Since Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner became the quintessential cyberpunk movie more than four decades ago, filmmakers have used neon-soaked skylines, giant megacities, and powerful corporations to tell prophetic stories of dystopian futures where ones and zeroes reign supreme. Movies like The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell, and Strange Days predicted a world dominated by AI, surveillance culture, and digital dependency, showcasing just how ahead of its time the sci-fi subgenre can be.
On the small screen, cyberpunk hasn’t been utilized nearly enough, mainly because the cost of producing a full-length series is astronomical. If a movie like Blade Runner 2049 cost upwards of $185 million to make in 2017, imagine what it takes to produce a show today? Thankfully, there are some — like Netflix and Apple — who are willing to invest in the genre, and the results have been pretty good thus far.
Still, cyberpunk TV shows are few and far between. At least, the good ones are. That’s why we’ve compiled a short list of three series every fan should watch at least once. Two will certainly be familiar to most, and one is an overlooked gem that’s definitely worth binge-watching when you have the time, if for nothing more than its complete understanding of the genre.
3
‘Altered Carbon’ — Netflix
Created by Laeta Kalogridis and based on Richard K. Morgan’s novel of the same name, Netflix’s Altered Carbon envisions a world where consciousness can be transferred to different bodies. As such, when a mercenary named Takeshi Kovacs is gunned down, his memory bank is revived 250 years later by a wealthy elite, Laurens Bancroft, who tasks Kovacs with investigating his own death, which he believes was murder.
Set in the 24th Century, Altered Carbon is a phenomenal series that combines elements of film noir, hard sci-fi, action, and existential drama to deliver a cyberpunk show that is hands down one of the best things Netflix has ever done. At least, the first season is. The second season? Not so much. Thankfully, you can just watch the first 10 episodes and be satisfied, but if you do decide to continue on into Season 2, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
- Release Date
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2018 – 2020-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Directors
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Alex Graves, Ciaran Donnelly, M.J. Bassett, Nick Hurran, Peter Hoar, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Uta Briesewitz, Jeremy Webb, Andy Goddard, Miguel Sapochnik
- Writers
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Brian Nelson, Garrett Lerner, Russel Friend, Steve Blackman, Adam Lash, Laeta Kalogridis, Nevin Densham, Alison Schapker
2
‘Mr. Robot’ — Tubi
Not all cyberpunk shows are created equally, and while Mr. Robot might not take place in the distant future, it does feature all the hallmarks of the genre. Its story focuses on Elliot, a cybersecurity engineer by day, and a gifted hacker by night. When he’s recruited by the hacktivist group known as “fsociety” to help destroy all debt records, Elliot finds himself wondering if he’s actually helping anyone, or becoming part of the problem.
Dealing with themes of mental health, trauma, and substance abuse, Mr. Robot might not look like your traditional cyberpunk series, but considering it has large corporations controlling the masses, a small band of rebels out to stop them, and enough real-world hacking techniques to make Anonymous blush, it will definitely satiate your need for anarchy.
- Release Date
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2015 – 2019
- Network
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USA Network
- Directors
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Jim McKay, Christoph Schrewe, Niels Arden Oplev, Nisha Ganatra, Tricia Brock
- Writers
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Sam Esmail, Adam Penn, Randolph Leon, Kor Adana, Robbie Pickering, Lucy Teitler, Kate Erickson
1
‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ — Netflix
If you thought we’d leave out what is probably the greatest cyberpunk series ever created, then you obviously don’t know us very well. Yes, it’s an animated show, but before you get your knickers in a twist, you should know that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is no “cartoon.” This is the genre at its finest, exploring things like class warfare, corporate indifference, capitalism, and identity. It has everything a cyberpunk fan could want in a TV series, including tons of action.
Based on the Cyberpunk 2077 video game, Edgerunners is a joint production between CD Projekt Red and the Japanese animation studio, Trigger. Set in Night City, its story follows David Martinez, a street kid who loses everything in a drive-by shooting, and decides to rebel against the megacorporations by becoming a high-tech, black-market mercenary known as an “edgerunner.” Comprising 10 episodes, there’s apparently more on the way, as it was announced last year that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is now in development.
- Release Date
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2022 – 2022
- Network
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Netflix
- Writers
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Mike Pondsmith, Yoshiki Usa, Masahiko Otsuka
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
