Netflix has picked up a 10-episode series, “Altered Carbon,” based on the 2002 book of the same name. The sci-fi series hails from Skydance Television with Laeta Kalogridis writing, exec producing and serving as showrunner. Kalogridis co-wrote the screenplays for Leonardo DiCaprio’s “Shutter Island,” plus “Terminator Genisys” and she’s attached to the sequel for the latter.
Based on Richard K. Morgan’s novel, “Altered Carbon” is set in the 25th century. In the futuristic story, the human mind has been digitized and the soul is transferable from one body to the next. Takeshi Kovacs, a former elite interstellar warrior known as an Envoy who has been imprisoned for 500 years, is downloaded into a future he had tried to stop. If he can solve a single murder in a world where technology has made death nearly obsolete, he’ll get a chance at a new life on Earth.
Along with Kalogridis, Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross will also serve as exec producers.
“Altered Carbon” marks a growing slate of Netflix’s dramatic programming, following the psychological thriller “Gypsy.” However, exemplifying the company’s diverse content, Norman Lear’s “One Day At A Time” recently landed a modernized, Latino-twisted reboot at Netflix, which also just ordered a comedy centering around YouTube character Miranda Sings.
The straight-to-series order for “Altered Carbon” gives weight to Netflix boss Ted Sarandos’ recent statements, regarding the streaming giant’s spending plan for this year — at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif. this past weekend, Sarandos said that Netflix would spend about $6 billion on content this year, encompassing original series and movies and acquisitions.
No launch date for “Altered Carbon” has been set.
