This year sees the launch of Netflix’s biggest sci-fi series yet: the film adaptation of the bestselling novel The Three Suns. You can already stream the rival adaptation.
With The Three-Body Problem, Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are helming Netflix’s most elaborate science fiction project to date this year. This 8-episode adaptation of the popular sci-fi novel The Three Suns, the prelude to the Trisolaris trilogy by Chinese author Cixin Liu.
The Netflix series is not the only film adaptation of the material this year, however. China already launched its own adaptation, Three Body, in January. While Netflix’s The Three-Body Problem does not yet have a start date, you can already stream the Chinese series competition – and completely free of charge.
The sci-fi series Three-Body is the best way to prepare for the Netflix event
To prepare yourself for the biggest sci-fi event of the year on Netflix, you can of course read the novel – or watch the Chinese film adaptation. The film adapts the entire plot of the novel extremely precisely in 30 episodes. The Netflix adaptation with its 8 episodes will probably not be able to cope with that.
But what is Three-Body about anyway? The plot is extremely complex, cerebral and fascinating at the same time. It all begins in 2007 with a series of deaths. All over the world, scientists are committing suicide for unknown reasons. The nano-scientist Wang Miao and the policeman Si Qiang investigate related strange incidents that eventually lead them to a mysterious VR game.
How this is all connected to the experiences of astrophysicist Ye Wenjie years earlier at the time of the Cultural Revolution as well as the unsolvable three-body problem of an extraterrestrial civilisation is only revealed bit by bit.
What it all looks like is shown to you in the trailer for the sci-fi series Three-Body:
Unfortunately, the Chinese version cannot boast the budget of a Netflix blockbuster production. Instead, it captures the charm of the original superbly with its smouldering and sometimes exhausting storytelling, which is sometimes reminiscent of the Netflix series Dark and 1899.
Before the Netflix series: here’s how to stream sci-fi rival Three-Body for free
There are two options to watch the Chinese sci-fi adaptation Three-Body in Germany. You can stream Three-Body via Rakuten Viki. You can find the 30 episodes there with English subtitles (and some already with German subtitles).
In standard definition and with advertising, you can watch the episodes free of charge. For the high-definition version without advertising, you need a subscription. This costs 4.99 dollars a month after a 7-day free trial period.
But it’s even easier. You can watch the series for free on YouTube on the Tencent Video channel. There you will find the series with English subtitles and in a resolution of up to 4K.
