Apple TV's Upcoming Cyberpunk Series Based On The Seminal Sci-Fi Novel Neuromancer Will Save A Dying Genre

Apple TV+’s upcoming adaptation of Neuromancer could be so good that it revives the cyberpunk genre. For years now, Apple TV+ has been at the cutting edge of science fiction. So many Apple TV+ original shows have gained acclaim in various areas of sci-fi, but the streamer has only started to dip its toes into cyberpunk.

Part of the reason Apple TV+ doesn’t have a great example of a cyberpunk TV show yet is because the genre is dying, to an extent. After the highs of Blade Runner 2049 and Cyberpunk: Edgerunner, there hasn’t been a great cyberpunk story on the big or small screen in a long time. Apple TV+’s upcoming cyberpunk show, however, could change that and change the trajectory of the entire genre in the process.

Cyberpunk TV Shows Have Historically Struggled

Historically, cyberpunk as a genre has had a lot of trouble on the small screen. Cyberpunk movies often do quite well and go down in science fiction history, from Blade Runner and its sequel to Akira, RoboCop, and more. Cyberpunk shows, however, don’t enjoy the same level of success. That’s not to say there aren’t great cyberpunk show, only to say that it’s much harder to make a successful cyberpunk show.

Apple TV’s Hit Sci-Fi Series Will Become More Cyberpunk In Season 2

Apple TV+’s Murderbot started out as a science fiction comedy, but it will get a lot closer to a cyberpunk show that could compete with Neuromancer.

Cyberpunk television shows are often expensive and niche, which makes it hard for them to gain a large following. Creating the neon and rain-drenched streets of the far future is an expensive endeavor, as is all the technology of that future. Cyberpunk is also a very bleak and dystopian genre, which doesn’t appeal to many casual viewers. The genre is depressing, and not many people want to watch a depressing show.

There are plenty of examples of this. Altered Carbon was a great show, but it didn’t have the viewership to justify the cost of creating it, so it was canceled after just two seasons. The same goes for Krypton, which was canceled after two seasons. Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop had its own problems with writing and visual effects, but it, too, had a sky-high budget without drawing in the viewers to support it.

Apple TV’s Sci-Fi Track Record Proves Neuromancer Is In Good Hands

Lee Pace in front of an army in Foundation

If there is a cyberpunk television show that can break the genre’s trend of failure, it’s Neuromancer. Based on William Gibson’s classic novel, Neuromancer is lauded as one of the most influential and acclaimed cyberpunk stories ever told. The only problem with Neuromancer is that it will be incredibly hard to adapt from page to screen faithfully, but that problem is already being dealt with.

Apple TV+ is adapting Neuromancer, and the streaming service’s track record with sci-fi shows that they’ll do a good job with it. Apple TV+ has cemented itself as the prestige streamer for original sci-fi shows. The list of Apple TV+’s best sci-fi shows has a lot of overlap with the list of the best sci-fi shows in general. Severance, Foundation, Silo, Murderbot, For All Mankind, and more are proof that Apple TV+ knows how to handle this genre.

Silo and Murderbot are the best examples of why Apple TV+ can handle Neuromancer. Both shows are based on acclaimed science fiction books, and both of them have become critical and audience darlings. Silo and Murderbot are proof that Apple TV+ as a streaming service is masterful at preserving the core of a story and translating it into a visual medium faithfully and in a worthwhile way.

Neuromancer Can Become Apple TV’s Next Big Thing

If Apple TV+ can handle Neuromancer as well as it has handled its other science fiction properties, it could become the next big sci-fi sensation. Neuromancer is regarded as a seminal cyberpunk classic for a reason. It presents a fully-realized world that is equal parts depressing and visionary, it literally pioneered some of the main foundations of the cyberpunk subgenre, and it’s just a thrilling story.

Everything about Neuromancer, from its high tech cyberscapes to the utter humanity of its characters, indicates that it could be a hit show if done right. Science fiction is more popular than it has been in years, and dystopian fiction has made a recent resurgence. Now is the perfect time for Neuromancer, and Apple TV+ is the perfect streamer to revive cyberpunk on the small screen.