“Extraordinary Sci-Fi Series”: Stephen King Loves Netflix’s 8-Part Adaptation That Dominated Streaming

One Netflix sci-fi series was good enough to earn the praise of Stephen King himself, who called the ambitious show’s first outing “Extraordinary.” There has never been a better time to be a fan of sci-fi TV shows. In the years since Netflix’s Altered Carbon took worldbuilding to new heights with its complex lore in 2018’s first season, every streaming service has responded with equally ambitious, complicated, and richly rewarding entries into the genre.

On Prime Video, there’s the acclaimed video game franchise adaptation Fallout, while Hulu has both the complex sci-fi mystery Devs and the Alien spinoff Alien: Earth. Apple TV has an embarrassment of riches, from Silo, to For All Mankind, to The Expanse-esque futuristic space opera Foundation. While HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoffs and upcoming Harry Potter series mean the streaming service is more closely linked with the fantasy genre, even they have gotten in on the action with Dune: Prophecy.

Netflix themselves have continued to excel in the sci-fi genre too, making up for the early cancellation of Sense8 with a string of ambitious and bold sci-fi shows. One of the biggest entries into the genre from the entertainment Goliath came in 2024, when Netflix bought the first post-Game of Thrones TV show from the show’s showrunners, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. 3 Body Problem soon proved a streaming sensation, and even attracted praise from no less than horror legend Stephen King himself.

Stephen King’s Praise Proves Why You Should Be Excited For 3 Body Problem Season 2

Based on the novel series Remembrance of Earth’s Past by author Liu Cixin, 3 Body Problem follows a diverse array of characters from across the world as they struggle with the first contact between humanity and an alien species. This unprecedented event is initially seen from the perspective of ‘The Oxford Five,’ a group of scientific researchers from across various disciplines who are brought together by their shared interests.

However, since the sprawling, complex story of 3 Body Problem has worldwide implications for all humankind, it should not come as a shock that the astrophysicist Dr. Ye Wenjie soon comes to play a major role in the story as their plot intersects with that of ‘The Oxford Five.’ Like a lot of recent Netflix sci-fi shows such as Stranger Things, 3 Body Problem is unafraid of splitting its story across many characters and drawing a huge number of threads together in its knotty plotting.

Fortunately, this works in the show’s favor. In a post on X, King called the show “extraordinary, sprawling, thought-provoking,” and “immersive,” saying he found some particular scenes to be “chilling and awe-inspiring.” King has never been shy about praising the shows that he enjoys on his active social media page, with the author also singling out M. Night Shyamalan’s twisty mystery Servant and Netflix’s psychological thriller Baby Reindeer for praise.

3 Body Problem Contains Subtle Elements Of Horror For Stephen King Fans

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

King’s praise of 3 Body Problem could be rooted, at least in part, in the show’s judicious use of horror elements in its storytelling. While 3 Body Problem season 1’s story isn’t an explicitly scary one, the show features moments of existential dread that are as unsettling as anything from the Carrie author’s back catalog.

Not only that, but some scenes, such as the fate of the Judgment Day ship’s inhabitants, are thoroughly horrifying not due to any supernatural elements but to their realistic and gruesome gore. Thus, 3 Body Problem may not be a horror show in the traditional sense, but it certainly isn’t short on horrifying scenes and ideas.

This just proves how broad the show’s appeal is and how much 3 Body Problem deserves to be part of the conversation surrounding ambitious, immersive sci-fi stories on the small screen in 2026. While there are a lot of other shows that are well worth checking out, there’s a reason Stephen King considered Netflix’s 3 Body Problem to be must-see TV.

Release Date

March 21, 2024

Directors

Minkie Spiro, Derek Tsang

Writers

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo

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