Apple TV Plus' Sugar trailer sees Colin Farrell’s sharp-suited sleuth get more than he bargained for in trippy mystery thriller

Dressed to the ca-nines

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The first trailer forSugar, a newAppleTV Plus mystery thriller, has been revealed – and Colin Farrell’s private detective might be in over his head with his latest case.

Set for release onApple TV Pluson Friday, April 5, the streamer’s new crime-based drama looks poised to set itself apart from its peers with its genre-bending narrative. Indeed,Sugarmight look like your typical sleuth-styled series but, based on its first teaser, it’ll be anything but that.

Apple claims that the Farrell-starring show will reinvent the private detective genre with a “contemporary” and “unique” take on the genre’s formula. While we’ll have to wait and see if that’s the ahem case,Sugar’s trailer suggests it might pull off that ambitious plan. And hey, if nothing else, I’ll be watching it to see Farrell’s Sugar drive around L.A. with his handsome canine companion in tow.

Farrell (The Batman,The Banshees of Inisherin), who also executively produced the show, plays John Sugar, a hardboiled L.A-based private investigator who’s tasked with finding Olivia Siegel, the missing daughter of fictional Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. The more he digs into the case, however, the more Siegel family secrets he unearths – and learning about some of them might put him in serious danger.

Joining Farrell on Sugar’s cast list are a whole host of famous faces. Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Sandman), Amy Ryan (The Wire), James Cromwell (Succession), Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), and Dennis Boutsikaris (Better Call Saul) are just some of the supporting actors attached to appear.

Mark Protosevich (Thor,Oldboy) is the series' creator, and joins Farrell, Audrey Chon (Lift), and Simon Kinberg (X-Men) on the producing team.

Sweetening Apple TV Plus' crime show lineup

Sugarwas one offour shows I picked out from Apple TV Plus' exciting 2024 lineupearlier this year, so I was hoping its first footage wouldn’t make me look like a mug – and judging by its first teaser I’m confident that it’ll be a hit for one of the world’sbest streaming serviceswhen it debuts in early April, in which case it’ll likely make its way onto ourbest Apple TV Plus showslist, too.

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Apple, though, will be hoping for more than just another hit series, especially one firmly set in the crime genre. The tech giant’s dabblings in this TV show category have been mixed at best, with highly-rated offerings like the Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo-starringCriminal Recordoffset by poorly received series such asCity on Fire.

After seemingly cornering the prestige sci-fi genre, Apple clearly wants to prove it can do likewise with other types of shows. Bolstering its back catalog with fantastic crime-based series is certainly worth a go, given how popular such genre fare is with viewers worldwide.

The problem it has, though, is that there are plenty of top-tier crime-based shows already available on its biggest streaming rivals, includingNetflix(Mindhunter,Breaking Bad, andPeaky Blindersto name just three) andMax(True Detective,Mare of Easttown,The Sopranos). Apple is not only having to play catch-up; it’s also being forced to try and muscle in on territory on which its competitors already have a firm foothold.

Apple will need projects likeSugar, then, to hit the ground running and tempt would-be subscribers to check it out using afree Apple TV Plus trial– and if it’s a hit it’ll sweeten the deal for crime thriller fans thinking of signing up to the streamer. If, however, it proves divisive among critics pre-release and then flops post-launch, Apple may have to kiss its chances of breaking into the crime genre fold goodbye.

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As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

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