This isn’t a trailer—that’s coming in a week. It’s a “Lost Session.” Whatever you want to call it, this new look at Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop is clever, cartoony in the right ways, and includes a very important bowl of noodles—and it suggests the show is going to do a lot of things right.
Here’s the synopsis for the series:
Cowboy Bebeop is an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka “cowboys,” all trying to outrun the past. As different as they are deadly, Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) form a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals — for the right price. But they can only kick and quip their way out of so many scuffles before their pasts finally catch up with them.
The “Lost Session” is like a micro episode, spotlighting the kicking and quipping as Spike, Jet, and Faye argue about who’s going to go after a bounty, who the bounty is, and whether noodles come first. A rather menacing voice distracts Spike for a moment—but we’re quickly back to delightful meta-action that at one point sees a comic-booky black bar become a weapon. Plus John Cho flying through the air in a blue suit while doing an epic kick. The kicking is good, is what I’m saying. And the punchline is magnificent.
Showrunner André Nemec (High Fidelity, Zoo) described the series as an “expansion to the canon” of the original Bebop, and the opening credits are full of references to the original show’s credits (along with music by returning composer Yoko Kanno). Everyone looks extremely cool, also, which is key.
Cowboy Bebop lands on Netflix on November 19th.
Buy the Book
Comfort Me With Apples
