The Cowboy Bebop Netflix TV show will finally release this year

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It's been a long time coming

Behind the scenes: Cowboy Bebop
(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has confirmed that its live-action adaptation of the anime Cowboy Bebop will finally release in 'Fall 2021' – so, some time in the final few months of the year. The show will also feature music from original series composer Yoko Kanno, Netflix confirmed.

This was all confirmed during Netflix's Geeked week, which is spotlighting particularly nerdy upcoming content from the streamer's library. Cowboy Bebop has been a long time coming – production started all the way back in 2019, before pausing due to star John Cho injuring his knee. Filming then continued in late 2020, before wrapping up in March 2021.

Check out the announcement below:

The series stars Cho as Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine. And yes, for fans of the show, it will feature an actual corgi playing the role of the iconic dog from the series, Ein.

Will it be any good?

Writer Christopher Yost, who has credits on two of the Thor movies and The Mandalorian, is an executive producer of this show. Cowboy Bebop is one of the most internationally popular anime series there is – it was released back in 1997-1998 and, for many western viewers, it was their 'gateway' series into anime. 

Its reputation has only really grown in the intervening years. And Netflix has really taken the time to get this right – when the adaptation gets here, it will have been more than two years since the cast of the show was announced. 

Getting details right like hiring the original composer bodes well, and this can't be a small budget show to pull off the kind of sci-fi imagery we know from the anime. This could be Netflix's biggest new show of the year.

Here's a glimpse of the show's set from all the way back in October 2019: 

Samuel Roberts
Samuel Roberts

Samuel is a PR Manager at game developer Frontier. Formerly TechRadar's Senior Entertainment Editor, he's an expert in Marvel, Star Wars, Netflix shows and general streaming stuff. Before his stint at TechRadar, he spent six years at PC Gamer. Samuel is also the co-host of the popular Back Page podcast, in which he details the trials and tribulations of being a games magazine editor – and attempts to justify his impulsive eBay games buying binges.