When Colin Farrell first stepped into the polished shoes of private investigator John Sugar, audiences were drawn to the Apple TV+ drama’s intoxicating blend of classic noir style, Hollywood mythology and emotional sincerity. Now, Sugar returns for its eight-episode second season on June 19, bringing the detective back to the streets of Los Angeles for a new missing-persons case that expands into a far-reaching conspiracy.
While Apple is keeping many of the season’s biggest revelations under wraps, Farrell made one thing clear during a recent press conference: what continues to draw him to the series is not the mystery itself, but the humanity at its center.
“When I read the show, it was apparent to me very quickly that there was a really lovely character at the center of it,” Farrell said. “I loved the genre tropes and the neo-noir of it and all that stuff. And the mood of it. But there was a decency. It was really, really clear from the onset that there was a decency to the character.”
That quality, Farrell explained, initially surprised him.
“I was concerned about that,” he admitted. “I was kinda going, ‘Oof, is it a bit vanilla?’ But he was constantly arcing towards decency. Which I don’t think we can expect any of us to be decent all the time. The world doesn’t really allow you to be that. But to play a character that was constantly arcing towards decency, even if he fell short sometimes, was just really beautiful. And really life-affirming.”
The actor contrasted John Sugar’s fundamentally compassionate nature with some of the darker roles he has recently inhabited, like in HBO Max’s Penguin.
“To go to work every day in the service of this particular character was just an absolute joy for two seasons,” Farrell said. “I would sign a contract now for another three seasons. I would love to do five years of this and see where it would end up for Sugar.”
Season 2 finds Sugar once again navigating Los Angeles while pursuing a new investigation. Joining Farrell is an ensemble of newcomers including Jin Ha, Raymond Lee, Tony Dalton, Laura Donnelly and Sasha Calle, along with special guest star Shea Whigham.
Farrell was particularly enthusiastic about working alongside Ha and Lee, whose characters bring another perspective to contemporary Los Angeles.
“I had an amazing time working with Jin Ha and Raymond Lee,” Farrell said. “The show is supposed to be entertaining first and foremost, but Sam Catlin and the writers wanted to have a look at some of the issues that L.A. contends with—not in a generalized political finger-wagging way, but in the way the show was supposed to be from the start, which is kind of humanistic.”
He added, “It’s a show that had a bit of a kindness and a bit of a care and a bit of a fascination, curiosity and wonder with why human beings are the way we are.”
That fascination with people is reflected in the series’ deep connection to Los Angeles itself, which Farrell views as an essential character in the drama.
“Because particularly that character’s romantic leaning toward the world of cinema and film, and particularly through the lens of film noir, it always made sense to be here,” he said.
The actor relished filming throughout the city, especially during overnight shoots.
“Shooting nights in L.A. is magic,” Farrell said. “Being on Hollywood Boulevard at two o’clock in the morning with a crew of 100 people, a couple of cops, a few people walking through very high and very drunk causing slight issues, and you’re shooting a scene in a Corvette Stingray with Jin Ha—you end up looking at each other going, ‘This is magic.’ That kind of stuff never loses its luster for me.”
Farrell’s affection for classic detective stories also remains central to the show’s DNA. Asked about his favorite noir-inspired film, he quickly cited the acclaimed neo-noir classic L.A. Confidential. It stars Kim Basinger, who won a supporting actress Oscar for the role, alongside a star-studded cast including Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey and James Cromwell.
“I watched it with my kids about four weeks ago,” he said. “Everything about that film is just perfect. Every single musical cue. The cinematography. How L.A. looks, how it feels. It’s just a masterclass of filmmaking and performance and mood.”
Behind the scenes, Farrell also continues to serve as an executive producer, a role he describes less as authority and more as collaboration.
“It didn’t even feel like a different hat,” he said. “It all felt like the same thing. Being a co-collaborator and EP on this was just fun. Just throwing out ideas. Some of them were shite, some of them were not bad. It was beautiful.”
The actor repeatedly praised showrunner Sam Catlin and the creative team for crafting a season that felt both structured and flexible.
“It was really collaborative and fun,” Farrell said. “Just so much fun.”
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the conversation, however, was how often Farrell returned to the idea of decency—both in Sugar and in the world around him.
“The violence and the cruelty and the greed are louder,” he reflected. “But for my sanity, it’s important to remember that there are decent people.”
That belief may ultimately be what makes Sugar stand apart in an increasingly crowded television landscape. Beneath the mysteries, conspiracies and noir atmosphere is a story about a man who continues to believe in helping others, even when the world gives him every reason not to.
As Farrell put it, “He had this fundamental core decency to him.”
