When Sugar debuted in 2024, audiences initially thought Colin Farrell’s character was just a regular ol’ Los Angeles private detective. Sure, he was unusually empathetic, could seemingly communicate with animals, and spoke an alarming array of languages. But most folks were not anticipating the mid-season twist that revealed John Sugar’s quirks were because he’s not from planet Earth.
That reveal was the big shake-up in season one; now that season two is here, the fact that Sugar‘s main character is an extraterrestrial is an open secret—sort of. The people in Sugar’s orbit are still unaware, but viewers know he’s hiding a blue complexion behind his human disguise, and his loneliness now that the rest of his species has departed is a major emotional theme throughout the season.
Sam Catlin, who came aboard as showrunner for season two of the Apple TV show, knows nothing will ever top the alien reveal. So he avoided even trying to do that. Instead, he went for a more slow-burning sort of tension.
“Suspense is usually better than surprise,” he told the Hollywood Reporter in a new interview. “Give the information to the audience, and then let it percolate. After a short while, those types of surprises and turns kind of suck. You can very often feel that the narrative is constructed to make them land, and it’s very often at the expense of the organic evolution of the character, which is really what should always be the priority.”
He was also careful not to let Sugar lean too much into its sci-fi elements. Instead, he approached it as a neo-noir detective show whose protagonist—who becomes obsessed with the missing-persons cases he’s drawn to, thanks to his own family history—just so happens to be from light-years away.
“To me, what resonated most in season one—other than the tone of the music and Colin’s performance—was the nostalgic noir detective show set in Los Angeles. My introduction to the detective genre was through the ’70s noir shows set in Los Angeles. How I first saw Los Angeles on TV was probably through those detective shows,” Catlin said.
“So in terms of season two, we still wanted him to be a private investigator who’s trying to help people that need his help. The mystery of his sister is still something that’s festering, but he’s tied to this idea of himself as a PI. It’s very important that he cling to that and help other people find the missing.”
New episodes of Sugar arrive Fridays on Apple TV.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
