[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Sugar.]

The Big Picture

The Apple TV+ series ‘Sugar’ is a unique private detective story with a mysterious case involving Hollywood secrets.
Ruby is pivotal to John Sugar’s investigations, providing tech-savvy skills and a complex dynamic.
Kirby wants to delve deeper into Ruby’s character in a possible Season 2, exploring relationships and social issues.

On its surface, the eight-episode Apple TV+ series Sugar is a private detective story wrapped in film noir with an air of mystery surrounding it. John Sugar (Colin Farrell) takes a case for legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell) to find his missing granddaughter, but as he attempts to uncover what happened, it also brings previously buried secrets to light. And as you follow the investigation, it becomes apparent that there are things going on with Sugar that have a deeper explanation and that are slowly starting to reveal themselves.

Ruby (Kirby) is John Sugar’s right-hand woman, a friend and colleague who brings the brains and the tech-savvy as Sugar works the case. The two go way back and have a dynamic that’s part sibling and part parental figure, but that also makes it clear that Ruby is part of the air of mystery that swirls around the P.I.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Kirby (formerly Kirby Howell-Baptiste) talked about all the questions she had about the role and the show, learning about her character as she got each script, the constantly shifting character dynamics, the Ruby and Sugar relationship, how Ruby prides herself on following the rules, and that she would like to just continue digging deeper into everything in a possible Season 2.

Sugar (2024) Private investigator John Sugar examines the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the granddaughter of a legendary Hollywood producer.
 Release Date April 5, 2024 Seasons 1 Creator(s) Mark Protosevich

Kirby Had As Many Questions About ‘Sugar’ As Viewers Do
Image via Apple TV+

Collider: Everything about this show was totally unexpected. I had no idea what anybody was going to do or where it was going, which was really cool. How was it presented to you? How was this character described? Did you have a real sense of who she was from the beginning, or did you have a lot of questions?

KIRBY: I absolutely had a lot of questions about the role and about the show. When I came on board, I had so little information. I hadn’t read the pilot yet, but I knew from a conversation with Sherry Thomas, our casting director, the role of Ruby in her most simple form. I knew that Ruby is to Sugar what M is to James Bond. I knew that they would have this relationship where she was sometimes partner, sometimes friend, sometimes I would say handler. And then, from there, in seeing the scripts unfold, and then also from working with Colin [Farrell], it allowed the relationship to grow and develop, and for that character to evolve from what we see in the first episode to what we see at the end.

Related ‘Sugar’ Cast and Character Guide: Who Stars in Apple TV’s Detective Noir Series? There’s nothing sweeter than the cast for ‘Sugar’.

Sometimes it feels like a sibling relationship, but sometimes it feels more like she’s in a parent position.

KIRBY: Yeah, I think that’s what makes the show so interesting. It’s a show that is based in relationships and based in connection, and you’re seeing every single relationship in the show, whether that be between Sugar and people, or within families. It’s a show that has constantly shifting dynamics within all the relationships.

What was it like to really explore those moments where you know the audience doesn’t really have any history or backstory about who Ruby is and they don’t know much about what is going on? What are the biggest challenges that come with playing someone that we know so little about? Were you trying to forget all the things that you might have known about her, at any point in time?

KIRBY: It was a blessing in disguise that I had so little information in the beginning. I wasn’t given all the scripts at once. When I worked on the pilot, I knew only the pilot. And then, when we got to the second episode, I knew that. It wasn’t like I was working on episode two and knew what episode six would be. So, what happens is that you, as an actor, go on this journey of discovery in the same way that the audience is going on it. What I love about this show is that you can really lose yourself in the genre because the information is given to you so slowly. It means that you have to think and you’re challenged throughout. You’re on the same journey that Sugar is on.

What Does the Dynamic With Sugar Say About Who Ruby Is?
Image via Apple TV+

What was it like to work on this with Colin Farrell? For a good majority of this, we’re learning about Ruby through her relationship with John Sugar and there are some very interesting layers to that. What was it like to really explore that with him? How did he change what you might have thought it would be?

KIRBY: The majority of my scenes were with Colin. The majority of Ruby’s interactions were either with Sugar or on her own. I think that what helped flesh her out more fully is that when she is with Sugar, you understand her in one way because of their dynamic, but then when she’s on her own, or she interacts with other characters, you see this other side of her. When she’s with Sugar, she is softer and they sometimes do have that sibling-like relationship where you get that feeling of familiarity, of friendship, of intimacy. Whereas when she interacts with other people, you see Ruby do her job. As an actor, you can begin to put pieces together and flesh out a character fully.

10:29 Related Colin Farrell on THAT Shocking ‘Sugar’ Episode 6 Reveal The question of what’s really going on with John Sugar has finally been answered.

Did you have conversations with Colin Farrell or any sort of rehearsal period, or are you the type of actor that doesn’t really like to overly rehearse something and just likes to do it?

KIRBY: We didn’t have full, organized rehearsals, as in someone putting it together. What I found really surprising was that, because Colin has been working for years on really incredible high-level projects, what you see on screen is an actor that really has such a diverse body of work but also brings a level of talent that is unlike many others, and the reason you see that is that Colin is at the heart of it and he’s a really hard-working actor. I remember my first day of work, which was the scene when Sugar comes over to Ruby’s house for the first time and you see them interact. After we had done our blocking rehearsal and we chatted with the director, we went off to the side and we ran the lines ourselves. That, to me, felt like the heart of the way we worked. Even when we weren’t working on screen, we were going off to the side and having little rehearsals, so that we could both get a feel for the tennis match that is constantly going on between them.

It’s mentioned several times in this that this group of individuals are supposed to be observing, which reminded me of nature and National Geographic photographers or videographers who are essentially supposed to observe by capturing what’s naturally occurring, but they’re not supposed to interfere. Is Ruby someone who takes that notion very seriously? Do you know whether it’s something she’s always taken very seriously?

KIRBY: When we first meet Ruby, and as it continues, she is someone who trusts in the process, for better or for worse. It’s repeated that they are there to observe, and she takes it very seriously. She really prides herself on following rules because she believes that the rules are there for the greater good. That becomes a point of contention, both with her and Sugar, and also within herself. At a certain point, Ruby is forced, as I think most adults in the world at some point are forced, to reckon with the idea of, who are the rules there for? Are they there to protect us? Are they there to control us? I think that is something she struggles with, and you watch that turmoil happen throughout the season.

Related ‘Sugar’s Big Twist Completely Changes the Show It also adds a whole new layer to the series’ noir leanings.

It’s apparent that Sugar is paying less and less attention to that aspect of what they’re supposed to be doing.

KIRBY: Yeah, I think they come at it from different angles. If Ruby is a rule-follower, then Sugar is definitely a rule-breaker. In general, I think Sugar is acting on what he thinks is best and what he thinks is for the greater good. We, as humans and as conscious people, are starting to realize that not all rules are created for the greater good.

If There Is a Season 2 of ‘Sugar,’ Kirby Would Like to Dig Even Deeper Into Everything

If there are more episodes of this and we do get to see Ruby again, what would you like to know and learn about her? What would you like to see her do?

KIRBY: Typically film noir is film. You have under two hours to explore a story, which means that you have to find a way to show the story and show the characters within that world, but you also have to tie the story up very quickly. We’re so fortunate here, to have the time to explore. We have eight one-hour episodes, so we can really explore, we can dig into relationships, we can dig into social issues, and we can dig into the genre. I’m excited that, if there is a continuation, we would just continue that. I’m really excited for audiences to see what we have here. The beautiful thing about TV is that it’s a two-way street between the audience, and what happens in subsequent seasons is influenced by how people receive the first season.

Sugar is available to stream on Apple TV+. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Apple TV+