Highlights
- Stream the compelling Netflix series 3 Body Problem on March 21, 2024 for an intriguing take on aliens and existential threats.
- Showrunners Benioff, Weiss, and Woo bring their magic touch from Game of Thrones to adapt Liu Cixin’s novel True Blood for TV.
- Liu Cixin draws inspiration from his curiosity about the universe and world-building to craft the riveting story of The Three-Body Problem.
After making the overwhelmingly popular HBO series Game of Thrones, showrunners Dan Weiss, David Benioff, and Alexander Woo have adapted a fascinating sci-fi novel for the new Netflix series 3 Body Problem. There are many great sci-fi series on Netflix like Alice in Borderland, and the streaming service has a solid selection of TV shows and movies in this genre. 3 Body Problem not only has an intriguing title but has a storyline that will draw viewers in from the very first episode.
All 8 episodes of 3 Body Problem will be available to stream on Netflix on March 21st, 2024. There’s a lot to know about this fascinating sci-fi story.
What Is Netflix’s 3 Body Problem About?
The new Netflix sci-fi series 3 Body Problem follows astrophysicist Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao and Zine Tseng) whose father was killed during the Cultural Revolution in China. Since she is so knowledgeable about science, she begins working for the military. However, it’s here that she discovers something incredible, which changes her life forever. 3 Body Problem focuses on both the past and the present. The storybegins in the 1960s and continues in the present, where characters are dealing with the existence of aliens. According to The Hollywood Reporter, much of season 1 is about physicists facing a cult who want the aliens to take over Earth. However, it’s important to note that it will be 400 years before the aliens arrive.
While sometimes sci-fi adaptations fail, like Stephen King’s The Lawnmower Man, sci-fi stories often offer a rich setting that allows for a fascinating TV series or movie. Netflix’s 3 Body Problem seems to follow its source material fairly closely, which is a good thing.
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Created By |
David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Alexander Woo |
|---|---|
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Cast Members |
Benedict Wong, Eiza González, John Bradley, Jess Hong, Rosalind Chao, Zine Tseng, Jonathan Pryce, Jovan Adepo, Marlo Kelly, Liam Cunningham |
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Number Of Episodes |
8 episodes |
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Release Date |
March 21st, 2024 |
Dan Weiss, David Benioff, and Alexander Woo, the showrunners behind the best episodes of Game of Thrones, are the showrunners on Netflix’s 3 Body Problem. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Benioff and Weiss explained that they wanted to work with Woo because he adapted the True Blood book series for HBO. Benioff talked about Netflix’s 3 Body Problem and said:
“It’s much less about fighting tentacle monsters and much more about how does humanity respond to this great existential threat? And, sadly for us, in the last few years we’ve seen that mankind doesn’t respond particularly well to existential threats. It’s hard to be idealistic and think we’d all come together if we had to. The aliens appeal to certain people who believe they’re superior to us — and, technologically, they are.”
The showrunners also shared that they were nervous about the adaptation. Benioff told The Hollywood Reporter:
“It was the first thing we’d come across since
Thrones
where we were actually scared. We knew this is going to be hard.”
What Is Netflix’s 3 Body Problem Based On?
3 Body Problem is based on the novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. The novel and the Netflix series follow the same main character: Ye Wenjie. In the novel, she has finished studying astrophysics and gets a job with the Red Guard, a group in China that is looking for aliens. She forms a compelling and important relationship with an environmentalist named Mike Evans. Since aliens aren’t thought to come to Earth for 450 years, the book is a philosophical take on what humans think extraterrestrials will be like. While there are many interesting sci-fi stories without aliens, The Three-Body Problem wouldn’t be as riveting without its exploration of these creatures.
What Are The Books In Liu Cixin’s Remembrance Of Earth’s Past Trilogy
- The Three-Body Problem (2006)
- The Dark Forest (2008)
- Death’s End (2010)
In an interview with Vocal.media/Futurism, Liu Cixin shared that he grew up during the Cultural Revolution in China. He talked about what informed his writing and said:
“I was quite curious about the unknown world and was full of yearnings for the vast universe, and it was this wonder and desire that drove me to write science fiction. I’ve tried to describe the relationship between man and nature and the universe, using imagination to expand my existence.”
Cixin also explained that he likes the “world building” aspect of sci-fi. He said:
“When I was just a reader of science fiction, what attracted me most to the science fiction genre was the multitude of imagined worlds it had created, which expanded the narrow breadth of my life. Now that I have become a science fiction writer myself, ‘world building’ has become a primary direction for writing.”
From sci-fi TV shows released in 2023 to entertaining sci-fi movies, Netflix is a go-to streaming service for compelling stories about other worlds, creatures, and characters determined to figure it all out. 3 Body Problem is an interesting new sci-fi series that fans of the genre should definitely check out.
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