From creators David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo and director Derek Tsang.
Brace yourself for a new epic drama coming March 21.
From creators David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo, and inspired by the internationally celebrated novel The Three-Body Problem, comes 3 Body Problem. “The scope and size of it was really exciting,” Woo told Netflix. “Having it rooted in a period of Chinese history was also really exciting.”
Over the course of eight episodes, 3 Body Problem immerses audiences in mysteries and earth-shattering discoveries, before potentially catastrophic consequences come to life as we know it. Before embarking on this mind-boggling journey spanning continents and timelines — from the 1960s Cultural Revolution in China to the present-day streets of Oxford and the United Nations in New York — here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming series.
What is 3 Body Problem about?
The story begins in 1960s China when a young woman makes a fateful decision that reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel, a tight-knit group of brilliant scientists must join forces with an unflinching detective to stop humanity’s greatest threat. 3 Body Problem is an epic story that redefines sci-fi drama with its layered mysteries and story of human connection.
Is 3 Body Problem based on a book?
Yes. 3 Body Problem is based on the internationally celebrated trilogy by Chinese author Cixin Liu which chronicles humanity’s greatest threat to date. “We like the same things about the books that so many other fans do,” said Weiss. “We’re doing everything in our power to bring this story to life in the best, most impactful way possible. But reading the books is not a prerequisite for understanding or enjoying the show.”
Why are some of the characters and locations different from the books?
The three creators (Benioff, Weiss, and Woo) spoke to author Cixin Liu on Zoom early in their creative process and received the novelist’s blessing to adapt his work — and he encouraged them to make necessary narrative changes. Some of those key changes include chronological shifts, character tweaks, expansions, additions, and setting the present-day story primarily in the UK.
Woo (Emmy-nominated writer-producer), Benioff, and Weiss (multiple Emmy Award–winning creators of Game of Thrones) are veterans of book adaptations with passionate fan bases. Woo wrote the adaptation of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and multiple episodes of True Blood, and Benioff and Weiss helmed the Game of Thrones series. “We have a tremendous love and respect for the books,” said Benioff. “You can’t devote every waking moment of your life for years on end to adapt a piece of work that you don’t love. So it’s very important to us that the show stand on its own two legs and work for people who have read the books — and for people who haven’t read the books.”
Fundamentally, books and television are different mediums, Woo said. “The experience of watching a television series is different from watching a feature film, [which] is so different from the experience of reading a novel. What we are hoping to do is to convey the experience — if not necessarily the exact details — of the novel onto the screen. What stayed, we hope, is the sense of wonderment and the sense of scope, of scale, where the problems are no longer just the problems of an individual or even a nation, but of an entire species.”
How did they adapt the book for a global audience?
Director Derek Tsang read the series in both English and Chinese before diving in to direct Episodes 1 and 2, which are partially set during the Cultural Revolution. “The novel is written in Chinese, and it’s mainly Chinese characters on the page,” he said. “It makes sense that because we’re adapting the story for our global audience, we’ve widened the scope and have more characters from all over the world. Author Cixin Liu gave us his blessing, and I think that David, Dan, and Alex did a great job in keeping what are essentially the best elements from the novel while also making it into a much more global, international story.”
These are themes that will resonate across audiences. “This is very much a story about humanity, and humanity’s struggle with a seemingly unsolvable mystery that snowballs into a full-on existential crisis,” said Benioff. “So we wanted to represent, as much as possible, all of humanity. We wanted people from all over the world. We tried to make this a very diverse, international cast to represent the idea that this isn’t just one country’s struggle; it’s a global struggle to survive.”
Who is in the 3 Body Problem cast?
3 Body Problem stars an international cast. “We felt very strongly about the characters,” said Woo. “I started as a playwright, so that’s the only way I know how to write: character first. For a television series, that’s the thing that gives you an emotional attachment to the story and makes you think about it after the credits roll. My favorite television characters are people that I see more often than I see my actual friends.”
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