When a scientist drops dead, the immediate questions are what’s the main reason, and what exactly were they studying. It’s the mystery that drives the popular 3 Body Problem novel by Liu Cixin, which spawned two separate live-action series. Unlike the Western Netflix version, Tencent’s Three-Body sticks close to the source material, devoting more than twice as much time to the events. It’s because of this that Three-Body gets to delve deeper into the novel’s themes over the visuals– it gets to delve deeper into the ways science and tech has been manipulated for certain interests and whether humanity is ready for newer tech when history has proven otherwise. If you’re totally new to the story, the shorter, star-studded Netflix adaptation might be more your jam, but readers who want a more in-depth and faithful adaptation would prefer Tencent’s Three-Body.

The way Three-Body explains the science behind the novel.