Numerous exhibits and movies have explored the narrative surrounding people and synthetic intelligence. Take your decide: Her, Ex Machina, Blade Runner 2049 (and that’s simply from this century). However none of those tales have performed out with the darkish comedic brilliance of the brand new sequence Sunny, which stars Rashida Jones. Within the newest present from Apple TV+, an sudden friendship between a mourning lady and her AI robotic could have you on the sting of your seat.
Set within the distant future, home AI robotic Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura) arrives on Suzie’s (Jones) doorstep throughout a really darkish time in her life. She’s an American residing in Kyoto who has descended right into a deep melancholy after the lack of her son, and her husband, Masa (Hidetoshi Nishijima). The pair disappeared in a lethal aircraft crash; Suzie is at a loss with the best way to proceed with out them. In rolls “homebot” Sunny, the robotic that may full any home job—and intends to spice up her temper.
Suzie vehemently despises Sunny’s presence from the start, organising the present’s most intriguing relationship. Nonetheless, Sunny turns into a last, pivotal a part of Masa that Suzie can maintain onto, after it’s revealed that her late husband owned a robotics firm that was engaged on the AI to make Sunny. (Suzie was beneath the impression he labored with fridges.) In actual fact, there’s a lot Suzie doesn’t learn about her household and her world. Why is her mother-in-law (Judy Ongg) appearing extra standoffish than typical? What’s the reality behind Masa’s work? Why are there males following her rapidly? And what darkish secrets and techniques lie in Sunny’s programmed code?
The present flits between thriller, sci-fi, romance, crime, and comedy—and remarkably, the mix works. There’s a defiance towards style right here that’s particularly clear with the present’s humor; laughter helps ease the mounting stress in all the correct moments. Created by Katie Robbins and primarily based on Japan-based award-winning Irish author Colin O’Sullivan’s The Darkish Handbook, Sunny faucets into the pervasive paranoia surrounding expertise and the explosion of AI. Robbins pushes her present in dangerous instructions, difficult expectations and demonstrating an funding in storytelling that a few of in the present day’s TV may solely dream of. For a present about tech—a topic typically handled utilizing chilly, sterile fingers—Sunny has an enthralling heat. That is additionally true visually; with Robbins’ steerage (and A24 manufacturing) the present has the vitality and stylings of an indie movie with spectacular manufacturing. Alongside goals and flashbacks making reminiscences hazy, cinematography wows on a reasonably unanticipated degree.
Rashida Jones as Suzie and Hidetoshi Nishijima as Masa in a nonetheless from Sunny.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
The present’s distinct look is bolstered by Sunny’s bodily presence, not a post-production addition that requires the actors carry out to a tennis ball. The robotic staff behind Sunny do a terrific job of humanizing this mechanical determine with head tilts and large expressive eyes that appear to each perceive and radiate emotion. However can a robotic actually really feel, disobeying its programming and overcoming strains of code? Robbins doesn’t lunge for any straightforward solutions.
Reverse Sunny, Jones delivers a career-best efficiency that sees her deal with the intricate function of a brokenhearted mom, a bewildered spouse, and a misplaced lady blanketed in grief. With every episode progressively extra thrilling than the subsequent, Sunny is in the end a present that transcends fears of robots and AI. The ten-episode sequence offers commentary on grief and free will, alongside what sacrifices a mom will endure for the reality. Robbins performs the lengthy sport, hiding secrets and techniques round each flip—and making Sunny probably the most standout and unmissable exhibits of this yr.
