When the reality you face is bleak and you believe the worst of humanity, what would you do if given the power to alter the course of the world for billions of people? This is one of the many dilemmas explored in “3 Body Problem,” a sci-fi Netflix show based on the acclaimed Chinese book series “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” by award-winning author Liu Cixin following humanity’s discovery and preparation for an invasion by (spoiler alert!) aliens who are already in the midst of a 400-year journey to reach Earth.
The sci-fi epic is helmed by the creators of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and the executive producer of “The Terror” season 2, Alexander Woo, as showrunners, meaning the novels’ character-driven plots, fantastical elements and astrophysical concepts were in good hands to bring the adaptation to a grander and global scale.
While the Netflix series is not the first adaptation of Liu’s work, previous adaptations include a live-action Chinese series by Tencent Video and a web series completely animated using the video game “Minecraft,” this version (under the blessing and advisory of Liu) expands the trilogy past its original Chinese borders, setting the show primarily in England and employing actors from around the world. “We wanted to represent, as much as possible, all of humanity,” Benioff says in the Netflix press packet. “We tried to make [the show] a very diverse, international cast to represent the idea that this isn’t just one country’s struggle against the threat of aliens; it’s a global struggle to survive.”
The first season saw scientists Jin Cheng (Jess Hong), Saul Durand (Jovan Adepo), Augustina Salazar (Eiza González), Will Downing (Alex Sharp)…
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