3 Body Problem: Season 1 – Netflix Review

3 BODY PROBLEM on Netflix is a new sci-fi series that plays out over several decades and all over the globe. Well, and beyond. Season 1 has 8 episodes and I cannot wait for more. Read our full 3 Body Problem review here!

3 BODY PROBLEM is a new Netflix sci-fi series with 8 episodes that escalate quite quickly. The storyline goes fairly deep in many ways, but if you’re just looking for an entertaining sci-fi series, it does deliver on this as well.

This is the kind of series that isn’t afraid to kill off characters or take wild turns, so you’ve got a real treat in store. We’ve watched all eight episodes for this season 1 review, which means we’re now desperate for season 2 to be greenlit ASAP.

Looking for a 3 BODY PROBLEM ending explained?

Feeling confused after watching 3 Body Problem? Read our Ending Explained >

Continue reading our season 1 review of 3 Body Problem below. Find it on Netflix from March 21, 2024.

A world of fear and anxiety

The plot of 3 Body Problem plays out across continents and decades. In the present, we meet five brilliant friends, who seem to all be connected to events that started in 1960s China.

This was when a scientist – a bold and unapologetic young woman, struggling to find her place in Communist China – sends a message into outer space. And gets an answer! What she does next is the action that reverberates in the present and well into the future.

Very quickly, things escalate and evolve in the most fascinating ways. You may think you know what 3 Body Problem is all about. However, just a few episodes into season 1, it changes and a new even bigger plot is revealed. I loved it!

The entire world becomes very familiar with this latest development, and a sort of global anxiety begins. Not that anything is happening right at that moment, but it has become clear that Earth and her inhabitants are in real problems down the line.

You could easily compare this to the issue of climate change, which may not impact us (as much!) right now but will only get worse. Depending on what action we take now, obviously.

The same is the case for the scientists (and all of the world’s inhabitants) in this series. In the case of 3 Body Problem, the question is whether there is even room for hope.

A new series to fall in love with

While I enjoyed 3 Body Problem from the very beginning, it ended up being the kind of series I just fell in love with. The characters are interesting and diverse – both in terms of origin, race, and overall personalities – so there’s someone most should relate to.

I loved the way the close-knit group of five brilliant scientists worked together. Lovingly called the Oxford Five from when they studied together at Oxford.

Each of them plays to their strengths while also – in some cases – being ready to walk away when things go against their moral codex. After all, they may be fighting for the future of the world, but they also have to be able to live with their actions right now.

The Oxford Five

The five friends are Jin Cheng (Jess Hong), who is an actual genius. She’s a theoretical physicist who doesn’t believe in many limitations but wants to test and push boundaries on everything.

Auggie Salazar (Eiza González) is a nanotech trailblazer making inventions to help the world now. Also, she isn’t as interested in money as she is in helping people. However, her work is clearly dangerous as she is suddenly shown a countdown in front of her eyes.

This means she has somehow been selected. Other scientists who have been “selected” and show the same countdown that only they can see, end up dead.

Finally, there’s Jack Rooney (Game of Thrones‘ John Bradley), who does care about money and has built a snack empire. Will Downing (Alex Sharp) is teaching physics and while he is happy with his life, he is also still searching. Maybe because he’s helplessly in love with Jin.

And then there’s Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo) who is also a gifted scientist, but very unfocused. He simply doesn’t have the drive as the rest of the Oxford Five. However, he is very focused on being a good friend.

So many fascinating characters

While the Oxford Five are very much at the heart of the story in the present, many other characters intersect with the five friends. A character close to the group is Raj Varma (Saamer Usmani) as the boyfriend of Jin and a military man.

Then there’s Benedict Wong as Da Shi. An investigator working for a secret organization. His boss is Thomas Wade, who is portrayed by Liam Cunningham. What these two are struggling to unravel, is something two other characters know a lot about.

One of them is Mike Evans, portrayed by Jonathan Pryce in the present and Ben Schnetzer in the past. The other is Rosalind Chao‘s character, Ye Wenjie, who in the younger version is portrayed by Zine Tseng.

Also, I should mention the young Eve Ridley, who plays a young character in a game, several of the core characters end up playing. Marlo Kelly (Dare Me) is another key character as Tatiana, who we’re only just getting to know when season 1 ends.

Will we get a season 2 of 3 Body Problem?

Well, according to the creators (which I’ll get to next), the plan is to make four seasons. So, yes, that should mean 3 Body Problem season 2 is a fairly sure thing.

Of course, this is also a Netflix series and the streaming service is notorious for canceling even the most popular series. Hopefully, this one will be so popular that a second season is a given.

Watch 3 Body Problem season 1 on Netflix

The creators of 3 Body Problem are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo. It was inspired by the internationally celebrated novel “The Three-Body Problem” by Chinese author Cixin Liu. He also wrote the novel behind The Wandering Earth (2019).

Creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss made this as part of their new Netflix deal after finishing Game of Thrones and co-creator Alexander Woo has The Terror: Infamy and True Blood on his resume.

When looking at the names on the producer side, you’ll also find many familiar ones. Including Bernadette Caulfield (Game of Thrones, The X-Files), Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Brad Pitt, and Rosamund Pike. To name just some.

In so many different ways, calling 3 Body Problem an epic story definitely isn’t over-selling it. This is a sci-fi story that is both eerily relatable and strangely realistic. All while being mysterious and a crazy genre-bending experience. Do not miss out on it!

3 BODY PROBLEM debuts globally on Netflix on March 21, 2024.

Details

Executive Producers / Showrunners / Writers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo
Directors: Derek Tsang (101, 102), Andrew Stanton (103), Minkie Spiro (104-106), Jeremy Podeswa (107, 108)
Writers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo (101), Rose Cartwright (102), Alexander Woo (103, 106), Madhuri Shekar (104), David Benioff & D.B. Weiss (105, 107, 108)
Stars: Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Rosalind Chao, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, Jess Hong, Marlo Kelly, Alex Sharp, Sea Shimooka, Zine Tseng, Saamer Usmani, Benedict Wong, and Jonathan Pryce
Guest Stars: John Dagleish, Adrian Edmondson, Vedette Lim, Gerard Monaco, Eve Ridley, Ben Schnetzer