Based on the classic cyberpunk noir novel by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon, the latest Netflix sci-fi original series, is an intriguing story of murder, love, sex, and betrayal, set more than 300 years in the future. Society has been transformed by new technology: consciousness can be digitized; human bodies are interchangeable; death is no longer permanent. Brought back to life after 250 years by Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy) the richest man on Earth, ex-Envoy soldier Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman / Will Yun Lee) must solve Bancroft's attempted murder for the chance to live again in a world he doesn't recognize.
Takeshi Kovacs is the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned, "on ice", for centuries until Laurens Bancroft, an impossibly wealthy, long-lived man, offers Kovacs the chance to live again. The Netflix series cast is lead by Joel Kinnaman as Takeshi Kovacs and James Purefoy as Laurens Bancroft, with a supporting cast that includes Dichen Lachman as Reileen Kawahara, Takeshi Kovacs' older sister, who she shares a dark and violent childhood. Adam Busch plays Mickey, a brilliant, acerbic computer technician working for the Bay City Police Department, who despite his sarcastic demeanor, will do anything he can to track this killer. Tamara Taylor plays Oumou Prescott, a very powerful, whip-smart lawyer who represents Laurens Bancroft, while Kristin Lehman stars as Miriam Bancroft, the wife of the wealthy, over-500-year-old Laurens Bancroft, who has lived for 250 years, and will do whatever it takes to survive another 1,000 years. Byron Mann plays O.G. Kovacs, the last of the legendary intergalactic warriors known as Envoys.
The cast is rounded out by Trieu Tran as Mister Leung, Chris Conner as Poe, Ato Essandoh as Vernon Elliot, Martha Higareda as Kristin Ortega, Leonardo Nam as Stronghold Kovacs and Renee Elise Goldsberry as Quellcrist Falconer. Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar) created the series and serves as executive producer alongside Brad Fischer, Dana Goldberg, David Ellison, Garrett Lerner, James Vanderbilt, Marcy Ross and Russel Friend, with Arnie Messer and Mike Medavoy serving as producers. Miguel Sapochnik, best known for his work on HBO's Game of Thrones, including the upcoming final season, directed the pilot episode.