3 Body Problem creators clarify what those “additional episodes” actually mean

During Netflix‘s upfront presentation last week, the streaming service promised “additional episodes” of 3 Body Problem, the hugely expensive sci-fi drama from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, but what does that mean exactly?

“Additional episodes” could mean just about anything, but 3 Body Problem showrunners David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo reached out to THR to clarify that the new deal was for “seasons” of 3 Body Problem. Yep, that’s plural. “We knew going into this how many hours we need to tell the rest of the story because we’ve got a roadmap through to the end,” Weiss said. “And we have what we need to get to the end as intended from when we started.“

The exact number of “additional episodes” wasn’t specified, but Benioff added, “By the time we finish with the show, it will be seven years we’ve devoted to it. We’re now at a place where we get to tell the rest of the story, and, yes, we have enough time to tell the rest of the story the way we want to and that’s immensely gratifying.“

The first season of 3 Body Problem did pull in a sizeable audience, but the show wasn’t exactly the massive hit Netflix was hoping it would be, especially when you factor in the price tag of over $20 million per episode. Thankfully, it sounds like the saga will be given a proper ending.

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo have previously said that they envisioned a multi-season arc for the series, which could span between three or four seasons. “Well, there’s three novels in the trilogy,” Woo told GamesRader earlier this year. “The novels get longer and longer so I wouldn’t say it maps out exactly to three. We have some really strong ideas about what to do in a season two, and then it’s a little hazier down the line. But we want to get to the end, we want to get to the end of the trilogy, and whether that’s three or four, you know, or some other number. The goal is to get to the end of the trilogy and it seems like it would map out over probably, certainly more than two seasons but beyond that, it’s hard to know exactly.“

The series has received generally positive reviews, but our own Alex Maidy didn’t exactly love it. “I found it very hard to engage with this story, these characters, and this series,” Maidy wrote. “A misfire in every way, 3 Body Problem has some talented actors delivering some memorable moments, but none of it adds up to an experience that is satisfying, fulfilling, or even all that enjoyable.” You can check out the rest of Maidy’s review right here.