Despite having a huge budget and a big-name lead for both seasons, 'Altered Carbon' didn't make much for a dent for Netflix.
The ambitious sci-fi / cyberpunk series, which had influences as varied as 'Blade Runner' to Edgar Allan Poe (he appears in the show as a hotel's holographic AI), has been cancelled by Netflix after two seasons. According to EW, Netflix's decision was based on poor viewership figures for the first and second season.
The basic premise was that of a sprawling story set in the far future on a distant planet where humans have been given the ability to live far longer lives than normal through a small disc implanted in their spine that holds their essence. The small disc can be transferred to a different body, or sleeve, hence why the character of Takeshi Kovacs was played by Joel Kinnaman in the first season and Anthony Mackie in the second.
The novel on which the series was based spawned two sequels, though it departed in some areas significant from the source material. That said, the first season had a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes while the second season scored much higher at 85%, which included our own positive review of it.
