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In the latest news regarding Netflix, there is not going to be a 3rd season of the mind-bending sci-fi series “Altered Carbon.” Netflix has refused to order another season, causing much distress and uproar among fans. Sources say that the pandemic had nothing to do with the cancellation of the show; however, the viewership was not profitable enough to cover the expenses and cost of the renewal process.
Cast and Storyline
Altered Carbon first aired on Netflix in February 2018, created by Laeta Kalogridis adapted from the novel written by the English author Richard K. Morgan. The basic concept of this series is the ability to transfer consciousness from one body to another upon death and thus a rich family appoints Takeshi Kovacs (played by Joel Kinnaman and Anthony Mackie), who is a former soldier turned investigator to solve a murder.
The second season aired in February 2020, and Netflix also released an anime film adaptation of the series in March 2020.
Apart from Kinnaman and Mackie, the series’ main cast consists of Renée Elise Goldsberry as Quellcrist Falconer, Chris Conner as Poe, and Will Yun Lee as Stronghold Kovacs, with many side-characters recurring throughout the series like Lela Loren, Simone Missick, Dina Shihabi, Torben Liebrecht and James Saito.
Altered Carbon: Resleeved
The spin-off anime film that Netflix ordered and released in March 2020, is named Altered Carbon: Resleeved. The idea behind the film is to expand the universe related to this series. The animation was based on the designs of the manga artist Yasuo Ōtagaki and was a hit among the pre-existing as well as new fan bases. The main character Takeshi Kovacs was voiced by Ray Chase.
Reasons for Cancellation of Altered Carbon season 3
Along with the COVID pandemic scare causing trouble in the industry regarding release dates, customer trends, and other factors, Altered Carbon had other reasons to be pulled off shortly after the release of its anime film.
Sources inform that the series encountered a sudden budget crisis with unexpected increases and complications in managing big-screen stars in pandemic times. The decision to shut down the show was apparently made in April,200l but the official announcement came in August, which made fans amiss.
Cindy Holland, Netflix’s Vice President at original programming, announced that the viewership count was not satisfactory compared to the series renewal costs. At the Television Critics Association, she also shared that the major deciding factors included the social status of the show and the audience fan-base diversity.
Since Altered Carbon required large amounts of special and visual effects, it is well known that the show was expensive to make. Some reports put the expenses of Altered Carbon at $7 million per episode.
Netflix focuses on increasing its subscriber base while keeping its original content open to a larger audience. Although the ratings for Altered Carbon were high, it did not reach the top ten most popular shows of the year since the first season aired in 2018. With the introduction of the “cost-plus” model with Netflix finance, the rules about renewing expensive shows are stricter than ever.
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