Colin Farrell is quickly becoming a cinema darling for streaming platforms. Not only is he slated to reprise his role from The Batman in a spinoff series about the Penguin for HBO Max, but Farrell will be spreading the creative love elsewhere along the streaming spectrum as well, as he's currently tapped to lead an upcoming series for Apple TV+ called Sugar. The studio clearly has high hopes for the new show, as Sugar's growing cast has added vets from two of TV's greatest modern efforts: Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Anna Gunn, best known for playing Skyler White on the AMC hit Breaking Bad, is one of several top-notch additions to this already stacked cast, and according to Variety, she'll be joined by Dennis Boutsikaris, who portrayed attorney Rick Schweikart in Better Call Saul. Both actors know a thing or two about standing out amongst swaths of surrounding talent, and while we don't know much yet about how they'll fit into the story, neither Gunn nor Boutsikaris is likely to disappoint.
The plot for the upcoming series is currently under lock and key, but Sugar is said to be a modern detective show set in Los Angeles, that offers a new take on the familiar genre. Farrell is an executive producer on the project, along with Mark Protosevich, who will also serve as a writer, and Fernando Meirelles, who is set to direct. Protosevich has received attention for his work on Marvel’s Thor, and Meirelles is best known for directing the Oscar nominated films City of God and The Two Popes.
Also joining the cast of Sugar is James Cromwell who received an Emmy nomination this year for his performance on HBO’s Succession. These new cast members will be joining a previously announced cast that includes Barry star Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Oscar-nominated actress Amy Ryan, who recently returned to television for Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.
Colin Farrell has taken a special interest in working with auteur directors such as Meirelles over the years. He landed arguably a career-topping role in 2008’s In Bruges directed by famed playwright Martin McDonagh, which some cite as rescuing his career from a series of box office n'er-do-wells, and he'll be back with McDonagh and Brendan Gleeson for The Banshees of Inisherin later this year.
Apple TV+ has been investing in a lot of thriller and mystery material like Sugar to add to their catalog of shows. Black Bird starring Taron Egerton and the late Ray Liotta has been creating a lot of buzz for the streamer, and the Ben-Stiller-run series Severance has an incredible presence at the Emmys this year. AppleTV+ will have to continue to build up their repertoire if they want to compete with Disney+, the now dominant streaming service, which overtook Netflix in global subscribers this month. Only time will tell if Sugar will be the show to help push Apple TV+ further up the list, but having a cast full of A+ talent never hurts.
Sugar will be available exclusively for Apple TV+ subscribers in the near future. In the meantime, check out our feature on some of the other great shows available on Apple TV+.
