It took the better part of four years for Netflix was able to bring Liu Cixin’s sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem to life. The 3 Body Problem series was announced in September 2020 as the first post-Game of Thrones project for David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, who co-created the new show with Alexander Woo. Now that 3 Body Problem has finally arrived, it’s already near the top of the most popular shows on Netflix.
Anyone with the time to watch all eight episodes of 3 Body Problem doesn’t have to worry about spoilers. But for the benefit of those who haven’t yet, we’ll refrain from ruining the story for you. It’s enough to say that aliens are real in this world, and humanity has to deal with the implications of what that means for their collective future.
Once you’ve finished the first season of 3 Body Problem, we’ve picked out the next three sci-fi shows that you should watch. All three of our picks have some elements in common with 3 Body Problem, and the first show is also streaming exclusively on Netflix.
The Signal (2024)
There are a lot of similarities between 3 Body Problem and The Signal, which beat the former to Netflix by a few weeks. But unlike 3 Body Problem, The Signal is already a complete story. The show revolves around Sven (Florian David Fitz) and his daughter, Charlie (Yuna Bennett), both of whom are grieving over the apparent death of Seven’s wife and Charlie’s mother, Paula (Peri Baumeister).
Paula was an astronaut on the International Space Station who may have stumbled upon definitive proof of extraterrestrial life. To silence and discredit Paula, someone crashed her plane and blamed her for the incident. Before that happened, Paula sent a message to her family with clues to help them unravel the truth. However, Sven and Charlie soon become targets themselves as they try to discover what Paula really found in space.
Watch The Signal on Netflix.
Invasion (2021-present)
Invasion really takes its time to get going, putting the “slow” in “slow burn.” Even when binge-watching it, some viewers’ patience may be tested, but stick with it. The reason why this show works is that it takes the time to introduce the large ensemble cast of characters, including Aneesha Malik (Golshifteh Farahani), Trevante Cole (Shamier Anderson), Mitsuki Yamato (Shioli Kutsuna), and Caspar Morrow (Billy Barratt).
For the most part, the story is about the ordinary people who react to the unfolding invasion even before they fully realize what’s happening. By season 2, the world is in a full-blown battle for survival between the humans and aliens. And thankfully, a third season has already been confirmed.
Watch Invasion on Apple TV+.
Colony (2016-2018)
Colony mixes things up by taking place after an alien invasion has already left humanity subjugated under the invaders’ rule. Lost‘s Josh Holloway and The Walking Dead‘s Sarah Wayne Callies co-star in the series as Will and Katie Bowman, the two characters at the heart of the show. Will is an FBI special agent who is blackmailed by the alien’s human collaborators into joining their forces in order to eliminate the remaining resistance fighters.
What Will doesn’t know is that his wife, Katie, is an important figure in the Resistance. In the occupied city of Los Angeles, Will and Katie will have to come to terms with their actions and work together to protect their family. Getting rid of the aliens is a larger problem, and it may prove to be a hopeless battle. But it’s a battle that has to be fought.
Watch Colony on The Roku Channel.
