COLIN FARRELL IS back on our screens as the intriguing private detective John Sugar.
We last met him during the show’s first season in 2024, when he was investigating a missing person case in LA. In the new season, he has a brand new case. But because of some unusual information revealed about him towards the end of season one, we also know he’s not your regular PI…
Here’s all you need to know about Sugar, season 2.
Remind me – who is Sugar?
Colin Farrell plays John Sugar, a detective in Los Angeles. He drives around in a fancy Corvette and is a bit like an old-school gumshoe from noir movies, only he’s living in the present day.
Sugar is obsessed with movies, is a member of a strange Polyglot society, can’t get drunk, seems to be quite kind, and is super strong. He also injects himself with a strange substance. So… an unusual fella all round, but great at his job.
What happened in the last series again?
Well, to cut a long story short… Sugar (who is in Japan, finding the son of a Yakuza leader) is tasked with investigating the disappearance of a young woman in Los Angeles.
The young woman, named Olivia, is the granddaughter of legendary film producer Jonathan Siegel.
While investigating the case, Sugar befriends her former stepmother Melanie (Amy Ryan), discovers Olivia’s brother is involved in the abuse and trafficking of young women, and at the end finds Olivia and brings her back to the family.
But there’s more to the story than that.
In episode six, it’s revealed that Sugar is in fact… an extraterrestrial being.
A what now?
Yes, he is part of a group of extraterrestrials living on earth (turns out they just call themselves ‘ployglots’). That’s why he can drink to excess and not get drunk, and why he injects himself with that weird substance.
During his investigation, the group was exposed and called back to their home world. Part of the investigation was impacted by this as the polyglots were being blackmailed.
Even though it was obvious there was something unusual going on with Sugar, audiences were very taken aback by this reveal, especially the image of Colin Farrell as a blue-skinned alien.
At the end of the series, Sugar is offered a security job by Jonathan Siegal but he refuses. He decides to stay on earth, to keep on being a detective and also to keep searching for his sister, who is missing (very much giving Fox Mulder/X-Files vibes here).
As he tells his handler, Ruby (played by Kirby): “This place, these people, for better or worse, I like them.”
So what’s happening season two?
Sugar is still in LA and still an investigator. His case this time is tracking down the missing brother of an up-and-coming boxer.
As the investigation expands into a citywide conspiracy with sinister intentions, Sugar must reckon with himself to answer the question — how far will he go to do what’s right?
There’s also a brand-new cast that includes Jin Ha, Raymond Lee, Tony Dalton, Laura Donnelly and Sasha Calle, along with special guest star Shea Whigham.
It remains to be seen how much of the extraterrestrial subplot will come to the fore this time around – or whether the baffled reaction to it means that it won’t be so prominent.
When can we watch Sugar?
It’s going to be on Apple TV from Friday 19 June.