Last year Netflix gave us an early glimpse at its new sci-fi series 3 Body Problem via a brief teaser, and the streamer just peeled back the curtain even further as a proper full-length trailer for the upcoming show has been released online.
Based on the novel of the same name by Chinese author Liu Cixin, 3 Body Problem is set to be one of the biggest Netflix shows of the year, and this two-and-a-half-minute-long preview does a fantastic job of raising the hype levels to cosmic levels.
Cixin’s book is a complex mesh of hard sci-fi ideas and timeline shenanigans. But alongside the layered discussions of quantum physics and scientific principles, there’s also a compelling mystery as an engineer attempts to infiltrate a secret society of scientists following a string of unexplainable suicides. Things get even more complicated in the follow-up novels The Dark Forest and Death’s End, but the first season of 3 Body Problem will only adapt the first book.
The source material has been labeled “unadaptable” by some readers, so it’s a good job that showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss are well-experienced in bringing beloved novels to the small screen. The pair were the chief creative force behind HBO’s fantasy juggernaut Game of Thrones, and while that show did veer off the rails in its later seasons, that was only once Benioff and Weiss had run out of source material and had to go off book. Fortunately, the 3 Body Problem trilogy is complete, so this shouldn't be an issue even if the show is renewed for additional seasons.
The pair are also bringing Alexander Woo along as a co-showrunner, her previous credits include True Blood and The Terror. In front of the camera, 3 Body Problem includes Marvel regular Benedict Wong as well as Star Trek alumni, Rosalind Chao. A few familiar faces from Thrones are also reteaming with Benioff and Weiss as Jonathan Pryce and John Bradley are switching bloody fantasy for mind-bending science fiction.
3 Body Problem is a key Netflix show for 2024
Netflix is almost certainly betting big on 3 Body Problem this year as it’s believed to be among the most expensive television series ever produced. Executive producer Gao Xiaosgon claimed during a talk show interview that the eight-episode first season has cost more than $200m to create, which would place it as one of Netflix’s biggest TV show investments yet (although it's not quite at Stranger Things level).
Some viewers might find the show’s hard sci-fi slant a little offputting, and Benioff, Weiss and Woo will have had to strike a careful balance between being faithful to the novel and keeping the show accessible for viewers less scientifically minded. However, if they can pull that off, Netflix could have something really special on its hands with 3 Body Problem.
The good news is we won’t have much longer to wait to find out if this show can replicate the success the behind-the-camera team found with Games of Thrones because 3 Body Problem is currently scheduled to arrive on Netflix on March 21, 2024.
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