After signing a $200-million deal with Netflix, âGame of Thronesâ showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss could have made just about any series they wanted. What they wanted was author Cixin Liuâs 2008 sci-fi novel âThe Three-Body Problem.â Translated into more than 20 languages and with 9 million copies sold, itâs the most widely read Chinese book in modern Chinese history. The first of its kind to win sci-fiâs prestigious Hugo Award, it counts among its fans Barack Obama, George R.R. Martin and filmmaker Rian Johnson (âKnives Outâ).
âThe books attracted lots of attention over time,â notes Weiss, who, along with Benioff and âTrue Bloodâ producer Alexander Woo, is a â3 Body Problemâ showrunner. âWhen Dave and I went to Netflix, they were already in talks with an A-list film director [Johnson]. It just so happened he was somebody weâd been friends with for many years. He had his own film franchise he created out of thin air and was happy to hand [â3 Body Problemâ] off to us and gave us excellent input throughout.â
In the story, hostile aliens are on their way but wonât arrive for another 400 years. A rash of suicides among top scientists spurs a London detective (Benedict Wong) to investigate a clan of researchers at Cambridge University. A mysterious video game driven by technology beyond human capability becomes central to the mystery, until itâs not.
With a blinking universe, an eye in the sky and an oil tanker sliced like deli meat, the eight-part series varies from the novel in significant ways. The action has been moved from China to London, the gender of a character has been switched, and a racially diverse cast portrays what were previously all Chinese characters.
Netflix is not available in China, but some viewers there access it through private networks. Many on Chinese social media say the diverse cast is a symptom of political correctness and that other changes have the West racing to solve a problem triggered in China. State media said the series promotes âAmerican cultural hegemonyâ under the guise of diversity. All seem to overlook the fact that Netflix owns only the English-language rights to the material. To remain strictly faithful to it would have meant a Chinese cast speaking in English.
âIf itâs a global crisis, then it would be good to represent everyone on the planet coming together, or not coming together, to confront the situation,â suggests Woo. âThatâs what led to the idea of globalizing the cast. And when we spoke to the author, he was already steps ahead of us. He figured we would do that and gave us his blessing.â
Another change was opening the series with a 1966 struggle session during the infamous Cultural Revolution, a bleak period in Chinese history in which intellectuals and âanti-revolutionariesâ were subjected to public humiliation and abuse, sometimes ending in death. Originally it was the bookâs first chapter, but heeding advice from his publisher, the author moved it to soften its impact with censors.
Jess Hong stars in â3 Body Problem.â
(Netflix)
To get the details of the scene right, the showrunners studied what type of propaganda posters would hang in the background and the size and shade of Maoâs Little Red Book, which the mob waves in unison. âIt was lots of reviewing old photographs and speaking to people who were alive at the time,â says Benioff. âTelevision is a team sport. A lot of time was spent in long, boring meetings, hours and hours of conversation with all the different department heads.â
One head they didnât meet with was the boss of Yoozoo Group, the Chinese firm that owns the rights to âRemembrance of Earthâs Past,â the âThree-Bodyâ trilogy. Lin Qi, a brash gaming entrepreneur, was hospitalized in December 2020 for mercury poisoning and a neurotoxin similar to the kind found in puffer fish. He died on Christmas Day. Police arrested Xu Yao, a former chief executive of an affiliate of Yoozoo called the Three-Body Universe, dedicated to developing film and TV adaptations of the novel. Xu reportedly received a death sentence.
According to Benioff, Rian Johnson had drinks with the killer and his victim. Weiss confirmed that he sent a photo of them together in France. âA person we did work with extensively was poisoned, but he survived. I think it was mercury poison,â Woo said, adding that it took the victim more than a year to recover.
A bigger impact on the show wasnât the skulduggery surrounding it but the pandemic. âThese books were written in a more optimistic time of international relations, before the COVID pandemic when our species really was confronted by a danger that affects all of us. And we didnât come together in any significant way,â Benioff glumly notes. âIt was a pretty shoddy showing. The most optimistic view of humanity would say that was a C-minus effort from us.â
While acknowledging scienceâs impressive ability to quickly produce a vaccine, he feels the government failed. âA lot of people just disputed the science. Period. That was interesting to us. Seeing the global reaction to events, skepticism to science and how thatâs grown in the past few years, was eye-opening. And it definitely informed the writing of the show.â
The three announced late last month that there will be a second â and third â season of the series, which they began prepping in the spring. âThe ending of the [book] series is a very beautiful and hopeful ending that I never saw coming,â Benioff says. âAnd that was sort of miraculous the way he pulled all of it together into this beautiful final image. Iâm so hopeful we get there, because to me itâs one of the great endings to one of the super ambitious and great sagas ever.â