I  has been surprisingly little remarked upon that one of the most significant creative partnerships in 21st century pop culture originated in Dublin: at some point in the mid-’90s, two Americans studying Irish literature at Trinity College, David Benioff and DB Weiss, had their first meeting and set in motion the events that led to one of the most successful TV shows of all time.

Later, with both up and running in their literary careers (Benioff enjoying a major coup when his debut novel The 25th Hour was adapted into a film by Spike Lee), the duo became writing partners and pitched their idea for an adaption of the dark fantasy series Game Of Thrones to its creator George RR Martin. Satisfied that the pair had sufficient grasp of GOT’s dense plotting and characterisation, the New Jersey author gave his blessing.

Eventually, HBO ordered the series and the rest is history: the record viewing figures, the acclaim, the awards and a franchise worth hundreds of millions (not to mention the huge fan backlash – as well as the obligatory petition for a remake – after an ill-judged final season). After creating such a cultural phenomenon, the question faced by Benioff and Weiss – as immortally posed by Jarvis Cocker in ‘This Is Hardcore’ – was straightforward: what exactly do you do for an encore?

What was certain is that the pair could scarcely hoped for a more agreeable starting point. When GOT came to an end in 2019, the streaming wars were at their zenith and the duo could name their price. Thus, in August that year, they signed a multi-year film and TV deal with Netflix worth a cool $200 million. The first fruits arrive this month in the shape of 3 Body Problem, an eight-part adaptation of the acclaimed sci-fi thriller series by Liu Cixin, who has been dubbed “China’s Arthur C. Clarke”.

Benioff and Weiss’s interest was no doubt peaked by an enthusiastic blog post about the series by Martin – its other fans included Barack Obama, who quipped that it made his “day-to-day problems with Congress seem fairly petty” – and it certainly has the potential to make a fantastic show. A saga of astonishing ambition and complexity, 3 Body Problem is set in a fictional past, present and future, with the often macabre storyline encompassing 20th century Chinese politics, nuclear weapons, nanotechnology, virtual reality video games, and scientific theses so complex as to require a degree in astrophysics (think Pep Guardiola’s tactical formations).

At the centre of the action is scientist Ye Wenjie, whose father is murdered during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Conscripted by the military to work on a secret project, she discovers a plan to make contact with an alien civilisation, who it turns out are intent on invading Earth. Eventually, various political factions come into conflict over how to deal with the crisis, whilst the aliens use media to manipulate humanity and fabricate mass hallucinations (again, think Liverpool’s 7-0 win over Man Utd).

In a wider context, 3 Body Problem represents an interesting pivot away from Netflix’s more generic programming towards the prestige territory that – amazingly, given the frightening sums invested by competing streamers – remains almost exclusively the preserve of HBO. No doubt, the platform will be looking for a zeitgeist defining hit a la Stranger Things and The Crown, as it seeks a return on its investment in Benioff and Weiss. Certainly, there had been considerable industry chatter about the wisdom of its similarly expensive deal with Ryan Murphy, until the American Horror Story creator delivered the goods with the hit pair of The Watcher and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

The early portents look good, with enthusiastic reception to the trailers, even if we badly need a moratorium on choral versions of hit songs (in this case, Radiohead’s ‘Everything In Its Right Place’). In amongst the inevitable action sequences, we also get a glimpse of the impressive cast, which includes Rosalind Chao as Ye, as well as the likes of Benedict Wong and Games Of Thrones veterans Jonathan Pryce and Liam Cunningham. In a nice change of pace for Irish actors in Hollywood, the latter even gets to use his natural Dublin accent.

If anything, the behind-the-scenes talent is even more impressive, with the list of producers including heavyweights Brad Pitt, Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike and Knives Out mastermind Rian Johnson. Undoubtedly, Benioff and Weiss’s creation has all the ingredients for a memorable space odyssey.

• 3 Body Problem is available to stream on Netflix on March 21.