Unlocking the ‘3 Body Problem’: Interview with the creators of Netflix’s sci-fi series 

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo, the co-creators of the Netflix show, talk to us about the challenges of translating Liu Cixin’s epic novel onto screen

D & D are back! The creators of Game of Thrones, David Benoiff and Daniel Weiss, have finally returned to the limelight after much speculation as to what their next project might be. This time, along with True Blood’s Alexander Woo, they take on the adaptation of Three Body Problem, the award-winning novel by author Liu Cixin. Set to premiere on Netflix, the show, 3 Body Problem, is a science-fiction thriller where the boundaries of reality are tested and the consequences of unraveling the mysteries of the universe become all too real. 

Fans of the books reiterate that it’s best to go in blind; Netflix’s synopsis is even more cryptic: “A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.”

With an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Rosalind Chao, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, Benedict Wong and Jonathan Pryce among others, the show premieres this week. On a Zoom call, co-creators David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo spoke about the challenges of translating the novel onto screen. 

Excerpts from an interview...

Alexander Woo: The primary challenge is that it was written in a novel format, and we are telling the story in a television format, and the two are not the same. The flow and the pace are completely different. So we spent most of the pandemic doing this; we met at the end of February 2020, and then we didn’t see each other in person for another two years! But we saw each other on Zoom just like this every day and wrestled with all these challenges of how to tell a story that spans billions of years. No one’s ever tried this on television before; to tell a story with so much science. But I hope we found a way that’s enjoyable for everyone to watch.

David Benioff: I feel like people sometimes assume that we split up the duties; that one person is on set, the other person does most of the writing, and the third person is in charge of casting or something. But the truth is, it’s a lot sloppier than that, we all kind of just split up everything. 

So when Dan and I did Game of Thrones, we just did everything together. The only thing we don’t do together is the actual writing part! Say, if we’re writing an episode together, we decide ahead of time who gets the first half and who gets the second half. Every now and then, if there was like a big battle scene or some big kill on Game of Thrones, and we both wanted it, then arguments would arise on who got to write the last half of the episode. But other than that, once we finish writing the episodes, we pass them back and forth, and I’ll make notes on Dan’s half, and he’ll make notes on mine. When Alex joined us, we just kind of kept doing the same thing.