Apple TV+'s Sugar Cast, Director, Writer, Plot And More Details

In the seemingly never-ending sea of streaming service content coming from every corner, the collection of upcoming film and TV projects from Apple TV+ stands out among the crowd. Since its launch in 2019, Apple TV+ has been a hub for top tier streaming specific content, with such films and shows such as "The Morning Show," "Wolfwalkers," "Ted Lasso," and "CODA," receiving widespread acclaim and notable award recognition. As the streamer continues developing its upcoming library, another program has joined the mix that promises a unique take on a classic genre. 

"Sugar" is slated to be the newest science fiction offering from Apple TV+. While the streamer has provided some notable sci-fi series in the past such as "For All Mankind" and "Severance," "Sugar" appears to be aiming for a different kind of experience entirely. Just what makes this show worth checking out? Read on as Looper gives you everything you need to know about "Sugar."

After a reportedly competitive bidding war where Apple TV+ beat Netflix, "Sugar" was announced in June 2022, and principal photography began in August. Colin Farrell was spotted later that same month, wearing his character's outfit while on a coffee break. Originally, the series was aiming for a 2023 release date, but we're assuming the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes slowed "Sugar's" roll. At the moment, the Apple TV+ website lists the series as arriving "at a later date." In other words, we may have to wait a while before seeing Farrell's latest sci-fi project.

For some time, the plot of Apple TV+'s upcoming show "Sugar" was largely unknown. The only details given regarding the plot during its initial announcement (and for some time afterwards) hinted that the show would act as a "genre-bending" take on your typical detective story with its setting being in Los Angeles. Since then, however, more substantial details have come out regarding the ideas behind the series. Along with announcement of their other upcoming shows, Apple delved more into the plot of "Sugar." The show will follow the titular detective John Sugar as he goes on the hunt for the missing granddaughter of a big-time Hollywood producer.

Just how the series will blend a hard-edged mystery narrative with genre elements has yet to be deciphered. Nevertheless, the simplicity of the premise gives "Sugar" plenty of room to explore this notion while also developing the story's self-contained conundrum. It will also be interesting to see how the show utilizes its Los Angeles setting. Given that the story is slated to take place in modern day LA and deals with the movie industry, the show has plenty of opportunities to approach its setting in either a more straightforward or satirical manner. Whichever direction things go, there's certainly plenty here to find intriguing. 

Taking the lead role of John Sugar in the Apple TV+ series "Sugar" is none other than Colin Farrell. Farrell's career has seen the Irish actor star in a wide array of blockbuster franchises, award season favorites, and arthouse ventures, from the Wizarding World entry "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" to Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Killing of a Sacred Deer." The previous year proved to be an especially prolific one for the performer. Farrell's lead performance in the black comedy "The Banshees of Inisherin" received worldwide acclaim, earning him an Oscar and BAFTA nomination, as well as a win at the Golden Globes. He also joined Matt Reeves' "The Batman" as one of the film's antagonists, Oswald Cobblepot, and is slated to reprise the role for the upcoming Max original series "The Penguin."

So who will be joining Farrell in this exciting series? Well, you can expect to see "Barry" and "The Good Place" star Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Oscar nominee Amy Ryan, "Better Call Saul" star Dennis Boutsikaris, "True Blood" star Lindsay Pulsipher, and BAFTA Games nominee Alex Hernandez, who are all slated for main roles on the show. In the recurring cast, Emmy winners Anna Gunn and James Cromwell were added in August 2022, while Sydney Chandler, Elizabeth Anweis, Jason Butler Harner, Nate Corddry, and Miguel Sandoval were announced the following month. 

Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles will be brining his vision to the world of "Sugar." The Brazilian filmmaker has been attached to the Apple TV+ project since its initial announcement, where he is slated to both direct the series and act as an executive producer. 

Meirelles' feature directorial debut was the 1998 family film "Menino Maluquinho 2: A Aventura," translated into English as "The Nutty Boy 2." However, Meirelles' claim to fame would come a few years afterwards with a drastically different directorial effort, the 2002 film "Cidade de Deus" or "City of the Gods" in English. The hard-hitting crime drama epic based on the 1997 Paulo Lins novel of the same name and co-directed by Kátia Lund became a critical and financial success amongst its release. Amongst the film's four Oscar nominations, Meirelles nabbed a nod for his directing. 

His next film, the 2005 thriller "The Constant Gardener," was another solid hit, with actress Rachel Weisz's supporting performance winning her an Oscar among the film's three additional nominations. His following efforts included other thrillers such as "Blindness" and "360," along with the Oscar-nominated drama "The Two Popes." Alongside "Sugar," Meirelles' first English language TV show, he is also attached to the upcoming film "Blue Carbon" and the Robert Downey Jr. starring miniseries "The Sympathizer." 

Currently, the only writer credited on "Sugar" is screenwriter Mark Protosevich. Protosevich, who also developed the series and acts as an executive producer, has a notable lineup of projects under his belt. His first credited screenwriting and producing role came in the 2000 Oscar-nominated science fiction film "The Cell" starring Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn. His following efforts throughout the decade would see Protosevich stay in the genre realm, penning the screenplays for the 2006 thriller "Poseidon" and the 2007 post-apocalyptic sci-fi cult classic "I Am Legend," the latter of which was co-written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman. In 2011, Protosevich co-wrote the story for Marvel's "Thor" alongside J. Michael Straczynski before acting as screenwriter and co-producer on the 2013 Spike Lee remake of "Oldboy." 

Alongside Protosevich, the film's producing team includes producer Simon Kinberg, best known for his contributions to the "X-Men" franchise, under his company Genre Films in their second collaboration with Apple following the 2021 science fiction series "Invasion." Other producers include the aforementioned Colin Farell and Fernando Meirelles in addition to Matt Woodall, David Rosen, Chip Vucelich, Audrey Chon, Scott Greenberg, and Sam Catlin. The latter, whose prior credits include producing on "Breaking Bad," is also listed as showrunner on "Sugar."