TV

3 Body Problem

Photo: Netflix

“Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, helmed by Game of Thrones team DB Weiss and David Benioff as well as Alexander Woo, is such a treat in spite of its notable imperfections. Although it’s built on a very 2024 model of streaming television — big-deal book adaptation, eight-episode season, pedigreed production team, short list of credited writers — it feels like traditional TV, in both the best and most annoying interpretations of that idea. It is crammed full with ideas, moving quickly between elements that don’t always work together, and willing to take risks in order to keep the plot wheel spinning. It has a sense of spectacle. It has a fondness for cheese. It’s definitely whitewashed, in a way that’s so lacking in defensiveness or apology it’s almost funny. It’s American-made TV!” — Kathryn VanArendonk, “3 Body Problem Is Not Afraid to Be TV”

  1. Episode 8 Wallfacer
    3 Body Problem Season-Finale Recap: Know Your Enemy Well, at least humanity has 400 years to figure out the next move.
  2. Episode 7 Only Advance
    3 Body Problem Recap: Never Play With God Will’s story line actually pays off?
  3. Episode 6 The Stars Our Destination
    3 Body Problem Recap: Forge the New World How do you solve a problem like the San-Ti?
  4. Episode 5 Judgment Day
    3 Body Problem Recap: Higher Dimensions We now understand what Mike Evans, Ye Wenjie, and the San-Ti are up to, and all it took was some mass murder.
  5. Episode 4 Our Lord
    3 Body Problem Recap: A Lie About a Liar A timeline of Ye Wenjie and Mike Evans’s partnership provides a lot of answers.
  6. Episode 3 Destroyer of Worlds
    3 Body Problem Recap: Keep Playing We finally reach the final level of the VR game.
  7. Episode 2 Red Coast
    3 Body Problem Recap: Science Over Mysticism The VR game scenes might not make much sense, but the puzzling imagery creates a fun vibe.
  8. Episode 1 Countdown
    3 Body Problem Series-Premiere Recap: Nothing Exists Alone Netflix recruits TV veterans to adapt what is considered an unadaptable sci-fi novel. The results are promising.

The Latest on 3 Body Problem

  1. best of 2024
    The Best TV Shows of 2024 (So Far)Couples (and a throuple) working through their issues, vampires with a blood-soaked panache, and a comedian we’d follow anywhere.
    By Jen Chaney, Roxana Hadadi, and Kathryn VanArendonk
  2. coming soon
    3 Body Problem? More Like Two More SeasonsCreators David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo confirm there are more problems to be had.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  3. chat room
    3 Body Problem’s Jess Hong Can’t Believe Jin Let Her Friend Donate His Brain“You have to be so ambitious to allow that kind of desire to surface.”
    By Ben Rosenstock
  4. in conversation
    The One and Only Benedict WongSpy. Scientist. Sorcerer Supreme. Finally, with 3 Body Problem, the actor plays someone like himself.
    By Nicholas Quah
  5. close read
    How Netflix’s 3 Body Problem Loses Its Own PlotThe China episodes are excellent. The London ones are bizarre. The reason is less obvious than you think.
    By Nan Z. Da
  6. pre-spoilers
    What’s Next for 3 Body Problem?Liu Cixin’s book trilogy and season one’s hints comprise a map of where a potential second season may be headed.
    By Zing Tsjeng
  7. exit interview
    The 3 Body Problem Creators Just Want to Give You More Spectacle“By the last season or two, we would be giving people an experience they’ve never had before.”
    By Jackson McHenry
  8. finale thoughts
    3 Body Problem Made Rosalind Chao a Braver PerformerAnd inspired her to watch herself onscreen for the first time in decades.
    By Sean T. Collins
  9. bug out
    3 Body Problem’s Imagination ProblemIn ignoring humanity’s wider reaction to the end of the world, the Netflix adaptation fails to find gravity in its final scene.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  10. vulture lists
    11 Books That Scratch the 3 Body ItchAfter watching Netflix’s adaptation, check out some more hard sci-fi and Chinese speculative fiction.
    By Neil McRobert
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