The Rise and Fall of Cyberpunk TV: A Look at Altered Carbon's Journey
Matthew Underwood
Updated on May 17, 2026
By Published Apr 1, 2026, 4:31 PM EDT Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
The cyberpunk genre is enjoying a moment on TV right now. Netflix brought Cyberpunk to the small screen, Prime Video is bringing Blade Runner to the small screen, and Apple TV is turning — the seminal, defining masterpiece of the entire genre — into a series.
But, since sci-fi shows are so expensive to produce, and they so rarely break into the mainstream and attract enough viewers to justify those costs, a lot of really promising cyberpunk shows have fallen by the wayside. was canceled just as it was finding its feet.
Just over six years ago, Netflix let one of the best cyberpunk shows of the 21st century slip right through their fingers. had the potential to be a sprawling sci-fi saga like Doctor Who, with a new actor playing the lead role in every season, but the Ted Sarandos media empire only let the grand experiment last two seasons before swinging the axe.
Netflix's Altered Carbon Was Good Enough To Warrant An Anime Spinoff Film
Based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon takes place in a dystopian future where the wealthy elite have achieved immortality through “sleeving” technology. “Sleeves” are synthetic bodies that can be programmed with a person’s consciousness to essentially reincarnate them and extend their life.
The series follows political mercenary Takeshi Kovacs, the sole survivor of the Envoys, a rebel force whose revolution against the not-so-brave new world failed miserably. In season 1, 250 years after the Envoys have been defeated, he’s resurrected by 300-year-old bazillionaire Meth Laurens Bancroft, who tasks him with solving the murder of Bancroft’s original body.
In season 1, Kovacs was played by Joel Kinnaman. But in season 2, set 30 years later, when Kovacs has been resleeved, he’s played by Anthony Mackie. Season 2 continues Kovacs’ quest to find his lost love: the leader of the Envoys, Quellcrist Falconer. It was a unique setup for a series that allowed Netflix to recast the lead role every season in a new kind of anthology format.
But after those two seasons, . Before it went gentle into that good night, Altered Carbon let out one last gasp. Between the release of season 2 and the cancelation of season 3, Netflix dropped an anime spinoff movie called Altered Carbon: Resleeved.
Set 253 years before the series, Resleeved follows a young Kovacs on a self-contained adventure. Resleeved was met with mixed reviews. Its writing was criticized, but its animation was widely praised.
Altered Carbon Was Canceled Way Too Soon
Netflix has become notorious for canceling promising shows before they have a chance to find their voice or reach the right audience. In the early days, they were willing to give something like BoJack Horseman or Orange is the New Black a couple of seasons to achieve greatness and amass a long-overdue fan following.
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But in recent years, Netflix has become the most ruthless studio of all when it comes to axing shows before their time. from the get-go. All the visual effects, elaborate sets, and action sequences cost a pretty penny, so Altered Carbon had its head on the block from day one.
Ultimately, after two seasons, Netflix determined that Altered Carbon wasn’t making enough money to justify its existence, and canceled the show. A show with a semi-anthological format as experimental as Altered Carbon needs at least three or four seasons to figure it out. We only ever got to see two actors take a crack at playing one of Kovacs’ sleeves (and heard two others voicing him: Tatsuhisa Suzuki and, in the English dub, Ray Chase).
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