Picture: Netflix

It’s been over seven months since 3 Body Problem got its double-season renewal at Netflix, and there have been very few updates between then and now. We’ve finally got some good news, though, with a small filming update coming through stating that filming on season 2 will begin in the United Kingdom in “early 2025.” Here’s everything we know about the upcoming second and third seasons of 3 Body Problem at Netflix.

In case you missed it, 3 Body Problem is the massive new sci-fi drama series created by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo with episodes estimated at about $20 million an episode. It is based on the novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin. Benioff and Weiss are also showrunners and executive producers on the series, which dropped all episodes on March 21st, 2024.

Has Netflix renewed 3 Body Problem for a second season?

Netflix Renewal Status: Renewed for seasons 2 and 3

At the Netflix Upfront in May 2024, Netflix confirmed that 3 Body Problem would be returning for new episodes to take viewers through the entire journey of this epic saga. Initially, Netflix was cagey on whether it’d be two more seasons as it stressed it was just new episodes at the time.

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo said on the renewal: “We’re thrilled that we get to tell this story through to its epic conclusion. 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!”

Benioff, Weiss, and Woo continued elsewhere, “We included a lot of what we loved from the [novels by Cixin Liu] in Season 1, but the vast majority of reasons we wanted to make this show are in Season 2,” said Weiss. “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.”

Peter Friedlander, Vice President, Scripted Series (US & Canada), Netflix, said, “The extraordinary 3 Body Problem, brought to life with the deft hands of Benioff, Weiss, and Woo, will soar to never-before-seen heights as they tackle the rest of the mind-blowing journey through ‘Death’s End.’ Their brilliant vision as storytellers is matched by their amazing partnership — and, just like the fans, we can’t wait to see what they have in store.”

A lot has already been said about the future of the show. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Benioff explained how a scene we could see in the second season of 3 Body Problem could be the show’s equivalent of Game of Thrones Red Wedding;

“At our first Comic-Con [for Game of Thrones], someone asked if we’re going to get a second season.” I remember saying there’s a scene that would happen in season three — I didn’t even want to name it, but ‘RW, for people who know — if we can get there, I think we’re going to be OK. And there’s a scene in the second season [of 3 Body Problem] that I feel is — it’s not the Judgment Day scene [in season one] — it’s one that happens in the second season … things wildly escape, and there’s one scene, if we get to it, we’re golden — like when we got to the Red Wedding on Thrones.”

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Showrunners have said they’re aiming for three or four seasons total. Speaking to NME, showrunners Benioff, Weiss, and Alexander Woo revealed that they already know where they are headed and how many seasons that could take, but that would depend on how successful Season 1 is:

“If the first series doesn’t work it will be one and done but if we’re able to keep going and tell the whole story, whether that’s in three seasons or four seasons or whatever it is, we know the place we’re heading to, which is a lot of fun.”

How did 3 Body Problem perform on Netflix?

Using Netflix’s stats and other locations, we can do a quick deep dive into seeing how well season 1 performed. Beginning with Netflix’s top 10 stats – that’s where the show featured for seven weeks in total, picking up 345,500,000 million hours watched, which equates to 46 million views. Here’s how the show’s viewership breaks down week-to-week:

Week Period	Hours Viewed	Views / CVE	Rank	Week in Top 10
March 17th, 2024 to March 24th, 2024	81,700,000 (New)	11,000,000	2	1
March 24th, 2024 to March 31st, 2024	115,600,000 (+41%)	15,600,000	1	2
March 31st, 2024 to April 7th, 2024	61,300,000 (-47%)	8,300,000	1	3
April 7th, 2024 to April 14th, 2024	35,500,000 (-42%)	4,800,000	1	4
April 14th, 2024 to April 21st, 2024	24,000,000 (-32%)	3,200,000	3	5
April 21st, 2024 to April 28th, 2024	16,000,000 (-33%)	2,200,000	6	6
April 28th, 2024 to May 5th, 2024	11,400,000 (-29%)	1,500,000	9	7

Those numbers don’t exist in a vacuum, so let’s expand it and see how well the show performed compared to others.

When comparing the performance over time against a few other shows that were canceled or renewed, we can see that 3 Body Problem tracked just slightly below The Gentlemen but put enough distance between itself and cancelations like Dead Boy Detectives and KAOS.

While the numbers aren’t huge by any stretch, as What’s on Netflix contributor Frederic noted, if the show had not been renewed, it would have been the most-watched cancellation in Netflix history.

The Netflix Engagement Report for January through June 2024 confirmed that the show ultimately received 388.10M hours of watching (52.4M views) in the first half of the year, making it the eighth most-watched show for that period.

Where is 3 Body Problem Season 2 in production? When will it be released?

According to UKCastingNews (paywall), season 2 production is due to get underway in “early 2025,” stating that filming will continue at Shepperton Studios in London (the United Kingdom). They also state that Jeremy Podeswa, who directed episodes 7 and 8 of season 1, will be returning to the director’s chair, and there is no word on whether seasons 2 and 3 will be filmed back-to-back.

As for a release, we think 2025 is probably out of the question and instead aiming for a release sometime in 2026.

What can we expect from 3 Body Problem season 2?

Why is Saul Durand so important?

As one of only three Wallfacers, Saul Durand has been specially selected to help humanity in their fight against the San-Ti. Saul and others are still determining why he has been chosen as one of the Wallfacers, and initially, Saul attempts to reject the position. However, after an assassination attempt on Saul fails, the Secretary General of the UN discusses with him why it doesn’t matter whether or not he sees himself as a Wallfacer but, more importantly, what the people believe and how everyone owes it to their descendants to give themselves a fighting chance against the Shan-Ti.

What makes Saul so important has yet to be revealed. However, we do know that Vera Ye gave him extremely high praise, acknowledging that he has the most potential out of “The Oxford Five.” Despite not having a love for physics, his natural problem-solving ability could be key to helping humanity defeat the Shan-Ti.

Picture: Jovan Adepo as Saul Durand – Bighead Littlehead

Will Thomas Wade betray humanity?

Thomas Wade is ruthless in his approach to dealing with the Shan-Ti problem, and his track record speaks for itself, with many of his high-risk operations resulting in resounding victories for his agency. At the end of the first season, Wade is confronted by the Shan-Ti, who makes him aware that he is a part of their plan and that there is a place for him when they arrive. They also make it painfully aware that they could kill Wade at a moment’s notice.

Wade is stubborn as he is ruthless, but he would likely place his life below the survival of the human race. However, if the Shan-Ti can damage him psychologically, then there is always a chance that Wade could be swayed to their side, to which he would be a deadly adversary of humanity.

Picture: Liam Cunningham as Thomas Wade – Bighead Littlehead

What is Tatiana’s place amongst the Shan-Ti?

One of Shan-Ti’s most dedicated followers, Tatiana, is rewarded for her loyalty and now has access to one of the previously gifted headsets to Jack and Jin. What this means remains to be determined, as the game’s purpose was to allow the Shan-Ti to recruit like-minded individuals to aid them on their journey to Earth.

Humanity now knows about the Shan-Ti, and Tatiana remains the last known member of the organization of Shan-Ti followers established by Mike Evans and Ye Wenjie. Her true purpose in the Shan-Ti may be to sow discord among humanity and recruit other like-minded individuals to the cause. While the Sophons are extremely versatile and a dangerous tool of the Shan-Ti, what is arguably even more dangerous would be an underground movement of Shan-Ti worshippers ready to act against humanity at a moment’s notice, sabotaging any potential threats the Sophon couldn’t carry out themselves.

Picture: Marlo Kelly as Tatiana

Will we see Will ever again?

Sadly, for all involved, Project Staircase was a failure. Without intervention, what remains of Will and the spacecraft will wander endless deep space forever. With the Shan-Ti on their way to Earth, is there a chance that the strange alien race could find a way to the spacecraft and extract Will from it? They made it clear to Thomas Wade their disappointment with Project Staircase’s failure. Considering the lengths and technology used in their endeavor to Earth, one of the Shan-Ti ships could intercept Will’s spacecraft.

Can we expect to see a time skip?

Given that hibernation technology is fully developed, we’ll likely see a time skip if other characters besides Thomas Wade join him. What the world could look like and the advancements made after decades or even a century or two will be exciting.