Netflix smashes Altered Carbon's stack, cancels sci-fi series after two seasons

Altered Carbon: season 2
(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has pulled the plug on its much-hyped cyberpunk series Altered Carbon after two seasons and an animated movie, as revealed in an exclusive report from Deadline.

According to the report, it's believed that the show's cancellation "is not Covid-related but stems from the streamer’s standard viewership vs. cost renewal review process." 

In other words, the number of viewers the show's second season managed to retain did not justify the cost of producing a third season in Netflix's eyes.

What went wrong?

Despite a stellar first season, Altered Carbon's second season was not as well-received by viewers, with many fans bemoaning the show's lowered budget and changes in cast and showrunner as the reasons for its fall from grace.

Picking up 30 years after the first season's conclusion, Altered Carbon: Season 2 saw actor Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) replace Joel Kinnaman (The Suicide Squad) as lead character Takeshi Kovacs.

While the casting shake-up fit perfectly with the futuristic body-swapping theme of the show, the change in tone it brought did make the show's second season arguably feel like an entirely different series in the eyes of fans.

Stephen Lambrechts
Senior Journalist, Phones and Entertainment

Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar's Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He's obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible. 

He's also likely to talk a person’s ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he's most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga.

Latest in Netflix
Wonka poster
Netflix cooks up sweet new reality TV series based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it's a dream come true for me
Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham) looks as his anxious son Jamie (Owen Cooper) in a prison cell.
Netflix's #1 show Adolescence is one of the best crime dramas I've seen – here are 3 more with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes
Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore, swinging a golf club while a crowd watches
Netflix confirms Happy Gilmore's long-awaited comeback in new trailer, and I hope it won't be a swing and a miss
A still from Netflix's new miniseries Adolescence starring Stephen Graham
Adolescence is the TV show of the year – here’s why the Netflix crime drama had me gripped from start to finish
Sakata in Demon City holds a large cleaver-like weapon
Demon City on Netflix is Japan's answer to John Wick with a dash of Oldboy, and it rocks
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
Latest in News
A phone showing a ChatGPT app error message
ChatGPT is down for many – here's what's going on
AirPods Max with USB-C in every color
Apple's AirPods Max with USB-C will get lossless audio in April, but you'll need to go wired
A woman sitting in a chair looking at a Windows 11 laptop
It looks like Microsoft might have thought better about banishing Copilot AI shortcut from Windows 11
US flags
US government IT contracts set to be centralized in new Trump order
Tesla Roadster 2
Tesla is still taking deposits on its long overdue Roadster, despite promising it would arrive in 2020
Samsung HW-Q990D soundbar with Halloween theme over the top
Samsung promises to repair soundbars bricked by its disastrous software update for free – but it'll probably involve shipping