# Altered Carbon (2018)

> A paroled ex-soldier is resleeved into a new body to solve a murder that could win his freedom in a violent cyberpunk future.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/60059

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 54 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: science fiction, crime, drama
- Created by: Laeta Kalogridis
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Anthony Mackie, Martha Higareda, James Purefoy, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Chris Conner, Dichen Lachman, Kristin Lehman
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2261227/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: dense
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: gritty, cynical, violent, melancholic, mind bending

## What critics say

Viewers praise the bold cyberpunk world and the strong first season, while the shorter, less focused second season is seen as a drop in quality.

## Synopsis

Altered Carbon (2018-2020) is a American streaming science fiction noir series created by Laeta Kalogridis for Netflix. Joel Kinnaman plays Takeshi Kovacs, a former elite soldier and resistance fighter who wakes up after 250 years in storage and is placed in a new body by a wealthy immortal family led by Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy). His one chance at freedom is to solve a murder that seems impossible to crack. Along the way he teams up with a police detective, Kristin Ortega (Martha Higareda), and deals with the rebel Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry) and Poe (Chris Conner), an artificial intelligence hotel manager. The engine of the show is a hard-boiled investigation through bodies that can be bought, stolen, and digitally copied, with each episode peeling back another layer of corruption in the crowded city of Bay City. The show runs for two seasons across eighteen episodes and is set in a far future where consciousness is stored in digital stacks and moved between sleeves. Fans of Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell and Westworld will find resonance in its neo noir atmosphere, brutal action and philosophical unease. Its tone is gritty, cynical and violent, with an undercurrent of melancholy about mortality and class, and the mind-bending plotting rewards close attention from start to finish.

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