The Netflix show has found itself at the centre of a murder plot
A former executive has been sentenced to death over the murder of an exec producer on one of Netflix’s biggest shows of 2024.
In the last couple of weeks, Netflix fans have been bingeing the platform’s latest blockbuster series, 3 Body Problem.
Created by Game of Thrones makers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, alongside Alexander Woo, the series is based on the acclaimed Three-Body Problem trilogy of sci-fi novels by Chinese writer Liu Cixin.
The film rights to the novels were owned by Yoozoo Game, but back in 2020 the company’s founder, Lin Qi, was murdered in a poisoning.
Qi, who was an executive producer on Netflix’s adaptation, died on December 25, 2020, after his food was poisoned by Xu Yao following a dispute over the running of the business.
Xu had led a subsidiary in charge of the business related to the Three-Body Problem rights. He poisoned Lin’s food because of a dispute with him, the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court said.
Xu fell out with Lin he was sidelined by the Yoozoo founder shortly after he helped secure the Netflix deal, the BBC reports.
Yoozoo had granted Netflix the right to produce an adaptation of the Three-Body Problem books in September 2020.
Along with Lin, Xu also poisoned the drinks of four other people at the company because of a dispute he had with two of them. They all fell seriously ill, but none of them died.
Following his death, Yoozoo paid tribute to Lin in a statement signed by the company’s entire staff.
The company said: “You saw through what was imperfect but still believed in beauty; encountered unkindness but still believed in kindness. Together, we will continue to be kind, continue to believe in beauty, and continue to fight against all that is unkind.”
The tribute was posted on social media alongside an image of a handwritten quote from The Three-Body Problem.
The English-language adaptation was released on Netflix last month, and centres around a group of scientist friends living in the present-day UK as they investigate the mysterious deaths of several of their colleagues.
This is all the while they and the rest of Earth experience a series of bizarre, seemingly unexplainable phenomena.
This plotline is also intercut with another set in 1960s China where a young female scientist and political prisoner are recruited by the country’s government to work on a top secret project.
Featuring a large ensemble cast including the likes of John Bradley, Jonathan Pryce and Liam Cunningham, 3 Body Problem has been well-received and currently holds a score of 79 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
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