Netflix's 3 Body Problem: Release Date, What It's About, Chinese TV Adaptation, and More

Game of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss enraptured audiences with their take on George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Fire and Ice. Now the duo is back with a new take on a beloved book series, Remembrance of Earth's Past, from Chinese novelist Liu Cixin. Working alongside them is executive producer Alexander Woo, who is also no stranger to bringing a book to the screen, as he was one of the main writers for HBO's True Blood.

While fans may be a bit wary of Weiss and Benioff based on the disappointing final seasons of GOT, there's reason to be optimistic because Cixin's science-fiction trilogy is complete, so the duo won't run out of source material (which wasn't the case with Game of Thrones source A Song of Fire and Ice, which Martin is still in the process of completing). Benioff and Weiss spoke about their excitement about this adaption in a Netflix press release: "Liu Cixin's trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we've read, taking readers on a journey from the 1960s until the end of time, from life on our pale blue dot to the distant fringes of the universe. We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world."

The new series, titled 3 Body Problem after the first book in Cixin's series, is coming to Netflix soon, so we'll try to answer your questions about what you can expect from this book-to-screen adaptation, like when 3 Body Problem premieres, what the series is about, who stars in the show, and more.

3 Body Problem release date

While the exact premiere date for 3 Body Problem hasn't been announced, Netflix put it on the calendar to be released sometime in January 2024. 

How many episodes will be in Season 1 of 3 Body Problem?

The first season of 3 Body Problem will consist of eight episodes.

3 Body Problem trailer

On June 17, during its annual Tudum event, Netflix released the first 3 Body Problem teaser trailer. It's longer than you'd expect for a teaser, coming in at nearly 2 minutes and giving viewers a look at the gorgeous cinematography and stunning visual effects. Other than a narrator waxing philosophical, we don't hear any dialogue between the characters. 

What Will 3 Body Problem be about?

3 Body Problem will adapt the first book in Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, The Three Body Problem. Presumably, potential subsequent seasons will cover the other two books in the series, The Dark Forest and Death's End.

Netflix's official logline for the series is as follows: "A young woman's fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes, five former colleagues reunite to confront the greatest threat in humanity's history." That's an awfully cagey description of what the series is about, so continue if you want more details, or skip to the next section if you'd rather go in blind. 

Very slight spoilers for The Three Body Problem follow: The Three Body Problem is an alien invasion story. After a top secret scientific project successfully makes contact with an alien civilization in a nearby star system, the aliens, suffering from their own impending environmental collapse, decide to take over Earth. On our planet, different camps form to welcome the aliens or fight off the invasion. 

Who will be in 3 Body Problem?

Many Game of Thrones veterans will be in 3 Body Problem, including John Bradley (Samwell Tarley), Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos), and Jonathan Pryce (High Sparrow). Benedict Wong, potentially best known for his role as Wong in the Doctor Strange Marvel films, will also be in the series.

3 Body Problem main cast:

• Jovan Adepo as Saul Durand 
• Jess Hong as Jin Cheng
• Saamer Usmani as Raj Varma
• Rosalind Chao as Ye Wenjie
• Sea Shimooka as Sophon
• John Bradley as Jack Rooney
• Eiza González as Auggie Salazar
• Benedict Wong as Da Shi
• Liam Cunningham as Thomas Wade
• Alex Sharp as Will Downing
• Tsai Chin
• Marlo Kelly as Tatiana
• Jonathan Pryce as Mike Evans

Where can I watch 3 Body Problem?

3 Body Problem will be available to stream exclusively on Netflix when it is released sometime in January 2024.

Wait, isn't there a Chinese TV adaptation of The Three Body Problem already? Can I watch that?

Yes! Chinese streamer Tencent Video produced a 30-episode (!!!) live-action adaptation of Three Body Problem, which began airing on CCTV (China Central Television) on January 15, 2023. The series was very well received, and all the episodes were posted to YouTube with English subtitles.

Episode 1: 

You can watch the rest of the series on Tencent's YouTube channel. 

Where to buy The Three Body Problem book

Want to get into the world of 3 Body Problem right now? You can pick up The Three Body Problem, as well as the other two books in the Remembrance of Earth's Past series — The Dark Forest and Death's End — on Amazon.