10 TV Shows That Actually Benefited From Bad Acting

Netflix's prematurely-cancelled Altered Carbon might be the textbook example of a style-over-substance TV show: beautifully shot, thematically rich, and yet ultimately failing to realise the full potential of its ambition.

One of the chief complaints among critics and viewers alike was the mediocre performances from the show's leads - Joel Kinnaman in the first season and Anthony Mackie in the second.

Both Kinnaman and Mackie are talented actors, no question, and yet as the "re-sleeved" host bodies for protagonist Takeshi Kovacs (Will Yun Lee), each resolutely failed to convince.

Kinnaman's hard-boiled take on Kovacs aimed for brooding but ended up feeling dull and wooden, and though Mackie's subsequent portrayal felt more alive, it wasn't remotely consistent with the character we were introduced to previously.

And yet, this disconnect between the two performances ends up unintentionally playing into the show's central theme of identity - the notion that a guy being constantly swapped into different sleeves might seem inconsistent and off-kilter totally works.

It's just a shame Netflix cancelled the show before season three, which would've most likely featured Will Yun Lee as the "Prime" Kovacs and basically reconciled the three performances into one.