Apple TV's 8-Part 'Severance Meets Pluribus' Series Was Designed To Be Rewatched

7 hours ago 2

Published May 8, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT

Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.

The Golden Age of Television died the day the streaming wars began. In the heyday of Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Game of Thrones, networks and producers were putting an emphasis on the creator’s vision and the needs of a given story. But in the divisive era of Stranger Things and The Mandalorian and a laundry list of MCU shows that Marvel fans have to watch as homework, there’s a lot more focus on quantity over quality.

Over the past few years, Apple TV has quietly established itself as one of the most consistent providers of prestige television. It’s the only streamer out there that favors quality over quantity. It might not have as much content as Netflix or Prime or HBO Max or Disney+, but when you click on a new show, there’s a much higher chance it’ll be great.

Ted Lasso, The Studio, Pluribus, Severance, Shrinking, Your Friends and Neighbors, right up to the ongoing Margo’s Got Money Troubles — they’re all fantastic. But one of Apple’s most underappreciated shows, Sugar, deserves more love.

Sugar Is One Of Apple TV's Most Rewatchable Shows

Colin Farrell Looking Surprised In Sugar

Much like Severance, Sugar was designed to be watched more than once, and much like Pluribus, it benefits from a rewatch, because there’s no way you can take it all in on the first viewing. Sugar starts off as a classic detective series, touching on all the familiar tropes of old-school film noir, but over the course of the season, you slowly realize something is off. In the sixth episode, the series finally delivers the big twist that turns a standard detective story into pure science fiction.

After following Colin Farrell’s John Sugar for six episodes, you’re surprised to learn that (spoiler alert!) he’s an alien who came to Earth to learn from the human race. Once you’ve been bowled over by that twist reveal, you have to go back and rewatch the season and check for all the clues you missed.

It was very bold and ambitious to hold off on this twist reveal until the final episode. Most TV shows want to set up their hook in the very first episode, so a more traditional version of Sugar would’ve revealed he’s an alien in the pilot to set up a status quo for the series going forward. But saving the big reveal for the season 1 finale completely changed the way the story was told. The writers had to keep their cards a lot closer to their chest and hide Sugar’s true nature before the climactic rug-pull, which added a subtlety and a sense of intrigue to the storytelling.

Sugar Season 2 Is Already On The Way

Colin Farrell as John Sugar having a conversation with someone in Sugar

In the age of streaming, it’s become all too common for an exciting first season with a twist ending to be met with a swift cancellation and a frustrating lack of closure. But fortunately, that’s not the case with Sugar, because Apple has already renewed the show for season 2.

Sugar season 1 started off by lying about what kind of show it is, before revealing its true premise in episode 6. When Sugar’s second season premieres on June 19, it can finally lean into the sci-fi side more.