David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo might not have 400 years to execute their vision, but they nevertheless have a lengthy project in mind: The 3 Body Problem co-creators confirmed in May 2024 that they are at work on additional seasons of their Netflix sci-fi television series.
In the TV adaptation—based on the Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu—a group of scientists are tasked with saving the Earth from the invasion of the alien San-Ti, already in the midst of a 400-year intergalactic journey to reach our little blue dot. But given the aliens’ superior technology, and Earth’s already divisive sociopolitics, even the most brilliant minds are in a race against time much more urgent than a four-century timeline might suggest. Thankfully, the rest of us need only wait a handful of those years for the story to reach its conclusion.
The show appears to be living up to its hype because it received six Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Cinematography. Some of its competitors in the drama department include The Bear, Shōgun, and Only Murders in the Building, so it’ll be interesting to see how this year’s award ceremony plays out.
Here’s what we know about 3 Body Problem’s season 2 plans so far.
Will there be a season 2 of 3 Body Problem?
Yes! On May 15, Netflix announced that 3 Body Problem got renewed, but didn’t specify whether it would get another full season. Instead, the streamer shared in a press release, the show “will return for more all-new episodes” that will ultimately end the series.
“We’re thrilled that we get to tell this story through to its epic conclusion,” Benioff, Weiss, and Woo said in a statement. “Ever since we read the last page of Cixin Liu’s magnificent trilogy, we hoped we’d be able to bring the audience to the end of the universe with us. Here we go!”
Before Netflix announced anything concrete, Benioff, Weiss, and Woo were already forging ahead—and dropping a few teases to the press along the way. At the series’ splashy SXSW premiere this March, Collider asked if the creators had plans for season 2, to which Woo replied, “We’re doing it now.” Weiss elaborated, adding, “For season 2, we’ve got better than a rough idea. We’re much farther along with that plan than rough-idea stages.” That’s not necessarily a guarantee those plans will come to fruition. But it’s as good a sign as any that 3 Body Problem is far from over.
Then, a few weeks later, the creators confirmed they were greenlit for seasons two and three during a 3 Body Problem Television Academy panel at the Netflix FYSEE space.
“We included a lot of what we loved from the [novels] in Season 1, but the vast majority of reasons we wanted to make this show are in Season 2,” Weiss said during the panel. “We always wanted to get to the final page of the third book, and it’s really, really thrilling to us that we will get to do just that.”
Will the cast return for season 2?
When 3 Body Problem comes back, the ensemble cast is sure to follow. (At least, those with characters that survived the first season.) Those actors would likely include Jess Hong (Jin Cheng), Eiza González (Auggie Salazar), Benedict Wong (Clarence “Da” Shi), Jovan Adepo (Saul Durand), Liam Cunningham (Thomas Wade), Sea Shimooka (Sophon), Marlo Kelly (Tatiana), and Saamer Usmani (Raj).
“I really hope that we get a season 2,” Hong told ELLE.com. “Because Jin Cheng is one of the coolest, juiciest characters I’ve ever played. But also I’ve read the books, so I know what’s coming. It would be awesome to have to justify those decisions and enter those worlds.”
She got it!
When will season 2 arrive?
In the same SXSW interview with Collider, Benioff, Weiss, and Woo revealed that they’re hoping to move quickly on season 2: They could start shooting before the end of 2024, should a green light arrive soon and schedules align. Still, don’t expect a new chapter of 3 Body Problem before 2026. Added Weiss, the series is “a very labor-intensive show, and it doesn’t get less labor-intensive. It doesn’t get easier to make; it gets harder to make.”
How many seasons of 3 Body Problem will there be in total?
The showrunners envision at least three seasons to reach the end of their story. In an interview with the Total Film Podcast, Woo shared that they hope to adapt all three books, but that the third book’s hefty plot might need to be split into two seasons of TV. “We have some really strong ideas about what to do in a season two, and then it’s a little hazier down the line,” he said. “But we want to get to the end of the trilogy, and whether that’s three or four [seasons], you know, or some other number.”
This story will be updated.
Lauren Puckett-Pope
Culture Writer
Lauren Puckett-Pope is a staff culture writer at ELLE, where she primarily covers film, television and books. She was previously an associate editor at ELLE.
