Dense sci-fi drama has violence, language, nudity.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
An adult daughter watches her dad beaten to death on stage while crowds jeer (his face bloodied and mangled). A gunfight breaks out inside a crowded room; shootings, blood spatter, screaming. A sympathetic, important character is brutally murdered (stabbing with lots of blood); another dies by suicide. Sad scenes with grieving friends. At its most graphic, people on a ship are sliced up by nanotech: bodies cut in half, severed limbs and torsos shown with guts, including the severed leg of a child. A main character finds out he has stage four cancer and has just months to live; several hospital scenes. A realistic virtual reality world has video game violence: A character steps on a mummified corpse buried in sand and screams; another grotesquely "dehydrates," shriveling into a dried bundle of skin; a horse, child, and planet catch fire and burn to death; people are regularly sliced with swords, blood spraying.
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Main characters casually rely on various substances, saying "I need a drink" before swigging from a flask; frequently smoking indoors, even when told it's not allowed; and smoking marijuana (joints, a pipe, multiple references to being high). One person vomits from overdrinking. A main character suggests dropping acid at a club. Another takes anti-anxiety pills while a concerned friend says they're "popping them like candy." No lasting consequences shown; in particular, drinking to get drunk and cigarette smoking is portrayed positively.
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Nonsexual nudity in one episode, including brief full-frontal nudity, in a virtual world where bodies are "rehydrated" in a lake and people swim to shore. Characters date and talk about love; brief kissing scenes.
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Brief mentions of various brands such as Vodafone and Macallan whisky. News channels show the CNN logo.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Lead cast is racially diverse and characters are not stereotypical. Based on a Chinese novel, the series includes main actors with Chinese ancestry, such as American actor Rosalind Chao as the older scientist Ye Wenjie, New Zealander Jess Hong as physicist Jin Cheng, and British Hong Konger Benedict Wong as detective Da Shi. Women are portrayed as intelligent and in positions of power, and a woman of color over 60 (Chao) has a pivotal and complex role. Mexican actor Eiza Gonzáles and Black actor Jovan Adepo also play lead roles, though they can feel a bit tokenized. Da Shi's son briefly mentions a boyfriend—it's normalized. The series was co-created by three men: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (White Americans) and Alexander Woo (Chinese American).
Mixed messages about whether or not it's ethical to sacrifice, and even kill, for the greater good. But the show encourages curiosity, persistence, and compassion.
Positive Role Models
some
The show is populated with ultrasmart but morally gray adults. Some, like Auggie, are clearly compassionate and brave; others, such as Wenjie, get caught up in hubris and cause a lot of damage. Many main characters fall somewhere in between. But, in general, ingenuity, bravery, resilience, and compassion are strong character traits across the ensemble.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that 3 Body Problem is a science fiction drama based on the award-winning 2015 sci-fi novel by Liu Cixin. It's about a mysterious space event and is produced by the creative team behind Game of Thrones. Expect lots of intense violence, including deaths by suicide and a mass killing where bodies are sliced up by nanotech, a child's severed leg shown on the ground. There's a mass indoor gunfight (screaming, blood spatters), and a daughter watches her dad beaten to death while a crowd jeers, his face bloodied and mangled. Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," and "ass." Main characters frequently drink, smoke cigarettes, and use marijuana. There are also references to being high, dropping acid, and overusing anti-anxiety pills. There's some nonsexual nudity, including brief full frontals, set in a virtual world. Characters date and talk about love, with brief kissing. The show incorporates theological and philosophical questions about the existence of God, and characters demonstrate ingenuity, bravery, resilience, and compassion. The series has a diverse cast, starring several actors with Chinese heritage, such as Rosalind Chao and Benedict Wong, plus Black and Mexican actors, including Jovan Adepo and Eiza Gonzáles, as part of the main ensemble.
They always seem to leave out other bad words in each review! They say dick several times and I watched with a young kid and they heard it and now say it all the time now. I would not have watched if that was mentioned! Can't trust this site for good information.
Katherine R.Parent of 12, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
July 30, 2024
age 14+
What's the Story?
3 BODY PROBLEM follows a group of physicists dubbed the "Oxford 5" (played by Jess Hong, Eiza González, Jovan Adepo, Alex Sharp, and John Bradley), who discover something that goes against every known scientific explanation of how the world works. After the mysterious deaths of some of their peers, the physicists see and experience strange events, all of which may trace back to the actions of a single prisoner in 1960s China, Ye Wenjie (played by Zine Tseng and Rosalind Chao). All the while, detective Da Shi (Benedict Wong) investigates the circumstances surrounding the Oxford 5 and protects them as best he can from unknown enemies.
Creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss shifted the TV landscape with Game of Thrones, making the fantasy genre immensely popular with bold storytelling and gut-punch twists. With co-creator Alexander Woo (The Terror, True Blood) on board for their new series, 3 Body Problem, they hope to catapult another niche genre into the same stratosphere. This time, the genre is speculative fiction, and the point of entry is a little steep: The show centers around the tension between science and religion. But given an investment from viewers, 3 Body Problem pays off in arresting visuals and—often gory—heart-pounding action. The show confidently takes its audience into uncharted territory, peeling back mystery after mystery.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the mysterious events happening in 3 Body Problem. How do the characters try to explain them? How do these explanations evolve over the course of the series?
What role does science play in 3 Body Problem? How realistic are the conversations about science? How much of an understanding of physics do you need to understand the story?
How does the show depict China? Does this depiction feel stereotypical, or nuanced? Why do you think the series presents Chinese culture this way?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Marty Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
