We took a lot of risks, Kalogridis says.
There isnt any good art without risk and we definitely put ourselves out there.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This show has so much going on.
Credit: Netflix
Which isnt necessarily easy to understand.
And theres some current-day political commentary too.
What was the biggest stumbling block getting the project made previously?
This took you many years.
So its complexity plus tone.
What excites you most about the story?Short version: Everything.
Longer version: Its very different than whats in this space.
I love that the story leans into questions of identity.
I once heard the budget onAltered Carbonwas $150 million.
If anything it looks like more than that.
But if true, that would make this the most expensive first-year show of all time.
How close is that number?Not.
I dont know where that number came from but its complete bulls.
Im flattered it looks like that.
We have a really healthy and ambitious budget but not history-making.
But I would love to have that budget.
I think you should call Netflix and tell them we should have that budget if we get another season!
I had not thought of it that way, honestly, but thats quite funny.
There have been two bits of pre-release controversy that we should talk about.
We toggle back and forth between present-day Kovacs and Kovacs of the past.
But in his head and in the book you might see this he thinks of himself as Asian.
you’re free to experience that in the first-person narrative in a book that you cant visually.
Casting your lead is so crucial.
He has a phenomenal presence.
That fit the Kovacs whos been on ice for 250 years.
But the show is absolutely dystopic.
If anybody thinks Im putting forth a future that I hope we have, I am not.
This is a cautionary tale.
And in creating this story, the violence is absolutely equal opportunity.
Reileen [Dichen Lachman] is not a victim.
The second piece is that this is a cautionary tale about where we are now.
The show is absolutely saying this is a class and gender issue both.
This is a future thats not desirable.
Its not what we want.
Netflix releases season 1 of Altered Carbon on Friday, Feb. 2.
