Back to All News
Love, Death Robots': The Story Behind the Anthology Series' First-Ever Sequel
Netflix Staff
Entertainment
18 May 2022
Global
Ever since its debut in 2019, Love, Death Robots has subverted expectations. So for Season 3, the NSFW anthology of animated stories is, again, doing something completely unexpected: a sequel.
The new episode Exit Strategies welcomes back K-VRC, XBOT 4000, and 11-45-G, the trio of inquisitive droids at the center of Three Robots, as they continue their investigation into the cause of the end of the (human) world.
Just like any archaeologists, human, robot or otherwise, they are going on information that is piecemeal at best, says Exit Strategies writer John Scalzi. And they have to make assumptions, they have to guess, and sometimes they get it wildly incorrect. When they do, hopefully, it's funny.
While the original Three Robots episode was based on a short story by Scalzi, the acclaimed sci-fi author of the best-selling Old Man's War series and the Hugo Award-winning Redshirts, this time around he wrote the script, too - concurrent with a short story.
Ahead of Love, Death Robots' Season 3 debut, Scalzi talked about revisiting these characters, why he wanted to write the script and the surprising experience that helped prepare him for the collaborative process.
How did it feel to return to these characters?
For me, the thing that was great is I wrote the characters because, years ago, a friend of mine kept poking me until I contributed to her anthology, Robots Vs. Fairies. I knocked it out in about an hour. The fact that something I did to keep my friend from annoying me has gone on to have such a long life - first in the book, then the first season, then being the only episode that is explicitly a sequel - just tickles me. And it thrills me, because the longer I'm with those characters, the more I love them.
The episode manages to make a point, without being heavy-handed. Is that a line you're aware of walking?
Oh, absolutely. This is the thing I'm very conscious of in my science-fiction generally. Your first job is to entertain people. If they're aware I'm coming with a point with a capital P then immediately a bunch of walls go up. My interest is less in lecturing people than it is in letting them have a good time and then once they get out the door they can think about the things that they've seen.
With the first Three Robots, Philip Gelatt adapted your short story, but here you've written both, right?
They were written in tandem. Because [executive producer] Tim [Miller] said, Can we have a sequel? So I pitched a treatment, then wrote a script, then wrote a short story that was more in the style of the original story. It was interesting to present this story in different media. Having the original animated version gave me a real solid grounding of how I wanted those characters' personalities to proceed. XBOT 4000 is massive yet neurotic. K-VRC is enthusiastic, but not the smartest kid on the block. And then 11-45-G is basically Daria - from the MTV television series Daria. Just completely deadpan and the smartest of the group. Just having that mix of characters made it a lot easier to come back and say, What sort of scenarios are you going to put them into? We know the format has to basically be: We are at the end of the days of humanity. And they're fascinated by human culture. So how can we continue that and not just have it be a rehash of what's been done before? 'Cause there's a fine line between having a mode and having a shtick.
How did you find the collaborative process of adapting your work?
I can understand why a lot of novelists don't like it. The good news for me was before I became a novelist and short story writer, but after I'd become a journalist, there was a period of time where I was doing a lot of corporate consulting. And that consisted of coming in and saying, What is it you need? How do you need it? Let me do it. What are your notes? So, weirdly enough, corporate America was much more useful for me, in terms of dealing with the collaborative filmmaking process, than fiction was. That's not to say I accepted every single note. I argued with Tim back and forth. And one of the great things about Tim, in particular, is that you can say to him: No, I think this is bullshit, and here's my 10-point list why. And he will actually listen. Sometimes he'll be like, You're wrong, but you never got the feeling he wasn't listening.
In terms of the science fiction community, how do you feel that Love, Death Robots as a whole is perceived and valued?
To have Love, Death Robots come out and immediately there are so many hot takes - both from the science fiction community and the people who are watching in the film-television community - has been really gratifying. It wasn't a pebble thrown into the ocean that sinks straight down with barely a ripple. It was a big fucking splash.
Love, Death Robots Volume 3 premieres May 20.
North America Stories
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang today visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to commission an NVIDIA DGX GB300 system - bringing one...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
21/07/2026
In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...
21/07/2026
When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR
coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...
21/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...
21/07/2026
Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...
21/07/2026
COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...
21/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...
21/07/2026
Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47
Beyond bigger
For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...
21/07/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...
21/07/2026
nxtedition returns to IBC2026 with its consolidated production platform, showing how scripting, editing, graphics, AI-assisted tools and automation can work wit...
Back to All News
