Altered Carbon axed by Netflix after two seasons
The decision to axe the cyber-punk thriller was not the result of the pandemic.
Netflix's ambitious cyber-punk sci-fi series Altered Carbon has been axed after two series in a reportedly non-COVID-related decision.
The dystopian thriller series was based on the 2002 cyber-punk noir novel by British author Richard K Morgan and revolved around the high concept of human consciousness being able to be moved to a new body.
Altered Carbon had been a troubled production, with the season one lead Joel Kinnaman, who played the futuristic mercenary Takeshi Kovacs, leaving amid accusations of "white washing", although Kinnaman called the accusations "lazy" and referred to the show's conceptual basis, that human consciousness was transferrable.
He was replaced by Anthony Mackie in season two.
According to EW, the decision to axe Altered Carbon was made back in April and was not a result of the COVID-19 shutdown in the film and TV industry. The biggest factor was the show's cost against its viewership.
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Altered Carbon launched in 2018 with a 10-part debut season. Season two premiered on Netflix in February, with the action beginning 30 years after the first adventure, with Kovacs the sole survivor of a group of elite interstellar rebels who continued his eternal quest to find his lost love Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry). It was followed by a feature-length anime version of the show in March.
The decision to cancel Altered Carbon came hard on the heels of the cancellation of Netflix series The Society and I'm Not Okay With This, both of which were ended due to issues related to coronavirus.
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