Sunny (2024)
TV show · 2024 · Mystery, Drama, Comedy · English
Curator score: 4.5/10 (11.6K ratings)
Tagline: Its first memory is meeting you.
The life of an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, is upended when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash. As consolation, she's given Sunny, one of a new class of domestic robots made by her husband's electronics company.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 4.5/10
- IMDb: 6.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
- Metacritic: 69
- TMDB: 6.8/10
Production: A24, Babka Pictures, Poppycock Pictures, TWENTY FIRST CITY
Cast: Rashida Jones, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Joanna Sotomura, Judy Ongg, YOU, annie the clumsy
Where to watch: Apple TV Plus
Curator Review
Verdict: A stylish, offbeat mystery with a strong sense of place and a compelling central performance, but it’s more intriguing than fully satisfying. The show blends grief, corporate conspiracy, and dark comedy around a robot companion, yet its emotional and narrative payoffs are uneven. Best approached as a one-season mood piece rather than a tightly resolved thriller.
Best for: Viewers who like genre-blending mysteries with a melancholy comic edge; Fans of prestige Apple TV+ dramas with an unusual visual concept; People interested in stories about grief, identity, and artificial companionship; Viewers who enjoy Japan-set series with a strong cultural atmosphere
Skip if: You want a fast, cleanly plotted mystery with a strong ending; You prefer straightforward sci-fi over tonal hybridity; You are looking for a long-running series with multiple seasons; You dislike shows that are more reflective and eccentric than propulsive
Overview: Sunny has a terrific hook: a grieving woman in Kyoto, a vanished family, and a domestic robot that becomes both helper and emotional mirror. The series gets a lot of mileage from its setting and from the odd, intimate chemistry between its human and nonhuman characters. It often feels like a noir, a domestic drama, and a deadpan comedy all at once.
Worth noting: That tonal mix is also the show’s biggest limitation. The mystery is compelling in pieces, but the pacing can be uneven and the emotional register sometimes pulls in different directions. Still, the atmosphere is distinctive, and the series has enough intelligence and visual confidence to make it worth a look for viewers who enjoy thoughtful, slightly strange television.
Bottom line: As a single-season cancellation, it works best if you go in for the experience rather than expecting a fully rounded payoff. If the premise appeals, the show’s mood, setting, and performances are the main reasons to watch.
Recommended similar titles:
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- The Leftovers (2014 · Curator 0.8/10 (1.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- Mr. Robot (2015 · Crime, Drama · Curator 9.8/10 (472.8K ratings))
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- Black Mirror (2011 · Curator 8.0/10 (740.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads)
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- Upload (2020 · Curator 6.9/10 (91.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads)
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- Tokyo Vice (2022 · Curator 7.4/10 (56K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
If the Kyoto setting and Japanese urban atmosphere are a draw, this offers a vivid, immersive Japan-set experience.
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Topics: mystery, drama, comedy, science fiction, grief, atmospheric, Japan-set, prestige TV, darkly comic, character-driven
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/tv-show/sunny/157226
Sunny (2024)
TV show · 2024 · Mystery, Drama, Comedy · English
Curator score: 4.5/10 (11.6K ratings)
Its first memory is meeting you.
Overview The life of an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, is upended when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash. As consolation, she's given Sunny, one of a new class of domestic robots made by her husband's electronics company.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.5/10
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: 69
TMDB: 6.8/10
Production A24, Babka Pictures, Poppycock Pictures, TWENTY FIRST CITY
Cast Rashida Jones, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Joanna Sotomura, Judy Ongg, YOU, annie the clumsy
Where to watch Apple TV Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A stylish, offbeat mystery with a strong sense of place and a compelling central performance, but it’s more intriguing than fully satisfying. The show blends grief, corporate conspiracy, and dark comedy around a robot companion, yet its emotional and narrative payoffs are uneven. Best approached as a one-season mood piece rather than a tightly resolved thriller.
Best for
Viewers who like genre-blending mysteries with a melancholy comic edge
Fans of prestige Apple TV+ dramas with an unusual visual concept
People interested in stories about grief, identity, and artificial companionship
Viewers who enjoy Japan-set series with a strong cultural atmosphere
Skip if
You want a fast, cleanly plotted mystery with a strong ending
You prefer straightforward sci-fi over tonal hybridity
You are looking for a long-running series with multiple seasons
You dislike shows that are more reflective and eccentric than propulsive
Overview
Sunny has a terrific hook: a grieving woman in Kyoto, a vanished family, and a domestic robot that becomes both helper and emotional mirror. The series gets a lot of mileage from its setting and from the odd, intimate chemistry between its human and nonhuman characters. It often feels like a noir, a domestic drama, and a deadpan comedy all at once.
Worth noting
That tonal mix is also the show’s biggest limitation. The mystery is compelling in pieces, but the pacing can be uneven and the emotional register sometimes pulls in different directions. Still, the atmosphere is distinctive, and the series has enough intelligence and visual confidence to make it worth a look for viewers who enjoy thoughtful, slightly strange television.
Bottom line
As a single-season cancellation, it works best if you go in for the experience rather than expecting a fully rounded payoff. If the premise appeals, the show’s mood, setting, and performances are the main reasons to watch.
Recommended similar titles
2022 · Curator 9.9/10 (386.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Apple TV Plus
Shares the sleek Apple TV+ prestige feel, mystery-box structure, and unsettling blend of corporate satire, grief, and identity questions.
2014 · Curator 0.8/10 (1.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A deeply emotional, surreal exploration of loss and meaning with a haunting tone and strong character focus.
2015 · Crime, Drama · Curator 9.8/10 (472.8K ratings)
For its psychological intensity, corporate paranoia, and stylized approach to alienation and technology.
2016 · Curator 0.7/10 (1.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
An eccentric, emotionally charged mystery that leans into the strange and rewards viewers who like bold tonal swings.
2011 · Curator 8.0/10 (740.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Best for the show’s tech-anxiety angle and the uneasy human consequences of advanced devices and systems.
2015 · Curator 8.5/10 (193.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
For viewers who want a smart, adult sci-fi series with strong world-building and mystery elements.
2019 · Curator 8.5/10 (86.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Apple TV Plus
Another Apple TV+ series that combines alternate-history speculation with family drama and slow-burn tension.
2020 · Curator 6.9/10 (91.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads
A lighter but still tech-centric comedy-drama about artificial afterlives, relationships, and corporate absurdity.
2022 · Curator 7.4/10 (56K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
If the Kyoto setting and Japanese urban atmosphere are a draw, this offers a vivid, immersive Japan-set experience.
2018 · Curator 5.5/10 (29.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads
A sleek, conspiratorial thriller with a controlled aesthetic and a strong sense of institutional unease.
2019 · Curator 0.3/10 (1K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
A smart, darkly funny series that uses genre mechanics to explore trauma, repetition, and self-discovery.
Topics
mystery, drama, comedy, science fiction, grief, atmospheric, Japan-set, prestige TV, darkly comic, character-driven
Open Sunny (2024) on Curator TV