In this society, death is temporary (most of the time). We follow a former freedom fighter turned mercenary, seeing him come to grips with a strange reality.
Imagine a world where you can't die, but your consciousness can be transferred from body to body. In this reality, life is a lot different, even though some things remain the same. Altered Carbon asks us to follow the exploits of a former freedom-fighter turned mercenary called Takeshi Kovacs as he tries to fit himself into a world that has moved on centuries since last his consciousness was in a body. We walk alongside Tak as he uncovers the mysteries of what happened to him and the world while he was asleep. We feel the pain, despair, and loss along with him on each stage of his journey.
| Renewal Status | Ended |
| Release Date | Null |
| Plot | Null |
| Cast | Null |
Altered Carbon is based on a series of novels written by Richard Morgan. The elements of Morgan's books have been used in the series, but it's mostly a brand new narrative set within the book's framework. Human consciousness has been digitally stored in pieces of hardware called "stacks," which can be transferred across bodies known as "sleeves." Sometimes, due to crime or disobedience, stacks are kept in stasis for years, sometimes even centuries.
When we rejoin Kovacs, his stack is "spun up" into a new sleeve, and he's tasked with investigating the supposed suicide of a wealthy businessman. The second season sees him in a new sleeve, tracking down a former love interest who seems hellbent on bringing havoc to a world whose fragile political balance is always in danger of toppling. In both cases, what starts as a seemingly simple problem spirals into complexity remarkably quickly.
Altered Carbon is no longer returning for season 3. Netflix canceled the show after two seasons, Deadline reported in August 2020. According to the publication, the cancelation is not because of the pandemic but because it failed in the streamers' standard "viewership vs. cost renewal review process."
Although there is no news of Altered Carbon season 3 resurrection, there's a slight chance that it might happen in the future. Alison Schapker, the writer and showrunner of the Netflix sci-fi series, is very much interested to create another season for the fans.
In an interview with Inverse, she said: "I am not going to give up. I still harbor a dream that someday, somebody will come knocking and want to continue that story. Quellcrist Falconer was off to foment a revolution! We had a great season 3 written, and I’m sorry we were not able to bring it to people. Sometimes that happens."
The show is canceled, so the cast is no longer returning. The series cast includes Renée Elise Goldsberry as revolutionary leader Quellchrist Falconer, Chris Conner as the AI Poe, James Purefoy as Laurens Bancroft, Martha Higareda as Kristin Ortega, Chris Conner as Edgar Poe, Dichen Lachman and Elizabeth Maxwell as Reileen Kawahara / Gina, and Ato Essandoh as Vernon Elliot, among others.
There are two primary questions we wanted to resolve if only the series returned for season three. Firstly, we're not exactly sure what's happening with Kovacs just yet. Is he dead? Is he alive? What went on with him during the end of the second season? Are we going to follow older Kovacs, or the younger version spun up by Carrera? If we're sticking with the Kovacs we've come to know and love, how did he escape being 'real-deathed' (permanently murdered with no coming back) at the end of season 2? There's so much for the showrunners to explore regarding Kovacs' fate based on the close of season 2. The other major question we're left to figure out is what's going to happen to Poe? Who's that DHF that he's got stored inside his programming? Is it our Kovacs, or is Poe finally becoming the real human that he's longed to be for so long? Now that the show is canceled, we'll be stuck here, puzzling out what could be.
This article was reviewed and is up to date as of September 1st, 2023.
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