Altered Carbon is a cyberpunk noir thriller set in a future where human consciousness can be digitized and stored in cortical stacks, allowing people to change bodies (called sleeves) like changing clothes. Based on Richard K. Morgan's novel, the series follows Takeshi Kovacs, a former soldier turned investigator, as he navigates a world where death has been conquered but inequality has become absolute.
The world-building is extraordinary. In this future, the wealthy can afford to backup their consciousness and download into new sleeves when they die, achieving immortality. The poor, meanwhile, can sell their bodies and live in degraded sleeves that break down over time. This premise allows the show to explore issues of identity, consciousness, and class with a directness that pure science fiction makes possible.
Joel Kinnaman plays Kovacs in the first season, bringing a world-weary intensity to the role. The supporting cast includes James Purefoy as the immortal Laurens Bancroft, a man who asks Kovacs to investigate his own murder, and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Quellcrist Falconer, the revolutionary who created the technology that made Kovacs who he is.
The second season moved to Anthony Mackie as Kovacs in a new sleeve, but struggled to recapture the first season's momentum. Despite this, the first season stands as a landmark of cyberpunk television, with production design that creates a lived-in, dangerous future that rivals Blade Runner.
Altered Carbon is essential for fans of hard-boiled sci-fi noir. It's violent, philosophical, and visually stunning.