What book is 3 Body Problem based on?
The Three-Body Problem, book 1 of Remembrance of Earth's Past, by Liu Cixin.
The book behind 3 Body Problem
The Three-Body Problem
2014 · book 1 of Remembrance of Earth's Past · by Liu Cixin
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Should you read it first?
Read the book before or after season 1. The series follows the first novel for its first half, then pulls in ideas from the next two books, so reading it shows you what is Liu's and what is new.
Book vs series
- The show moves the present-day story from China to London and adds foreign characters and locations.
- The book's single hero, Wang Miao, is split on screen among several scientists who studied together at Oxford.
- Season 1 follows the first novel until about episode 5, then borrows the Wallfacer program from The Dark Forest.
- Its opening also draws on the beginning of Death's End, the third book.
Show the big differences (spoilers)
The death of the scientist Vera Ye in episode 1 combines scenes from The Three-Body Problem and Death's End, a sign of how freely the series mixes the three books.
Which book is each season based on?
| Season | Book |
|---|---|
| Season 1 (2024) | The Three-Body Problem · eight episodes; mostly the first novel, with elements of The Dark Forest and Death's End |
| Season 2 | · filming finished January 2026; no date or book announced |
| Season 3 | · renewed May 2024; no date or book set |
What to read next
The Dark Forest (2015). Season 2 finished filming in January 2026, and The Dark Forest is the next book in the trilogy.
Remembrance of Earth's Past in order
- 1The Three-Body Problem 2014
- 2The Dark Forest 2015
- 3Death's End 2016