Sugar creator Mark Protosevich explains why Colin Farrell’s protagonist is different from Walter White and other TV antiheroes. Premiering on Apple TV Plus in early April, Sugar stars Farrell as John Sugar, an L.A. private investigator attempting to track down a missing Hollywood producer’s granddaughter. The series leans heavily into its noir genre roots, with Farrell’s lead character shown to be not afraid of getting his hands dirty.
During a recent interview with IndieWire, Protosevich explains that Farrell’s Sugar is different from other notable TV antiheroes, including Breaking Bad‘s Walt or The Sopranos‘ Tony Soprano. According to the show’s creator, a key difference is that Sugar is not also the main villain of his own story. Read Protosevich’s full comment below:
As of writing, Sugar has a strong 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score not far behind at 78%. The show’s score on Metacritic is lower at 67 out of 100, but Metacritic does tend to feature lower scores for most titles. The user score on Metacritic is somewhat disappointing at only 5.2 out of 10, but this is based on only 6 reviews in total. On IMDb, the user score is much higher at a strong 7.9 out of 10.
The Sugar critics’ reviews generally praise Farrell’s suitably charismatic lead performance, in addition to the series’ atmosphere and visual presentation. The central mystery at the show’s core does take some flack, however, with some critics finding that the meat of the show takes too long to arrive. A particular late-series reveal has proven somewhat divisive, with some critics finding the turn effective, while others feel that it makes earlier episodes feel more like one long build-up.
It’s too early to say whether Sugar season 2 will be happening, but the show has not been referred to as a limited series, meaning it’s not off the table. Viewership and engagement are generally the metrics that prove most important when it comes to streaming TV show renewals, and the positive response thus far suggests the series could be doing well in this regard. Even if the main mystery in Sugar isn’t working for everyone, it’s clear that Farrell’s lead character is a highlight, and perhaps part of this is due to him not being a typical TV antihero.
Source: IndieWire