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[BrokenFiction]

http://deadline.com/2016/08/altered-carbon-james-purefoy-cast-netflix-sci-fi-series-1201798410/

Martha Higareda (Royal Pains) is set as the female lead opposite Joel Kinnaman and Hap and Leonard’s James Purefoy will co-star in Altered Carbon, Netflix’s futuristic drama series conceived, written and executive produced by Laeta Kalogridis. Also cast in the series, from Skydance Television, are Dichen Lachman (The Last Ship) and Leo Nam (Westworld).

Higareda will play Kristin Ortega, a smart and tough Lieutenant in the Bay City PD. She and her family are immigrants from the North LaTam Zone (an area that was once Mexico, Belize, Guatamala and El Salvador) and Ortega is following in the footsteps of her father, a cop who died heroically in the line of duty.

Purefoy will play Laurens Bancroft. One of the superwealthy class known as Methuselahs, Bancroft is rich, influential, and over 500 years old. He is a man of contradictions, ruthlessly powerful yet unexpectedly moral, his deep passion for all the pleasures of life matched only by his need to exert iron control over everything around him.

Lachman is Reileen Kawahara, Takeshi Kovacs’ (Kinnaman) older sister, they share a dark and violent childhood. They were killers for hire who became revolutionaries, but always stayed at each other’s side … until Reileen was killed. Nam is Stronghold Kovacs, the body Takeshi Kovacs was born into. As a young man, he joined the Uprising, fell in love, became an Envoy and then endured the loss of everyone and everything that mattered to him.

Miguel Sapochnik (Game of Thrones) will direct the first episode. Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross executive produce alongside Steve Blackman and Kalogridis’ Mythology Entertainment partners Brad Fischer and James Vanderbilt.

Based on Richard Morgan’s award-winning 2002 cyberpunk sci-fi novel, Altered Carbon is set in the 25th century when the human mind has been digitized and the soul is transferable from one body to the next. Takeshi Kovacs (Kinnaman), a former elite interstellar warrior known as an Envoy who has been imprisoned for 500 years, is downloaded into a future he’d 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.

 

[SpaceWolf]

Sounds like a bunch of Hogwarts houses.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

Is this based off something? Sounds like an adaption.

 

[BrokenFiction]

Is this based off something? Sounds like an adaption.

The book Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan. I added that into the OP.

 

[Sendero]

Miguel Sapochnik (Game of Thrones) will direct the first episode.

All that matters.

Got a lot of recommendations for "Altered Carbon". Not sure if I should try to rush and read it before the series starts, or wait.

 

[tomtom94]

"Proper" sci-fi is one area where Netflix is slightly lacking, so I'm looking forward to this. And Sapochnik directing the first episode is cool.

 

[AgentOtaku]

All that matters.

Got a lot of recommendations for "Altered Carbon". Not sure if I should try to rush and read it before the series starts, or wait.

I tried but lost interest.... I should go back at some point

Wonder how they'll handle some of the Sexier bits I read tho

 

[Coloress_Kafka]

Good casting choices that will hopefully ease the fears some people had that they wouldn't respect the books original racial backgrounds.

 

[kiri]

Purefoy is roughly how I pictured Bancroft to be in my mind so that fits. Regarding Ortega, I imagined her to be a little more grizzled/macho, something akin to Michelle Rodriguez.

 

[deadscreensky]

Big fan of the novel, and I like the casting so far, but that plot summary is disconcertingly terrible.

Also "conceived" in this context is kind of obnoxious. It would be different if the series was something radically different from the book (and with that summary, christ, maybe it is, ha) but it's an adaption!

 

[Ratrat]

The book is not nearly as good it was hyped up to be, but this should be pretty entertaining.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

The book is not nearly as good it was hyped up to be, but this should be pretty entertaining.

I could barely finish it

 

[names2hard4you]

Loved the Takeshi Kovacs series. I was happy when I saw that it was getting a show. Now I see that Miguel Sapochnik will be directing the first episode. I cannot contain my hype.

 

[BrokenFiction]

Loved the Takeshi Kovacs series. I was happy when I saw that it was getting a show. Now I see that Miguel Sapochnik will be directing the first episode. I cannot contain my hype.

Plus Skydance is producing it and with that Netflix money...so hype.

 

[Ushay]

Wow never heard of this until now. When does it debut?

 

[BrokenFiction]

Wow never heard of this until now. When does it debut?

TBA, but probably 2018.

 

[johnsmith]

Sounds like a bunch of Hogwarts houses.

I think it sounded like Pokemon

 

[Johndoey]

Oh, didn't know they were making an Altered Carbon adaptation. Cool.

 

[L00P]

ever heard of the book, but the premise sounds interesting. Will keep an eye on it

 

[names2hard4you]

Plus Skydance is producing it and with that Netflix money...so hype.

Hopefully it takes off and they do the whole series. Now that would be epic.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Good casting choices that will hopefully ease the fears some people had that they wouldn't respect the books original racial backgrounds.

"Why is Takeshi Kovacs a white dude?!" was one of the funniest missing-the-point moments on gaf.

 

[Pastry]

Wonder if they'll split the first book into multiple seasons

 

[Reeks]

Liked the book. Interested to see how it's adapted.

 

[Geist-]

Hopefully it takes off and they do the whole series. Now that would be epic.

Haven't seen a single thing that worries me about the production, so I'd be surprised if they didn't. Netflix produces sequels to worse shows.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

I think the 1st half of the book is at least interesting. The world could be interesting.

The rest I hope they make up something new.

 

[tokkun]

What was the deal with the sex scenes in this book? It was like I was reading a normal sci fi action novel, then it would suddenly turn into hardcore porn for 10 pages.

 

[Fjordson]

Huh, had no idea they were doing a series based on this. Read the book years ago and totally loved it, so looking forward to this.

 

[RS4-]

I'm not sure how I pictured Bancrofts, maybe a bit older lol, but this works. Can't wait to see how it all turns out.

 

[HStallion]

I'm just glad more and more SciFi novels and stories are being adapted as TV shows and given the proper treatment. They don't always turn out good let alone great but we've come a long way. Maybe one day we'll even get HBO's Dune or Starz Stranger in a Strange Land.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Wonder if they'll split the first book into multiple seasons

It's not that long and has a self contained narrative. I don't see a good reason to split it.

 

[berzeli]

Casual reminder that this is coming from the writer of Termynator Genysys, Pathfinder, and the Bionic Woman reboot.
(In fairness, she also wrote Shutter Island but her resume is far from impressive)

 

[Purkake4]

Loved the Takeshi Kovacs series. I was happy when I saw that it was getting a show. Now I see that Miguel Sapochnik will be directing the first episode. I cannot contain my hype.

Hopefully it takes off and they do the whole series. Now that would be epic.

For everyone's sake I hope they stay away from the other books. Altered Carbon is cool, awesome concept, ok story, but it drops off a cliff into crazytown with Broken Angels and does not come back.

What was the deal with the sex scenes in this book? It was like I was reading a normal sci fi action novel, then it would suddenly turn into hardcore porn for 10 pages.

That's a Richard K Morgan thing, I think. Try the audiobook, shit gets pretty weird.

 

[Rap2thaMoon]

Not Kinnaman, DAMN, my excitement dropped a fair bit. Couldn't Purefoy and him switch roles?

 

[Purkake4]

Just noticed, GAF's favorite doll from Dollhouse is in this.

The fox lady.

 

[JZA]

I got Altered Carbon the novel as a gift years ago during my deployment, never heard the title or the author before but really liked the book. Awesome to see that they're bringing it to Netflix.

 

[Diseased Yak]

I think the 1st half of the book is at least interesting. The world could be interesting.

The rest I hope they make up something new.

This sums up my reaction to this as well. First half is pretty great but man does it lose steam. The world in the novel has a lot of cool ideas that could work well in the right hands, though.

 

[deadscreensky]

What was the deal with the sex scenes in this book? It was like I was reading a normal sci fi action novel, then it would suddenly turn into hardcore porn for 10 pages.

A major theme of the series is examining and critiquing masculinity, so the inclusion of extreme sex and violence (and their occasional linking) is very deliberate.

It's also a pretty standard noir/pulp thing, of course. We're talking lurid exploitation here, and while Altered Carbon and particularly Woken Furies might have more on their mind, that's still the root of it all.

 

[The Shadow]

All that matters.

Got a lot of recommendations for "Altered Carbon". Not sure if I should try to rush and read it before the series starts, or wait.

I really enjoyed the book, but this sounds like it's really going to dip into stuff that wasn't in the series (Altered Carbon is the first of 3 books). You're probably ok not reading it, but I'd recommend reading it anyway. I really liked the Takeshi Kovacs series.

What was the deal with the sex scenes in this book? It was like I was reading a normal sci fi action novel, then it would suddenly turn into hardcore porn for 10 pages.

Sex happens...

Honestly didn't have a problem with it in the first book. I did in the third book though. Sudden, out of place, and borderline rapey.

 

[Purkake4]

All that matters.

Got a lot of recommendations for "Altered Carbon". Not sure if I should try to rush and read it before the series starts, or wait.

In my opinion it's always better to be familiar with the source material if you have the change. There isn't really anything very huge to "spoil" either as far as I can remember.

Read the book and enjoy the adaptation, they're complementary.

 

[Lakitu]

I'm a little nervous about this, but if they pull it off, it could be amazing.

 

[Purkake4]

I'm a little nervous about this, but if they pull it off, it could be amazing.

I see it as nothing to lose. It's not like they're ruining some classic franchise, it's just a fun action-y cyberpunk book with a few interesting ideas.

 

[partyphone]

the sex in the book is explicitly described. but so is the violence. and look which one people get hung up on...

it's Netflix so the sex scenes will probably just be R-rated. we might get to see some dong.

 

[Purkake4]

the sex in the book is explicitly described. but so is the violence. and look which one people get hung up on...

it's Netflix so the sex scenes will probably just be R-rated. we might get to see some dong.

I was pretty grossed out by that torture scene early on.

The sex part was just surprising because I wasn't expecting it. There's also a difference between being explicit and having a 10 page sex scene.

 

[partyphone]

I was pretty grossed out by that torture scene early on.

The sex part was just surprising because I wasn't expecting it. There's also a difference between being explicit and having a 10 page sex scene.

you should read The Steel Remains!

 

[HvySky]

Miguel Sapochnik (Game of Thrones) will direct the first episode

Yeah, okay, I'll watch.

 

[Purkake4]

you should read The Steel Remains!

Oh, I think I'm good. Nice to have authors with different styles though.

 

[DieH@rd]

I really hope this will end up being good. I've read all 3 books, and all of them were awesome.

For those who don't know about these books and don't like Joel Kinnaman, don't worry. Main protagonist is a elite soldier who is trained to easily "possess" bodies via brain data transfer and thus easily move from one battlefield to another across the entire reach of human civilization in the discovered space. After 1st book he's off to another body and another great story on a distant planet far from Earth.

 

[Sendero]

I tried but lost interest.... I should go back at some point

Wonder how they'll handle some of the Sexier bits I read tho

I really enjoyed the book, but this sounds like it's really going to dip into stuff that wasn't in the series (Altered Carbon is the first of 3 books). You're probably ok not reading it, but I'd recommend reading it anyway. I really liked the Takeshi Kovacs series.

Sex happens...

Honestly didn't have a problem with it in the first book. I did in the third book though. Sudden, out of place, and borderline rapey.

In my opinion it's always better to be familiar with the source material if you have the change. There isn't really anything very huge to "spoil" either as far as I can remember.

Read the book and enjoy the adaptation, they're complementary.

Thanks for the responses. Read some summaries, and somehow it seems to be different to what I initially thought.

 

[Purkake4]

I really hope this will end up being good. I've read all 3 books, and all of them were awesome.

For those who don't know about these books and don't like Joel Kinnaman, don't worry. Main protagonist is a elite soldier who is trained to easily "possess" bodies via brain data transfer and thus easily move from one battlefield to another across the entire reach of human civilization in the discovered space. After 1st book he's off to another body and another great story on a distant planet far from Earth.

Basically consciousness has been digitalized and every body had a little computer in their spine that stores, records and uploads your memories, allowing you to switch bodies as much as you want (if you can afford it).

I think it's easier to understand this way.

 

[tokkun]

Sex happens...

Honestly didn't have a problem with it in the first book. I did in the third book though. Sudden, out of place, and borderline rapey.

Lol, yes sex happens in a lot of books. These scenes are written in porno style. I wish I could find my copy so I could post some quotes.

Incidentally, I don't have a problem with people liking that stuff, I was just surprised to find it in an SFF book without warning. It was like going to a Hollywood movie and there being a 15 minute scene with full penetration.