LOS ANGELES, Feb 3 — The future is not so bright in Altered Carbon. The new Netflix television series is a sci-fi cyberpunk film noir murder mystery set in a future where the rich can live forever by downloading themselves into new bodies.

The show also contains numerous slang words like ‘sleeves’ and ‘stacks’, but don’t worry if you think you’ll find it confusing. That’s part of the fun, according to the show’s lead Joel Kinnaman.

Actor Joel Kinnaman said, "Don’t try to understand everything at once because we take our time sort of explaining all the concepts. There’s a lot of concepts that are intrinsic to the story that you have to embrace but you don’t have to understand everything at the same time and while you’re figuring everything out, there’s going to be a lot of action and entertainment to keep you hooked in.”

Actor Joel Kinnaman speaks to reporters in this screenshot taken from a video. — Reuters pic

Kinnaman plays the newly body-switched Takeshi Kovacs, a supersoldier who is hired by the future’s richest man to solve a murder mystery.

The show is based on the book of the same name by Richard K. Morgan, which has fervent fans. So, obviously the series’ showrunner is a bit nervous getting it out there.

Showrunner Laeta Kalogridis said, "The person whose expectations I was most concerned about was Richard’s and he’s watched it and he likes it so I can take a deep breath. It’s at the point where now it is what it is, the baby is born, you’re going to show it to people and they’re going to like it or not going to like it. I’m very hopeful that they’re going to love it as much as I do.”

Altered Carbon is streaming on Netflix now. — Reuters