Netflix is on quite a bit of a roll this year. With the current global lock down, its viewership and subscription rates have increased. Their current library of shows and movies is not close to being enough to cater to this new demand. This has left the streaming platform scrambling for new movie and show adaptations. A slew of new age shows on the suspense, horror and sci-fi genre are in the pipeline. Many of them have opened up to rave reviews. And now you can add The Three Body Problem, a massively popular science fiction novel series to the flurry of live-action adaptations being produced by Netflix. To top it all off, the Three Body Problem will be headed by none other than David Benioff and D.B Weiss, show runners of the popular Game of Thrones TV Show.
Another day, another popular novel is being made into a show. Only this time, the tale comes from a popular series of novels written by Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The good news is that Netflix does not want this to be turned into another generic science fiction show that loses viewers the moment its second season airs after the first season becomes a massive hit. Netflix does not want the Stranger Things Phenomenon to be repeated. So they have roped in some very capable show runners to head the show. David Benioff are the creators and shot callers for the acclaimed Game of Thrones series, an HBO Original show that has garnered billions of viewers and is considered to be among the top fantasy drama shows to ever exist.
Benioff and Weiss will be aided by Alexander Woo. Woo had gained fame for having worked in True Blood, where he lent his skills as a writer as well as producer. Liu Cixin’s Three Body Problem will be an unnerving and harrowing tale about humanity’s first contact with an actual alien civilization. The novel series uses extremely realistic scenarios and Cixin had personally interviewed multiple space biologists and physicists to come up with a grounded story arc. The Three Body Problem series remains true to its scientific roots all the while challenging the boundaries of science fiction with an unconventional and unorthodox take on Humanity’s historical first contact.
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The debut book of the sci-fi epic saga received massive acclaim in the Chinese Mainland in 2008. An English adaptation of the novel, headed by Ken Liu, was the first novel of Asian origin to receive the acclaimed Hugo Award. It won in the Nest Novel category in the year 2014. Among the many praises Liu Cixin got for his acclaimed book series were being called China’s Arthur C Clarke, a very renowned science fiction writer whose works have won the Hugo and Nebula Award.
In a recorded statement, David Benioff and D.B Weiss were asked a series of questions regarding their latest science fiction project. They said and we quote:
“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,” Benioff and Weiss claimed in an interview. “We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world.”
Alexander Woo, the writer-producer who will be the second-in-command for the venture, had this to say:
“It’s a privilege to be adapting one of the great masterpieces of Chinese science-fiction. The Three-Body Problem trilogy combines so many things I love: rich, multi-layered characters and true existential stakes — all told as an elegant and deeply human allegory.”
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The Three Body Problem borrows its name from a classical conundrum in mechanics and classical physics. The problem involves three different points or objects that have different masses and velocities. The solution must entail incorporating all corresponding variables to come up with an answer for their subsequent motion using Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation. Unlike two body problems, the solution for a three body problem is chaotic and extremely random. There actually never is a perfect solution for a three body problem.
In Liu Cixin’s Sci-Fi saga, the Three Body Problem refers to three massive celestial objects. In a nearby solar system, an Earth like planet has sentient life popping up on its surface. But the star system the planet revolves in has not one but three stars affecting it. As a result, life is literally a living hell for the alien inhabitants.
Liu Cixin and Ken Liu will also be part of Netflix’s project. They have been hired as consulting producers for the show. In another interview, Cixin was heard stating some hesitant remarks regarding Benioff and Weiss’ recruitment for heading the English Adaptation of an Asian Origin Novel Series.
“I have the greatest respect for and faith in the creative team adapting The Three-Body Problem for television audiences,” Liu Cixin told in the interview. “I set out to tell a story that transcends time and the confines of nations, cultures, and races; one that compels us to consider the fate of humankind as a whole. It is a great honor as an author to see this unique sci-fi concept travel and gain fandom across the globe and I am excited for new and existing fans all over the world to discover the story on Netflix.”
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The Project has some really big names to boast of. The Director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Rian Johnson joins the show as an Executive Producer. Brad Pitt’s Production Company Plan B Entertainment and Rosamund Pike’s Primitive Streak Production Company are going to be a part of The Three Body Problem Adaptation.
Big money is floating around in the streaming arena. Last year, it was reported that Amazon Prime had invested more than 1 Billion dollars to gain exclusive rights to acclaimed novels and legacy shows. Amazon is focusing on high fantasy for now. They have their highly anticipated Lord of the Rings series for their subscribers. Netflix is focusing on expanding their horizons in the realm of sci-fi. We don’t blame them. They are playing to their strengths. While the year keeps getting sh*ttier and sh*ttier, if you are fan of ‘Netflix and Chill’, we probably just made your day.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
