Sugar: Season 1 (2024) created by Mark Protosevich, starring Colin Farrell / Z-View

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Sugar: Season 1 (2024)

Created by: Mark Protosevich

Director: Fernando Meirelles (Eps. 1-2, 5-6, 8); Adam Arkin (Eps. 3-4, 7)

Teleplay: Mark Protosevich (Eps. 1-2, 5); Mark Protosevich and David Rosen  (Ep. 3); Mark Protosevich and Donald Joh (Ep. 4); Donald Joh and Sam Catlin (Eps. 6-8)

Stars: Colin Farrell, Kirby, Amy Ryan, Dennis Boutsikaris, Nate Corddry, James Cromwell, Miguel Sandoval, Jon Beavers, Darwin Shaw, Julia Belanova, Jordan Bielsky, Jason Butler Harner, Scott Lawrence, Adrian Martinez, Ben Mankiewicz, Paul Schulze, Julie Dretzin, Jaime Alvarez, Emil Beheshti, Massi Furlan, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Matthew Arkin, Christopher Carrington, Zachary Cowan and Anna Gunn.

Tagline: The wrong way is the only way out.

The Plot…

John Sugar (Farrell) is a private eye.  He loves old noir movies and his ’66 Corvette Stingray convertible.  Sugar’s specialty is finding missing people.  He’s very good at it.  Perhaps Sugar’s drive comes from the fact that his sister went missing.  She was never found.

Sugar has been hired by legendary movie producer Jonathan Siegel (Cromwell).  Siegel’s granddaughter, Olivia has disappeared.  Olivia’s father Bernie (Boutsikaris), a famous director, thinks that she’s runaway again with her druggie friends.  He reasons she’ll turn up safe and sound because she always does.

As Sugar digs into the case, he discovers secrets that the wealthy Siegel family wouldn’t want revealed.  Of course Sugar has secrets of his own.  Despite several sources telling Sugar to drop the case, he refuses.

As Sugar gets closer to the truth, others are getting closer to his secrets…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Sugar is modern noir with a twist.  It’s stylish and smart.  The audience’s intelligence is respected.  Other shows would take a totally different approach to the material and it wouldn’t be near as good.

Every thing about Sugar is top notch.  It’s well written, well directed and the actors are at the top of their game.  Colin Farrell is perfectly cast as John Sugar.

Mark Protosevich is Sugar‘s creator and he also wrote most of the episodes.  Protosevich is known for his screenplays for The Cell (very underrated), Poseidon, I am Legend and Oldboy (2013).

There is a major twist that comes over halfway through the season. Mark Protosevich allowed hints throughout the previous episodes, but didn’t provide the reveal until the end of episode six.  I loved it! (And I’m proud to say that I guessed what it would be.  When I told my wife my thought, she brushed it off saying, “There’s no way they’d do that.”  I’m glad she was wrong since it was so well done.)

Sugar is set-up so that it could end with one season, or return for more.  I hope it comes back with each season being one case.

Sugar: Season 1 (2024) rates 5 of 5 stars.