How Game Of Thrones Creators’ New $160M Sci-Fi Show Compares To The HBO Series

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are back with another big-budget blockbuster series – sci-fi drama 3 Body Problem on Netflix – but how does it compare to their hit HBO fantasy show? 3 Body Problem sees Benioff and Weiss pivoting away from a medieval fantasy setting to a more contemporary world with a futuristic sci-fi spin. Based on the Hugo Award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, 3 Body Problem revolves around a detective who teams up with a group of scientists to investigate a grave threat to the planet.

Whenever any showrunners have a hit the size of Game of Thrones, their next project will inevitably draw comparisons to the series that put them on the map. Benioff and Weiss are in an even more unique predicament, because the mixed response to the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones threatened to land them in TV jail. With 3 Body Problem, they have a second chance to tell an epic story and bring it to a satisfying conclusion. Is 3 Body Problem as great as Game of Thrones or is it a non-starter?

3 Body Problem’s Similarities To Game Of Thrones

The differences between Game of Thrones and 3 Body Problem are pretty obvious. The former is high fantasy, while the latter falls into the genre of hard science fiction. The former takes place in the completely fictitious realm of Westeros, whereas the latter takes place in a fictionalized, slightly futuristic version of the real world. The differences between the two shows are apparent. But there are also a couple of surprising similarities between these two shows that point to why Benioff and Weiss chose to tackle 3 Body Problem as their follow-up to Game of Thrones.

Both Game of Thrones and 3 Body Problem are really strong adaptations of books that were widely considered to be unfilmable before they took them on. They’re both epic in scale, with massive stakes, an expansive world, and a large, sprawling cast of characters to keep track of. Plus, both Game of Thrones and 3 Body Problem explore dark themes with questionable morals and humanity’s own capacity for darkness. Liu, the author of 3 Body Problem’s source material, wanted to explore the worst possible universe, which feels fitting for the creators that brought George R.R. Martin’s Seven Kingdoms to life.

3 Body Problem Season 1 Isn’t As Good As Game Of Thrones Season 1

At face value, 3 Body Problem season 1 isn’t as strong as Game of Thrones’ first season was. They’re apples and oranges, but the overall quality is comparable. 3 Body Problem has a much bigger budget, so it could quickly establish an epic scope, which gives it a different scale than Game of Thrones season 1. But both are about introducing viewers to a new world and beginning a big story that will keep growing for years to come, and Game of Thrones did a better job of getting the audience to invest in the story and characters.

3 Body Problem Is A Reminder Of Benioff & Weiss’ Strengths

Ever since Game of Thrones season 8 arrived as a crushing disappointment, a lot of the discourse around Benioff and Weiss’ writing has focused on their weaknesses. But 3 Body Problem has arrived as a refreshing reminder of their greatest strengths, and the reason why their adaptation of Game of Thrones became so popular in the first place: they’re great adapters. They can take a story that’s fleshed out on the page and bring it to life on the screen, with good instincts for what can be cut or streamlined, and what needs to stay.

3 Body Problem has proven once again that Benioff and Weiss have a great ability to take these very complex narratives and break the story down in a way that works very well on TV. For all the things that may have gone wrong in the later seasons of Game of Thrones, Benioff and Weiss did an incredible job of adapting the enormous cast and complicated plot threads of A Song of Ice and Fire in a way that was both satisfying for long-time readers and accessible and digestible for new fans. With 3 Body Problem, they’ve done it again.

3 Body Problem Has One Major Advantage Over Game Of Thrones

3 Body Problem has one huge advantage over Game of Thrones in that the books are already finished. Benioff and Weiss have source material to follow from the beginning of the series to the end. This led to complications with Game of Thrones, because Martin hadn’t finished writing the books when the show premiered (and still hasn’t finished them long after the show has ended). For the last couple of seasons, Benioff and Weiss just had Martin’s plot outlines to work from.

Game of Thrones seasons 7 and 8 suffered from rushed storytelling, because the writers were adapting rough plot beats instead of full, fleshed-out novels. All the in-between character development that Martin would’ve added in the finished books was missing from the TV adaptation. For 3 Body Problem, Benioff and Weiss won’t have to turn any story outlines into seasons of television, because Liu has finished telling the story in all its glory on the page.

Will 3 Body Problem Be As Big As Game Of Thrones?

While 3 Body Problem certainly has the potential to be a great series, it’s unlikely that it’ll ever be as big as Game of Thrones. It’s always been difficult for TV shows to cultivate the kind of giant global fan base that Game of Thrones had throughout the 2010s, but it’s especially difficult in the age of streaming. There’s so much content out there now, and a different show for every possible niche interest, so it’s tough to create a huge hit that’s enjoyed by millions of fans across the world.

But just because 3 Body Problem is unlikely to garner the same phenomenon-level success as Game of Thrones, it doesn’t mean it can’t still be a big hit. Hopefully, it’ll be popular enough for Netflix to renew it for more seasons, so that Benioff and Weiss can finish the story (ideally in a more satisfactory way than they did with Game of Thrones). A show doesn’t have to be as successful as Game of Thrones to get renewed for multiple seasons and conclude its story; it just needs enough viewers for Netflix to justify continuing the series.