Altered Carbon (Netflix series)
Hacker ApprovedRanked 6 of 19 science fiction TV series by recommenders
Fans praise the first season and its cyberpunk world, but critics found later seasons weaker and the show was cancelled.
Fans praise the first season and its cyberpunk world, but critics found later seasons weaker and the show was cancelled.
30 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 77%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strong first season
“altered carbon season 1 is amazing. IMHO commit to watching it 3x to get everything going on”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “Greenland sharks maintain vision for centuries through DNA repair mechanism” “Reminds me of Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan”
Comment from 6 Jun 2026 in “When AI Builds Itself” “The first season of Altered Carbon was great.”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros” - Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Neuromancer (TV Series) – IMDB”
- Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, Song of Kali, dead at 77”
Thought-provoking futuristic ideas
“An example of what kind of crowd density and aesthetic I think is necessary for big populated cities can be seen in Altered Carbon”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Cyberpunk Video Games” “focuses (partially) on this topic: if we get rid of death, then the worst of the aristocracy never dies.”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “Greenland sharks maintain vision for centuries through DNA repair mechanism” “For a cool fictional portrayal of AI businesses, Altered Carbon touched upon it somewhat.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “CEO fired developers to make room for AI. Developers create open source AI CEO” - Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “(AI) Slop Terrifies Me”
Fans of the source novel
“An interesting fictional book that has this idea as part of the story”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?” “Reminds me of Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan”
Comment from 6 Jun 2026 in “When AI Builds Itself” “they mangled the plot and motivations of every character nearly beyond recognition”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros” Good show even without books
“The tv show is actually really good from someone who did not read the books.”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever. What If They Could?” “I recommend the TV serie Altered Carbon.”
Comment from 9 Jun 2026 in “Forever Young: how one molecule can lock plants in a youthful state.(2025)” “My goodness, what a show that was.”
Comment from 13 Oct 2026 in “Blood cells from 80-year-old donor become stem cells with molecular age under 20”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Disappointing overall
“Altered Carbon was such a huge disappointment that I'm going to skip this one.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Neuromancer (TV Series) – IMDB” “Altered Carbon was such a huge disappointment”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Neuromancer (TV Series) – IMDB” “I was, to put it mildly, disappointed.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” Plot and characters mangled
“after the slaughterhouse they've made with 3 Body Problem, Foundation, Altered Carbon”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, Song of Kali, dead at 77” “they mangled the plot and motivations of every character nearly beyond recognition”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros”
Other science fiction TV series people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction TV series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | 88 | 19 | 82% | 13 | — | Approved |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | 59 | 9 | 87% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Expanse | 51 | 12 | 81% | 13 | — | Approved |
| The Culture seriesby Iain M. Banks | 38 | 5 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Altered Carbon (Netflix series)This page | 23 | 7 | 77% | 10 | — | Approved |
What people said
27 of the 33 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“My goodness, what a show that was.”
“those I revisit and watch when and if I've got time”
“For a cool fictional portrayal of AI businesses, Altered Carbon touched upon it somewhat.”
“An example of what kind of crowd density and aesthetic I think is necessary for big populated cities can be seen in Altered Carbon”
“I loved Altered Carbon Season 1, but couldn't get into Season 2 and never finished it.”
“I liked Altered Carbon, at least season 1.”
“Altered Carbon was such a huge disappointment that I'm going to skip this one.”
“Altered Carbon was such a huge disappointment”
“Books are most of the time better than the movie as your own fantasy and imagination just makes it so.”
“I recommend the TV serie Altered Carbon.”
“a cancelled series on Netflix that had an awesome first season”
“Reminds me of Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan”
“The tv show is actually really good from someone who did not read the books.”
“An interesting fictional book that has this idea as part of the story”
“altered carbon season 1 was pretty good?”
“after the slaughterhouse they've made with 3 Body Problem, Foundation, Altered Carbon”
“Watch, or read "altered carbon" for a taste of that future.”
“altered carbon season 1 is amazing. IMHO commit to watching it 3x to get everything going on”
“focuses (partially) on this topic: if we get rid of death, then the worst of the aristocracy never dies.”
“which does things a lot better than "In Time"”
“I was, to put it mildly, disappointed.”
“I couldn't get past the awful sex scenes”
“I'm still upset with how quickly shows get cancelled nowadays, like the axed Altered Carbon”
“Maybe it's because I loved the books”
“they mangled the plot and motivations of every character nearly beyond recognition”
“Man a second season would be so great.”
“The first season of Altered Carbon was great.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.