NEW YORK, NY — In Season 2 of AppleTV+’s ‘Sugar,’ a new presence arrives at the Del Corzado Hotel, promising to upend the show’s quiet center in Charlotte Fischer, played by Laura Donnelly. She described what drew her to the role, how Charlotte connects to Colin Farrell’s John Sugar, and why the character’s carefully curated look is about self-respect rather than vanity.
“It’s really fun to play within that genre,” Donnelly told Nitecast Media regarding stepping into the show’s moody world. “She already knew the world and the tone of what I was coming into, and that felt like a really fun atmosphere in which to then try to find the truth and the humanity of a character like Charlotte.”
Beyond the show’s aesthetic, the chance to work opposite Colin Farrell was a major draw for her, giving this character not just a story but an intriguing personality as well.
“I just think he’s one of the best actors we have, and I wanted to do scenes opposite him,” she added.
Donnelly frames Charlotte as a woman who loves her life and her work but who accepts solitude as part of that devotion.
“I think that Charlotte is someone who really loves her life and loves her job. And really believes in what she does, but it does bring an element of solitude. It brings loneliness with it.”
On set, Donnelly praised not only Farrell’s craft but also his leadership with the cast. “What a great actor he is alongside how lovely he is to absolutely everybody around the set. You know, he’s a proper leader,” she said. “The way that he treats everyone is so inclusive, is so respectful, is so generous to everyone. Creates that atmosphere, you know from the top down— it means that everybody, it sets the tone, it sets the level for everyone, it makes the entire set a very lovely place to work.”
Visually, Charlotte is deliberately constructed to echo the show’s film-noir sensibility while foregrounding the character’s dignity. Donnelly stressed that Charlotte’s public and private selves are closely aligned.
“I think what I actually loved about Charlotte was that she was pretty consistent in her public and her private, and what she wears—I loved that.”
Donnelly was careful to differentiate Charlotte’s elegance from caricature. “I think that it’s not often that women get to, as characters on screen, get to indulge in that kind of high level of taking care of their appearance and, you know, wearing expensive clothes and having… You know, their makeup, their nails, their hair, done even right down to what she will wear when she’s by herself in her hotel suite. The things that she’ll wear to bed at night. Um, it’s all there, and I don’t think that women get to do that a lot without there also being a comment on their vanity. And, you know, there’s no such comment with Charlotte. We’re not saying anything about that other than what a lovely thing she gets to do for herself.”
Donnelly truly did her research and preparation for Charlotte, looking to capture every essence of this unique character.
“She’s all woman, all her own!”
As Season 2 unfolds, Charlotte and John will take on new adventures, and their dynamic is sure to keep fans wondering what comes next.
