3 Body Problem Season 2 Renewal is an Actual Problem for Netflix

Summary

• 3 Body Problem is only a few days old, but given the scale of the production, there's already speculation about whether the series will be renewed.
• It's an incredibly important project for Netflix, but critics and viewers aren't excited enough.
• In addition, the Chinese government could potentially launch a major campaign against the series, which could influence the streaming service's decision.

Netflix hasn't made a big bet on the sci-fi genre in the past few years. The service prefers to produce fantasy projects like The Witcher or the immensely popular live-action One Piece. But it was in this context that 3 Body Problem, a big-budget sci-fi show based on a world-famous novel, generated a lot of intrigue long before its release.

And now, just a few days ago, the long-awaited series reached our small screens, and the result was... somewhat underwhelming, though not bad at all. While the series did not become a number one hit on Netflix, it did manage to gain a loyal fan base, as well as a high level of controversy in China, which only increased its discussion on the Internet.

Plus, the first season ended on a major cliffhanger, and the showrunners are already itching to continue the story. So what will Netflix do? Will they decide to renew 3 Body Problem?

What's the New Netflix Sci-Fi Show About?

Adapted from the world-renowned novel of the same name by Liu Cixin, 3 Body Problem (the first book in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy), the new series begins during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, when an astrophysicist succeeds in making first contact with an alien civilization.

The alien interlocutor turned out to be a pacifist representative of the race, who asked not to be contacted because their civilization could conquer Earth. However, the astrophysicist, who hates all of humanity because of the bloody events instigated by the Chinese Communist Party, decides to respond anyway.

The main action, however, is set in the present day and shows the consequences of her decision to secretly invite aliens, who now threaten all of humanity, to take over the Earth as its new inhabitants.

The Show's Lackluster Scores and Ratings

So will there be a second season? The question is quite tricky. On the one hand, Liu Cixin's book trilogy is an incredibly well-known example of modern sci-fi literature, honored with the highest awards and accolades. Moreover, the showrunners are none other than Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss in collaboration with Alexander Woo, so Netflix would hardly want to say goodbye to such famous filmmakers.

On the other hand, 3 Body Problem, despite the sheer scale of the production, unfortunately does not have a really good score yet. On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics score is 76% and the audience score is 75%. These are not the worst numbers, but most of the hyped shows that have come out recently, like The Gentlemen, have much higher scores.

The show's ratings are quite good: at the time of this writing, it's number two in the Top 10 most popular shows in the US and number one in many other countries. But only time will tell if this is enough to justify further investment in such a financially demanding project.

Polarizing Opinions in China

Mainland Chinese opinion may also be a stumbling block for Netflix, even though the streaming service is not officially available there (though this does not prevent Chinese residents from using VPNs). Those who watched the show were literally divided into two camps: those who found the show worthy and those who considered it far inferior to the Chinese adaptation of Three-Body 2023. The Chinese government seems to be absolutely furious about the blatant depiction of the Cultural Revolution, and remarkably, the Chinese TV series cut out those aspects of the novel.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see what Netflix decides. However, the showrunners of 3 Body Problem seem optimistic, as they are already planning to adapt the second and third novels.