No stranger to adapting revered novels, Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss joined forces with writer Alexander Woo for the big-budget sci-fi thriller The 3 Body Problem. Known for revolutionizing the medium with GOT, which kickstarted the trend of big-budget TV shows centered around spectacle, Benioff and Weiss took a similar route for their Netflix show.
However, unlike GOT‘s initial seasons, the Netflix high-budget series fails to encapsulate the books’ proficiency, leaving fans discontent, as its future moving forward appears uncertain.
David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Dropped the Ball With The 3 Body Problem
Based on Chinese author Liu Cixin’s acclaimed sci-fi novel The Three Body Problem, which spans from the ’60s to the end of humanity, the adaptation has failed to meet expectations. While the tightly paced narrative told in eight episodes can make for some entertaining TV, the show fails to leave an impact on the viewers. Despite reportedly costing $20M per episode, which has become the norm for big-budget TV releases, it’s still a mixed bag when it comes to its visuals and narrative.
Taking to X, fans expressed being let down by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss‘ failure to translate the acclaimed story on the small screen, following its lackluster characters and stiff dialogues.
Started watching Netflix' The Three Body Problem and it truly made me realise that the early seasons of Game of Thrones were a lucky miracle.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss struggle to write compelling characters and most of the dialogues are stiff and lack both tension and… pic.twitter.com/z3YSJdLxX2
— The Sietch of Sci-Fi (@TSoS_) March 30, 2024
this show was so sauceless it's unreal…cixin liu's writing made me feel like the world was ending for 1800 pages and this show couldn't get me to give a fuck about anything…they honestly shot themselves in the foot by making the entire plot take place in today's world (1/?)
— godrics heir of the mahdi (@godric_s) March 31, 2024
They didn't really adapt the books, just took the plot points and transplanted them to a western setting with completely new characters, and it shows.
— Ringo Prime (@RingoPrime) March 31, 2024
This adaptation is a debacle. The extreme dumbification with all the cliches you can think about of a beautiful subject 😂 I rewatched the 30 episodes chinese adaptation to bleach my eyes 🤦♀️🤷♀️
— ֆօʍӄ (@SoMK) March 31, 2024
Literally. Why are the characters and dialogue so bad. It’s like they want some cool characters but don’t know how to do that so they just make them smoke cigarettes.
— Dean Hadcock (@DeanHadcock) March 30, 2024
Not only has the series failed to make it big critically, but it hasn’t pulled in the expected figures upon its release, even falling behind Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, which debuted on Netflix earlier this month. And following Netflix’s history with show renewals, it’s difficult to predict if the eight-episode series will get greenlit for future seasons moving forward.
David Benioff Would Love to Get to the End of the Series
While the future of the series, which has been onto a mixed start, remains up in the air, David Benioff stressed that he’d love to get to the end of the books. While commending Liu Cixin’s acclaimed trilogy, Benioff expressed the last page of the series is his favorite final page in a science-fiction novel, stating, “I still remember exactly where I was when I read that final page”.
He said:
“We would love to get to the end. There are three books in the trilogy, obviously. And the ending is incredibly beautiful. I think that last page is probably my favorite last page of any science fiction book that I’ve read. It’s this startling final image because it takes you to the end of time, the end of the universe, and in this incredible, mind-blowing cosmic way, wraps it all up in a very emotional, human manner.
With the underwhelming reception to Season One leaving left fans unconvinced about the show’s future, it’d be a shame if Cixin’s revered work never gets the conclusion onscreen.
3 Body Problem is available to stream on Netflix.
