Altered Carbon is a fan-favorite cyberpunk show with two seasons and an anime movie streaming on Netflix. Will the show get a third season?

After enjoying two seasons of the mainline story and a standalone anime spinoff, fans are still waiting for Altered Carbon season 3. Upon its initial release on Netflix, Altered Carbon was praised by critics for its complex themes and gorgeous visual style evoking Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell. While it wasn’t a hit of Stranger Things or Bridgerton proportions, Altered Carbon earned a limited but loyal fan following. The show’s second season set the stage for Altered Carbon season 3 with a burgeoning revolution storyline, but that third season has yet to happen.

Adapted from the Richard K. Morgan cyberpunk novel of the same name, Altered Carbon is a sci-fi neo-noir mystery series about a man’s search for his lost love. The show’s distant future setting, in a world where a person's consciousness can be transferred into different bodies, allowed the producers to cast a new lead actor in each season: season 1 starred Joel Kinnaman while season 2 of Altered Carbon starred Anthony Mackie. This gimmick could’ve kept the show going for years, with a new A-lister in the lead role each time. But fans of the series are still waiting for Altered Carbon season 3.

Altered Carbon Was Canceled & Will Not Return For Season 3

After two seasons and the anime spinoff movie Resleeved, Netflix canceled Altered Carbon, so season 3 won’t be happening – at least not at Netflix. Altered Carbon ​​​​​​season 2 had a smaller episode count than the first season — eight episodes, down from season 1’s more ambitious 10-episode order — signifying a lack of faith from Netflix. At the time, the streamer had recently canceled The Society and I Am Not OK with This due to COVID-related obstacles, but the Altered Carbon cancelation was reportedly not COVID-related.

The cancelation of Altered Carbon wasn’t a total surprise, as it was one of Netflix’s most expensive shows. With its futuristic setting and epic scope, Altered Carbon could only be produced on a blockbuster budget. Original star Joel Kinnaman said that Altered Carbon season 1 had a “bigger budget than the first three seasons of Game of Thrones” (via The Guardian). A small but dedicated fan base can’t justify that kind of spending. Altered Carbon would need to be one of Netflix’s most popular shows, with viewing figures to rival Stranger Things or The Crown, for its production costs to be sustainable.

Showrunner Alison Schapker Still Has Hope That Season 3 Could Happen

Writer Alison Schapker took over as showrunner for Altered Carbon season 2 following season 1 showrunner Laeta Kalogridis’s departure. Schapker has described her “heartbreak” over the cancelation and expressed hope for an Altered Carbon revival. The cancelation was a shock to Schapker because the scripts for Altered Carbon season 3 had already been written. She said, “We had a great season 3 written,” and added, “I still harbor a dream that someday, somebody will come knocking and want to continue that story.” From Arrested Development to Twin Peaks, revivals have become popular in the modern TV landscape, so Altered Carbon season 3 may get made one day.