Three-Body (Chinese: 三体) is a Chinese science fiction television series adapted from the novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, which was first published in serialized form in 2006. The series premiered on January 15, 2023.
Contents
Premise
In 2007, Wang Miao, one of China's leading nanomaterials experts, is enlisted by Shi Qiang, a detective who specializes in counterterrorism, in cases of strange apparent suicides in the scientific community. During their investigation they encounter a mysterious organization called "The Frontiers of Science" and proceed to learn the truth behind how an extraterrestrial world depicted in a popular video game connects with the fate of humanity on Earth.
Cast
Zhang Luyi as Wang Miao
Yu Hewei as detective Shi Qiang
Chen Jin and Wang Ziwen as Ye Wenjie
Lin Yongjian as General Chang Weisi
Li Xiaoran as Shen Yufei
Li Ze Hui as Xu Bingbing
Wang Chuanjun as Ding Yi
Kou Zhenhai as Ye Zhetai
He Dujuan as Yang Dong
Kenan Heppe as Mike Evans
Mike Koltes as Colonel Mike Williams
Yang Rong as Mu Xing
Production and release
Although Tencent obtained the rights to the novels in 2008, attempts to produce a Chinese live-action adaptation of the novels began in earnest in 2015 with The Three-Body Problem film by YooZoo Film. Filming lasted for 5 months in 2015, but the final product was never released. While YooZoo Film struck a deal in September 2020 to produce their own adaptation for Netflix with Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss at the helm, work on the script for a Chinese adaptation was already underway at Tencent and took four years to complete. Shooting began in July 2020 and lasted 126 days. The Beijing Electron–Positron Collider II doubled for the particle accelerator in the series.
In November 2021, a trailer for the series was released with no specific premiere date. This was followed by a second trailer in June 2022, and a final trailer 3 days prior to the premiere.
After several delays, the series began airing on January 15, 2023, with the first 4 episodes available for streaming on WeTV and Rakuten Viki. The series made its first American debut on the New York PBS affiliate WNET in December 8, 2023. On February 10, 2024, NBC released the complete 30-episode English-subtitled version of "Three-Body" on its Peacock streaming platform. It is also available on Amazon Prime in the US and UK. In March 2024, Tencent released the "Three-Body Anniversary Edition", re-editing the series into 26 episodes to improve the story pacing.
Reception
Three-Body has received wide acclaim in China. On Douban, the series received a score of 8.7 out of 10. Viewers praised the overall production quality, the faithfulness of the adaptation and the casting. Domestic critics praised the visuals as astonishing.
In the United States, The New York Times critic Mike Hale noted that the series was faithful to the original text, with logical adaptations made to suit television. However, he described the screenplay and cast as mediocre, and the virtual reality game presentation not as elaborately portrayed compared to the novels.
Awards and nominations
The following table presents all known awards and nominations the series has received, indicating the name of the award ceremony, the year the nomination/award, the relevant award category, the nominated work or individual(s), and whether the award was won, along with the citation(s) from which the information was derived.