Few shows this year have as much riding on them as Netflix’s 3 Body Problem. A sprawling, outrageously ambitious sci-fi that spans whole centuries, the show has been adapted from a beloved series of novels, which means it has an army of fans to appease. It’s the first show made by David Benioff and Dan Weiss since Game of Thrones, which means it has to overcome an even larger army of fans still disappointed about that finale. Plus it’s a big, expensive show made for Netflix; a platform notoriously happy to cancel shows with no warning.
There’s also the dead executive to contend with. A recent Hollywood Reporter profile of Benioff and Weiss mentioned that 3 Body Problem was almost derailed when Lin Qi – the billionaire owner of Yoozoo, the company that owns the 3 Body Problem rights – was killed in 2020. To make matters even messier, the man charged with Lin’s murder was the executive in charge of Yoozoo’s film division. Weirder still, Lin was poisoned, a method thought to be inspired by his favourite TV show, Breaking Bad. Just to top it off, the Hollywood Reporter posits that Lin may have been killed in part due to his obnoxious behaviour during a meeting about 3 Body Problem, back when Amazon was trying to make it with Rian Johnson.
