Creators of ‘3 Body Problem’ Talk About Omissions in Season One
The highly anticipated premiere of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem in April left everyone wondering if the creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones could pull it off once again. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, along with Alexander Woo, took on the adaptation of Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem. Their previous show, Thrones, had been the most Emmy-winning drama ever, receiving outstanding drama series nominations for all eight seasons. In July, the Emmy nominations were revealed, and the show secured a nomination in the drama series category for its debut season, along with five other nods.
“It felt like the first season of Thrones getting nominated felt, because it seemed similarly unlikely that the first season of a genre show gets that nod,” Weiss says. “It was a really happy surprise.”
“Dan [texted], ‘You guys see there’s a text from Bela [Bajaria, Netflix chief content officer]?’” Woo adds. “And I’m like, ‘Are we canceled after all?’ Then it was relief.”
The trio of writer-creators, currently working on the show’s second season, have answered countless questions about the first eight episodes. Below, they share some behind-the-scenes details, including content that was cut from the season, the absence of more Thrones actors, and a prank they played on star Eiza González.
You’ve talked about scenes that you added late in the process to make the show work better. Were there any scenes you cut?
ALEXANDER WOO There were a lot of scenes that stood on their own wonderfully; they just didn’t work with the episodes as a whole. We did a lot of scenes that we wish we could include but didn’t, to the benefit of the entire series. There were some things that we regretted having to cut.
Is there something specific? Particularly something from the book?
DAVID BENIOFF There’s one that we never shot, but it was in the script at some point that we didn’t do because of budgeting and time considerations. There’s a scene in the book when Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng) leaves Red Coast base for the first time to look for a site for the new base and she goes to a village and meets an old woman. It’s a beautiful moment from the books that all three of us loved, but it meant building a whole other exterior village set in period rural China.
WOO There was another sequence that was cut featuring a former Doctor Who star that would have delighted fans but had to be set aside for the sake of the episode.
WEISS [Joking] Jon Pertwee — 124 years old and still showed up.
There were a lot of Thrones actors who were either regulars or made cameos. Were there any others you wanted to have in there but didn’t work out?
WEISS The people we wanted when we were lucky enough to get on all counts.
Was there anything that fans misunderstood about the show?
WOO No. Many followed the story despite initial concerns that it would be too complex. The show has a balance of sci-fi elements and character development.
What can we assume Tatiana (Marlo Kelly) saw when she put on the VR headset?
WEISS “Something wonderful.”
David and Dan, you used to play pranks on the Thrones set. Did you do any on this one?
WEISS We gave Eiza a ridiculous monologue to learn as a prank, but it was ultimately ruined by someone else.
This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.