After a woman’s husband vanishes in a plane crash, the robot he was secretly working on is given to her to help her cope. The catch is she never knew her husband was working on secret projects like this one, or why other companies seem interested in the cuddly AI in her living room. If this sounds intriguing, you can watch the first two episodes of Sunny on Apple TV Plus right now.
Taking from the likes of Black Mirror or Severance, as well as adding a healthy heaping of black comedy, the show is dark and dramatic but also appears to be rather prophetic, if its trailer is anything to go by. Starring Rashida Jones as Suzie Sakamoto and Hidetoshi Nishijma as Suzie’s husband Masa Sakamoto, Sunny started airing with two episodes on July 10. Subsequent episodes will follow every week until the finale airs on September 4 later this year.
What do the critics say?
The Guardian awarded Sunny four out of five stars, saying “Rashida Jones’s show about a grief-stricken woman and a mechanoid is confident, quirky TV that doesn’t put a foot wrong – even if its synopsis is dire.” The Washington Post is more critical of the ending, claiming it misunderstands the strengths of the show. However, it says “I’ll devour that second season if it comes because I desperately want more of the proud, tetchy, immersive, oddly relatable world it builds around Suzie and Noriko and Mixxy.”
IGN likes Sunny less than the two previous sites, giving it 6 out of 10, saying “Sunny wastes its stylish Japanese setting and thrilling sci-fi premise on a glacially paced plot and Rashida Jones’ gloomy hero.” You’ll need to wait until September to watch the full series but two episodes are available right now for Apple TV Plus subscribers, with another coming out next week.
