Cultivated meat (CM) is surrounded by promises about its positive impact on animal welfare, climate, public health, and food safety but also by uncertainties about its sustainability, affordability, and impact on power relations in the food sector. This contribution stems from the EU-funded project “PRISM-LT” and focuses on public perceptions of CM. It reflects on methodological approaches to identify the CM hype and examine its impact based on a media analysis from the Netherlands and Germany. The hype around CM may have contributed to short-term but rapidly drying up private investments, exaggerated fears among the public and agricultural stakeholders, and political backlash including legislative bans. Because of, or despite the controversies, there are relatively few TA projects and reports on CM. Such projects sometimes come with a rather narrow thematic, geographic, and methodological focus. A global TA approach involving stakeholders and the public could help foster cooperation, tackle technological challenges, and contribute to an evidence-based debate on the feasibility and desirability of CM.