Netflix Audiences have shown their support for the new series 3 Body Problem despite it getting mixed reviews from critics.
And it’s clear that they are all hooked, as new information has shown that it has collected an astonishing 81,000,000 viewing hours in just one week.
The science fiction series was created by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss alongside Alexander Woo and is based on the Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin.
Spanning several decades – from the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1960s to the present day – the story explores a mysterious extraterrestrial force that is killing scientists around the world and stars Benedict Wong, Jess Hong, Jovan Adepo and Eiza González.
The book was previously considered ‘unfilmable’ and ‘unadaptable’ due to its mind-bending and complex plots, with some critics saying an adaptation shouldn’t have been attempted.
But many viewers have said they are impressed by how the novel has been translated to screen, and it’s clear to see just how popular the show is as the weekly top 10 list of the most-watched TV shows in English have put it at the number two spot with 11,000,000 views and 81,7000,000 hours viewed.
The Gentlemen has the top spot with 11,700,000 views (and 78,000,000 hours viewed) while Fool Me Once and One Day also appear on the list.
3 Body Problem also made it to top 10 in TV in 93 countries, while The Gentlemen made it to Top 10 in 91.
This comes after viewers admired the new hit, with X user John writing: ‘Brilliant, it does the book justice, BUT, I imagine those that didn’t read the books will be mightily confused now, but stick with it and prepare for your mind to be blown.’
‘I enjoyed reading 3 Body Problem more than a decade ago. The Netflix version is actually better than I remember the book,’ AbbottMaverick shared.
Many others said they were ‘obsessed’ and had watched all eight episodes in one sitting.
Meanwhile fan Tong begged: ‘I finished watching in one go, some changes were made and really short for the 1st book but overall, I like it. I hope I can see next season… Netflix, you’re not going to cancel it right???’
The series will cover the entirety of Cuxin’s three books – known in full as the Remembrance of the Earth’s Past trilogy and consisting of 3 Body Problem, The Dark Forest and Death’s End.
Where the novels are set mainly in China, the TV adaptation has widened the scope and scale somewhat – spanning several continents in uncovering its central mystery.
Following the backlash to the final season of Game of Thrones, Benioff and Weiss said they also saw 3 Body Problem as a ‘daunting project’.
However Woo mentioned that when writers adapt novels for TV, they need to ignore distractions and concentrate on telling the story, similar to athletes in a stadium.
‘Do you consider the fans when you’re playing? Well, you might hear cheering to some extent, but you need to focus on your performance,’ he explained. GQ.
‘Your goal is to make the shot or catch the pass. I acknowledge the presence of the fans to some extent, and not everyone will like everything you do, but I'm striving to do my best in creating the scene.’
3 Body Problem is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
