Sunny – Series Review | Apple TV+

SUNNY on Apple TV+ is a darkly comedic mystery series starring Rashida Jones. The story is set in Japan and she co-stars with a “Homebot” that’s quite sassy. Read our full Sunny season 1 review here!

SUNNY is a new Apple TV+ series that mixes genres in all the right ways. It’s a darkly comedic mystery series. Both the dark, the comedic, and the mystery parts are apparent from the very beginning.

Also, the yakuza (Japanese mob) is part of the plot, which results in some very violent and bloody scenes. The series stars Rashida Jones as Suzie, an American living in Japan. Season 1 has 10 half-hour episodes and is very binge-worthy.

Continue reading our Sunny Season 1 review below. Find the series on Apple TV+ from July 10, 2024.

A dark time in Suzie’s life

In Sunny, we first meet Suzie (Rashida Jones). She’s an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, but her life is torn apart when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash.

To help and console her, she’s given a Homebot that introduces itself as “Sunny”. Sunny is a new class of domestic robots made by her husband’s electronics company.

It turns out her husband wasn’t working in refrigerators like he claimed. And this is just one of the surprises, she’s about to learn about her husband.

Suzie is not a fan of robots of any kind. Her excuse is that a robot killed her mom – it was a self-driving car, so not exactly the same thing.

Also, we’re in a sort of alternative world or the near future, so smartphones look a bit different. Plus, translations happen on the fly via an earpiece and AI translations. The kind that seems to be accurate 99.99% of the time.

A sassy and sweet Homebot

Suzie clearly resents any and every one of Sunny’s attempts to fill the void in her life, but they do develop an unexpected friendship. Especially as it becomes increasingly obvious that Sunny was created specifically for Suzie.

This isn’t your average Homebot!

Together the two go on a mission to uncover who Masa – Suzie’s husband – really was. They end up uncovering the dark truth of what happened to Suzie’s family and land in an underworld Suzie never knew existed.

I also have to mention Suzie’s Mother-in-Law, who is (of course!) also hurting but approaches everything in a traditional Japanese manner. Suzie, on the other hand, does not. The two clash, but also seem to have an underlying respect for one another.

Alongside Rashida Jones leading the cast, we also have Joanna Sotomura as the voice of Sunny, Hidetoshi Nishijima as Masa, Judy Ongg as Suzie’s mother-in-law Noriko, and Annie the Clumsy as Mixxy. A bartender turned BFF to Suzie.

Start watching Sunny on Apple TV+

Sunny was created by Katie Robbins (The Affair) who also serves as showrunner and is an executive producer. The director of the 10 episodes is Lucy Tcherniak (The End of the F***ing World, Station Eleven).

The new Apple TV+ genre-mix series is based on the book “The Dark Manual” by Colin O’Sullivan. He is an award-winning Japan-based Irish writer.

Sunny is produced for Apple TV+ by A24, while creator Katie Robbins produces through her shingle Babka Pictures. Director Lucy Tcherniak executive produces for Poppycock Pictures while star Rashida Jones is also an executive producer.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this series, but I ended up loving it. Not only does it challenge your expectations and surprise you in many ways, but it’s also full of heart. Give it a shot and maybe it will win over your heart as well.

Sunny premieres globally on Apple TV+ on July 10, 2024.

The first two episodes of Sunny are released on the premiere day, which is then followed by one new episode every Wednesday. The season finale comes on September 4, 2024.

Details

Creator: Katie Robbins
Writers: Katie Robbins, Kimi Howl Lee, Julissa Castillo, Aja Gabel
Cast: Rashida Jones, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Joanna Sotomura, Judy Ongg, You, annie the clumsy, Jun Kunimura