Altered Carbon Fans Must Watch This Sci-Fi Animated Series On Netflix

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of discovering a new series on Netflix that feels as if it was made with oneself in mind as the target audience. For fans of shows like Altered Carbon, Westworld, or anything that deals with cyberpunk themes like digitally transferred consciousness, this animated sci-fi gem from Titmouse and AMC should be on your watchlist.

The animation market for adults is going through a confusing phase, particularly on Netflix, or just the streaming side of things. Shows like Arcane have made it big, with its recent second season topping the global Top 10 charts. Meanwhile, other lesser-known but equally good titles have struggled to stay afloat. However, the streaming giant has been actively acquiring some solid sci-fi animation titles, such as the show in question: Pantheon.

Pantheon Should Be Your Next Animated Sci-Fi Show

What Is Pantheon Based On?

Pantheon is all about Uploaded Intelligence (UI) – a concept that goes beyond AI – where real human consciousness is uploaded and run on servers. It explores the idea of overcoming death through technology and delves into its broader implications, such as ethics and corporate greed.

The show is based on short stories by Hugo Award-winning sci-fi writer Ken Liu, whose work Good Hunting was adapted into Love, Death & Robots. Pantheon currently has two seasons with eight episodes each, featuring a substantial 40-minute average runtime. The first season alone is now streaming on Netflix, which has reignited interest in the series.

Logline And Plot Details

The show might sound vast and dystopian at first, but it’s a deeply personal story of two teenagers, Maddie Kim and Caspian Keyes. Maddie grapples with the grief of her father David’s death, only to discover the truth about his consciousness being digitally uploaded to tech company Logorhythms’ cloud network. Meanwhile, Caspian uncovers a Truman Show-esque revelation about his own life and identity, which is directly connected to the life of Logorhythms’ founder, Stephen Holstrom. The two of them cross paths and find themselves at the center of a looming global uprising and societal collapse.

Who Are The People Behind Pantheon?

Pioneers In Adult Animation

Pantheon is helmed by Craig Silverstein, marking his first venture into animation after shows like The Dead Zone and Nikita. The series is produced by Chris Prynoski, known for cult-favorite animated series like MotorCity, The Midnight Gospel, and Moonbeam City. AMC greenlit two seasons, but canceled the show after just one, reportedly as part of a tax write-off at the end of 2022. This led to Amazon Prime Video picking up the second season for release. Currently, the debut of the first season on Netflix hints that the platform might be evaluating its performance for a possible acquisition and new season order.

Ensemble Voice Cast

The adult animated sci-fi drama boasts a stacked voice cast that rivals any Hollywood blockbuster ensemble. With Katie Chang and Paul Dano voicing the teen protagonists, the cast also includes names like Aaron Eckhart, Daniel Dae Kim, Rosemarie DeWitt, Chris Diamantopoulos, Maude Apatow, Thomasin McKenzie, Taylor Schilling, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. The late William Hurt lent his voice to Stephen Holstrom, the Steve Jobs-like genius visionary who died from cancer before perfecting his UI concept.

Is Pantheon Worth Watching?

Sci-Fi Themes & Ideas

Pantheon raises dark, serious questions, such as how far ruthless corporations might go to exploit their employees even after their physical death. As the title suggests, it also examines the consequences of humans playing Gods and pursuing immortality. The show avoids typical “hacker” sci-fi clichés, and captures internet culture. It even includes socially relevant ideas like cyberbullying and conspiracy theories. At its core, though, it’s about what people would do to spend just a little more time with the ones they love.

Unique Animation Style

Themes aside, Pantheon stands out for its ability to switch between a subdued animation style for realistic portions and inventive action sequences set in the digital world. Despite its high-concept sci-fi ideas, the show retains raw humanity by presenting the real-world sequences in a fairly normal, non-dystopian setting in 2001 — almost like a live-action family drama. At the same time, it satisfies imaginative cravings with wild battles in surreal, physics-defying spaces, often resembling a World of Warcraft-like game.

Future Of Pantheon And Other Animated Shows For Adults

Will There Be A Third Season For Pantheon On Netflix?

The answer to that question depends on the audience. The show needs viewership numbers not just to achieve commercial success or win awards, but simply to survive. In a 2022 interview with Animation Magazine, Juno Lee, one of Titmouse’s directors whose credits include Pantheon and Star Trek: Lower Decks, shared his thoughts:

I hope we are allowed to make more shows in the same vein. Animation is another medium for telling stories, and it’s not just for kids. When people ask, ‘Why is this animated? It feels like a live-action show!’ the answer is, ‘Well, why doesn’t it have to be animated?’

Recently, Netflix revived the acclaimed sci-fi animated series Scavengers Reign from Max, only to cancel it again before a second season renewal. Simply put, if the world wants more shows like Pantheon, it must support them through viewership. Audiences need to prove there’s an appetite for adult animation content that pushes boundaries.