As the showrunners behind Game of Thrones, David Benioff and Dan Weiss were once two of the most lauded creative forces working in entertainment. Then came the final season of the HBO show, which many fans found so disappointing that they dragged Benioff and Weiss through the digital street, pelting them with theortical rotten fruit and shouting "shame, shame!" A Reddit post with 54 thousand upvotes tried to get their picture to show up first whenever anyone searched Google for "bad writers." It basically worked.
And now they're back with a new show! Together with Alexander Woo, Benioff and Weiss are behind 3 Body Problem, a Netflix series adapted from author Liu Cixin's sci-fi novel trilogy Remembrance of Earth's Past. Is the internet ready to embrace their work? Watch the trailer above and decide for yourself.
I don't know what I'm more excited about: seeing an adaptation of Liu's mind-bending novels or seeing how the internet will react to Benioff and Weiss being back in the conversation. In any case, I think the trailer looks pretty good. 3 Body Problem is about humanity's first contact with an alien species which, for complicated reasons that I will not give away, are not super-duper friendly towards us. It's a creepy, slow burning scientific mystery that engages meaningfully with concepts like quantum mechanics without being too alienating or confusing. The cast is large and the story takes place over multiple generations and solar systems. It's an ambitious work, which is fitting for the guys who brought us Game of Thrones. But will this one be as big a hit?
That'll be up to viewers; you can watch 3 Body Problem when it drops on Netflix on March 21. Having read the first book not that long ago, I recognize some key moments in the trailer, like the universe flickering, the army being pulled into the air, the protons being unfolded, and the countdown hanging in front of the eyes of select scientists. There is some wild stuff in this story. Personally, I'm excited.
The cast is good, too; it includes Jovan Adepo, Eiza González, Jess Hong, Marlo Kelly, Alex Sharp, Sea Shimooka, Zine Tseng, Saamer Usmani, Benedict Wong, Rosalind Chao, Ben Schnetzer and Eve Ridley. There are also a few Game of Thrones veterans in there, including John Bradley (Sam), Liam Cunningham (Davos) and Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow).
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels