bag\u2014partially to get perspective on the Moon brothers\u2019 world, but also as an outlet for his own inner turbulence.<\/p>\n

Speaking of, Sugar may have a new case, but he\u2019s still got some lingering questions. His fellow aliens scrambled to leave because someone very powerful was threatening to expose their presence on Earth. Sugar would very much like to know the identity of that person, as well as their motivations, so he adds that to his docket. It\u2019s like taking on a second assignment, but \u201cI\u2019ll make time,\u201d he assures us.<\/p>\n

As Sugar works through his puzzles, the show reminds us that he isn\u2019t always miserable on this planet. He loves dogs (and they love him), and he adores movies, especially from Hollywood\u2019s golden age. Sugar season two also takes time to build out an engaging supporting cast. Sasha Calle (The Flash) comes aboard as Sugar\u2019s resourceful new assistant. Shea Whigham (Mission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning) plays a former client turned friend who becomes a straight-talking source for intel and advice. And Tony Dalton brings menace as a character from the darker side of law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\"Sugar\u00a9 Apple TV <\/p>\n

Sugar also chances to spark with Charlotte (Laura Donnelly), a fellow guest at the Hotel del Corazon who reminds him of Rita Hayworth\u2019s seductive character in Gilda. In keeping with the classic film theme, Sugar season two retains the first season\u2019s stylistic quirk of inserting shots from old movies to add context and set the mood. We\u2019re also often reminded of how much movies have become part of Sugar\u2019s personality; at one point, an awkward interaction with a security guard turns into a bonding moment over Casablanca.<\/p>\n

While Sugar season two\u2019s dueling cases\u2014one\u2019s personal, one\u2019s professional, though the latter inevitably also turns personal for Sugar\u2014dole out plenty of intrigue, the main character\u2019s complicated identity crisis is its true center.<\/p>\n

But, again, it\u2019s not all cosmic despair. Sugar\u2019s been on Earth for a while now, but he still finds immensely pleasurable moments of wonder and discovery amid all the grime and alienation, pun intended. So does the audience, watching this moody, intriguing, stylish twist on divergent genre tropes.<\/p>\n

Sugar was created by Mark Protosevich; season two is showrun by Sam Catlin. It returns to Apple TV starting today, June 19, with a weekly rollout of episodes.<\/p>\n

\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel<\/a>, Star Wars<\/a>, and Star Trek<\/a> releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV<\/a>, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s the elephant in the room, but season one put it right out there, so you must know…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1039164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3937],"tags":[3543,142831,77,5697,382,16,15],"class_list":["post-1039163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-apple-tv","tag-colin-farrell","tag-entertainment","tag-sugar","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116783443605189795","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1039163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1039164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1039163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1039163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1039163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}