3 Body Problem season 2 tipped for big format shake-up - and it may disappoint some fans

Netflix's 3 Body Problem had to cover a lot of ground in its first season - but it seems season 2 will have to fit more in a shorter time-frame.

The second season of the series, which adapts the iconic novels by Liu Cixin, will only consist of six episodes compared to season 1's eight, according to a report from What's On Netflix.

Radio Times has contacted Netflix for further confirmation.

Alexander Woo, DB Weiss and David Benioff created the series, which follows a group of scientists who team up with a detective (played by Benedict Wong) to confront the greatest threat in humanity's history - an invasion from an extraterrestrial species known as the Santi.

While the dense novel had long been considered unadaptable, the series premiered to positive reviews - despite it making a fair few changes to the source material.

Season 1 ended by introducing the Wallfacers, an intelligence group brought together to defend humanity from the Santi invasion - something that will presumably be explored in more depth in season 2.

The next instalment will also introduce some new characters, with Claudia Doumit (The Boys) and Ellie De Lange (Wolf Hall) joining the cast as Captain Van Rijn and Ayla, respectively.

Speaking exclusively to Radio Times ahead of season 1's release, star Wong (who plays Detective Clarence Shi), opened up about the "daunting task" the show had ahead of it.

"I started to dive into the first book, and the second, and I just thought, 'This is so dense.' I had to keep going back to the chapters. I was getting really confused with the game. I was like, 'How [are they] going to film this? It almost feels unfilmable,'" he said.

"It's a daunting task, and you just think, 'Wow, this is such a heavy gauntlet to pick up,' and I'm all about the challenge - and I was on board. And with that, you've got this incredible cast, this ensemble that I'm so proud to be a part of."
Meanwhile, co-creator Alexander Woo said of future seasons: "The thing I think we all agree on is we want to get to the end. And that end image, the ending of the book, is something that we're all deeply, deeply excited about because it ties everything together in such a beautiful way.
"It will take more than two seasons. But whether it takes three or four or some other number, it's hard to say."

3 Body Problem season 2 will arrive on Netflix later this year.

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