Why Altered Carbon Was Cancelled after Just 2 Seasons

On a positive note, Altered Carbon isn’t ending due to Cancel Culture or anything along those lines, which is fortunate since it’s been one of Netflix’s big hits that people have responded to in a big way. But it is pulling up stakes since the show is a bit costly to make and the viewership for season 2 apparently hasn’t been quite enough to keep the ball rolling so to speak, meaning that Netflix is looking to cut its losses and pull the plug before losing any more money that might not be gain the kind of return they want. Unfortunately in show business one has to realize that when too much money is going out and not enough is coming in the show is pretty much over and it’s time to move on to the next idea. What will come next in this instance though is kind of hard to fathom at this time since Altered Carbon felt like a winner when it first came out and the second season appeared to be on its way forward even with the switch from Joel Kinnaman to Anthony Mackie, which wasn’t a horrible switch really since both actors are pretty good at what they do and it’s been felt that Mackie put a little more emotion into the role. Whoever people prefer though the story was pretty sound and the idea was intriguing since it utilized elements of storytelling that were capable of pulling people in from start to finish.

But the second season didn’t keep the same number of viewers for some reason, which is hard to believe, but the proof is in the doing since Netflix hasn’t been shy about pulling the plug. Not a lot of people are happy about this, but it’s kind of odd to think that not that many people have been watching the show since it was made into a big deal when the season started up. What happened in between then and now is kind of a mystery, but the only answer that anyone really has at this point is that viewership was down. There had to be something else going on, maybe nothing bad really, but something else that made Netflix execs believe that it was better to pull everything and move on instead of riding it out to see how things could go. When shows go off the air there’s usually a solid reason, and it could be that we’ve already heard it and don’t want to accept it, but low viewership feels like something that could be remedied if someone really believed in the show. Still, without knowing much more it’s all just a bunch of talk, and accepting the fact that the show is ending is a wiser course at this moment than trying to petition to bring it back. If the show does return at some point it’s a safe bet that a lot of people will be paying close attention to see what happens and when it will release. But until then Netflix has so many other shows that it’s a little hard to be worried about it.

That might sound a little callous but it’s the unfettered truth since Netflix is home to a great number of series and movies that can be selected by subscribers to enjoy. While Altered Carbon might be missed initially and even a while after it’s gone, people are going to be more likely to see what else is on and will gladly watch something else when their favorite shows and movies aren’t on. It’s the nature of the audience, we tend to move on when we’re not being entertained in the way we expect from one source. It’s not so much of a slight as it is a constant need of many audience members to move from one show or movie to another. It is likely that Altered Carbon will stay on Netflix for now so that people can watch seasons 1 and 2 as much as they want, but it doesn’t sound like there might be even the consideration of moving forward with another season at a later date. If it does happen that would be great, but for now a lot of people are kind of in the dumps thanks to this news. Folks will get over it, after all, it’s one show among many, but the truth is that no show on streaming is ever really safe since a lot of them take a good deal of money to produce and if the viewers aren’t willing to log on and watch then there’s a good chance that the show isn’t going to last that long. Hopefully, this won’t keep happening to that many shows, but in the streaming wars, it’s already becoming uncertain just who’s going to pull ahead and who’s bound to start losing subscribers.