The Expanse received positive critical response, with particular praise for its visuals, character development and political narrative. It received aHugo Award forBest Dramatic Presentation and threeSaturn Award nominations forBest Science Fiction Television Series. Syfy cancelled the series after three seasons. Amazon later acquired the series, producing three more seasons, with the series concluding with its sixth. The series premiered on December 14, 2015 on Syfy, with theseries finale being released on Amazon on January 14, 2022.
Hundreds of years in the future, humanity has colonized theSolar System. The three largest powers are the United Nations of Earth andLuna, the Martian Congressional Republic onMars, and the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA), a loose political confederation of colonies scattered across theasteroid belt and the moons ofJupiter andSaturn. The United Nations is a capitalist society withauthoritarian undertones, while the Martians have evolved into a militaristic,corporatist culture. Both ruthlessly exploit and oppress the "Belter" populations of the OPA to gain control of their valuable natural resources.
UN Deputy Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala works to prevent simmering tensions between the United Nations and Mars from erupting into all-out war.Ceres police investigator Josephus "Joe" Miller is tasked with finding a missing young woman, Julie Mao, who has ties to the OPA. TheCanterbury, an industrial ice-harvesting ship, and the Martian Navy flagshipDonnager are destroyed by unknown stealth ships. James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal, and Amos Burton survive both attacks and escape in theTachi, a Martian gunship. They rename the shipRocinante, which becomes the mainsetting of the series.[1] The crew of theRocinante, with Miller's help, investigate and eventually discover abiohazard that kills off most of the humans on the asteroid spaceportEros, including Julie. Chrisjen sends her family away after realizing that a faction within the UN is responsible for the demise of both ships.
The crew of theRocinante, along with members of the OPA, attack the station responsible for the biohazard on Eros. Learning that it is an extra-solar bio-weapon known as the protomolecule, they attempt to destroy Eros. Miller becomes trapped there and dies when it crashes into Venus. Martian Marine Bobbie Draper fights an inhuman figure on Ganymede and later, during peace talks between Earth and Mars, becomes a protégé of Avasarala. The crew tries to help a father, Prax, find his daughter. In the process, they encounter and kill a figure akin to the one that Draper fought, now known as a "protomolecule hybrid", developed by Jules-Pierre Mao. A research ship, sent to Venus to investigate the crash of Eros into the planet, is stopped dead in the atmosphere and dismantled by the protomolecule.
The UN declares war, as Earth and Mars send science vessels to investigate what is happening onVenus. Political tensions soar as the OPA is recognized as the government of the Belters and Prax is reunited with his daughter. The protomolecule forms the Ring, a structure which takes an orbital position beyond Uranus, and all three governments race to send their ships through. After a Belter racing ship slingshots through the Ring at high speed, the ring believes the high speed humans and objects to be dangerous and activates defenses that threaten humanity. Through Holden, a projection of Miller tries to shut off the defenses of the ring and convince the protomolecule that humanity is not a threat. The ring reveals itself to be a massive network of wormholes to other planetary systems, each containing a habitable earth-like planet.
With hundreds of habitable star systems accessible via the Ring's wormholes, the balance of the Solar System is disrupted forever. Earthers begin demanding an organized exodus to solve the planet's overcrowding, while efforts toterraform Mars grind to a halt with the realization that naturally habitable worlds are available. Drummer reorganizes much of the OPA to become the custodians of "ringspace" so that colonization and communication can be controlled and stable. A ship runs Drummer's blockade, and Avasarala sends theRocinante to investigate the situation on the exoplanet, calledIlus. While the rest of the crew try to ease tension between the colonists and an officially backed scientific expedition with private military support, Holden discovers ruins from the same civilization that built the Rings. With the help of the Investigator, Holden reactivates an ancient structure, setting off a chain of cataclysmic events.
A deadly conspiracy threatens Earth, as the crew of theRocinante pursue personal missions while their ship is in dry dock at Tycho Station. Draper and Avasarala investigate the Martian military's ties to a growing threat from a rogue faction of Belters. Marco Inaros, the rebel leader, assembles a Belter fleet and attacks Earth with stealth-shielded asteroids.
Holden and the crew of theRocinante fight alongside the Combined Fleet of Earth and Mars to protect the Inner Planets from Marco Inaros and his Free Navy. The combined fleet, allied with the ships of Camina Drummer and other Belter forces, defeats Marco and the Free Navy by antagonizing an unknown alien presence. On a distant planet, a young colonist discovers animals that can resurrect her dead sibling.
Cara Gee as Camina Drummer (seasons 4–6; recurring seasons 2–3), Tycho Station's Belter head of security, later the commanding officer of theBehemoth and Medina Station, later the leader of the rebel faction opposing the Free Navy
Keon Alexander as Marco Inaros (seasons 5–6; recurring season 4), a Belter faction leader, later head of the Free Navy[7]
Jasai Chase-Owens as Filip Inaros (seasons 5–6; guest season 4), Marco and Naomi's son, currently working for Marco[7]
Nadine Nicole as Clarissa Melpomene Mao (seasons 5–6; recurring season 3; guest season 4), Jules-Pierre Mao's elder daughter who initially seeks revenge against Holden, later a crew member onRocinante[7]
Chad L. Coleman as Fred Lucius Johnson, "the Butcher of Anderson Station" (seasons 1–2, 5; guest seasons 3–4), a UNN colonel-turned-leader of the OPA on Tycho Station[5]
Martin Roach as Michael Souther (seasons 1, 3; guest season 2), a UNN admiral
François Chau as Jules-Pierre Mao (seasons 1–3), the owner of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile
Athena Karkanis as Tavi Muss (season 1), Miller's former partner at Star Helix Security
Jared Harris as Anderson Dawes (seasons 1; guest season 2), the OPA's Ceres liaison[5]
Jay Hernandez as Dmitri Havelock (season 1), Miller's Earther partner at Star Helix Security[3]
Lola Glaudini as Shaddid (season 1), captain of Star Helix Security's Ceres detachment
Kevin Hanchard as Sematimba (season 1; guest season 2), a detective onEros
Daniel Kash as Antony Dresden (seasons 1; guest season 2), Protogen's head of biological research
Brian George (seasons 1; guest seasons 2, 6) andMichael Benyaer (season 4) as Arjun Avasarala-Rao, Avasarala's husband
Greg Bryk as Lopez (season 1), an MMC lieutenant assigned to the Martian Congressional Republic Navy (MCRN)Donnager
Elias Toufexis as Kenzo Gabriel (season 1), a Davila Aerospatiale spy on Tycho Station
Sara Mitich as Gia (season 1), a brothel employee in the Rosse Buurt district of Ceres, who is secretly teaching the Belter language to Havelock
Terry McDonough was revealed to be directing the first two episodes of the series in October 2014.[3] In May 2015, before the first season aired, writing commenced for a second season,[17] which was ordered in December 2015.[18] The second season ofThe Expanse premiered on February 1, 2017.[19] On March 16, 2017,The Expanse was renewed by Syfy for a 13-episode third season to air in 2018.[20] Four digital comics based on the books and tying into the television series have been published byComiXology. The first focuses on the origin of James Holden and was released February 1, 2017.[21] The next three, highlighting the origins of other characters are: Naomi Nagata, released April 19, 2017; Alex Kamal, released May 24, 2017; and Amos Burton, released July 12, 2017. The show's title sequence was animated and directed by Australian studio Breeder and its VFX team.[22]
Alcon Entertainment produces and finances the series. It sold three seasons toSyfy, which canceled the series in May 2018. Fans protested the cancellation, gathering over 100,000 signatures for an online petition. They lobbiedAmazon Studios andNetflix togreenlight the fourth season and a crowdfunding campaign paid for an airplane to fly a "#SaveTheExpanse" banner around Amazon Studios.[23][24] Celebrities includingWil Wheaton,George R. R. Martin,Patton Oswalt andAndreas Mogensen supported the campaign.[25]Amazon Prime Video picked up the series for a fourth season, which was released on December 12, 2019.[26][27] In July 2019, Amazon renewedThe Expanse for a fifth season,[28] which premiered on December 15, 2020.[29][30]
On November 24, 2020, ahead of the fifth season's release, Amazon renewed the series for a sixth and final season.[4] Filming started in late January 2021.[31] However, the authors of the novels and writers on the series, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, have stated that they view season 6 as a "pause" rather than a conclusion and that Alcon Entertainment "is very committed to theIP",[32] Alcon'sAndrew Kosove andBroderick Johnson said that they are "considering all kinds of interesting possibilities".[33] On October 8, 2021, it was announced that the sixth and final season would premiere on December 10, 2021.[34]
In January 2023, it was announced that the continuation of the series, set betweenBabylon's Ashes andPersepolis Rising, would be adapted into a 12-issue comic book series,The Expanse: Dragon Tooth.[35][36]
In July 2014,Thomas Jane was cast as Joe Miller.[37] In August 2014,Steven Strait andShohreh Aghdashloo's attachment to the series as James Holden, and Chrisjen Avasarala was announced.[2] October of that same year,Dominique Tipper,Cas Anvar,Paulo Costanzo, andWes Chatham were cast as Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal, Shed Garvey, and Amos Burton while Jonathan Banks and Jay Hernandez were announced to be guest starring in the series.[3] One month later,Shawn Doyle was cast as Sadavir Errinwright, whileChad L. Coleman andJared Harris were cast in the recurring roles of Fred Johnson and Anderson Dawes, respectively.[5]Frankie Adams was cast as Bobbie Draper for the second season in April 2016.[6] On January 21, 2020,Keon Alexander,Nadine Nicole, and Jasai Chase Owens (who portray Marco Inaros, Clarissa Melpomene Mao, and Filip Inaros, respectively), were promoted to the main cast for the fifth season. Later,Lily Gao was cast in a recurring role as Nancy Gao for the fourth and fifth seasons, a candidate for UN secretary-general.[7] Anvar did not return for the sixth and final season after being the subject of multiple sexual misconduct allegations.[4]
Produced by Alcon Television and The Sean Daniel Company, principal photography on the first season started on October 29, 2014, inToronto[16] and concluded on March 27, 2015.[38] The second season filmed between April 13, 2016, and September 12, 2016. Filming for season 3 began on July 12, 2017.[39][40] In February 2019, cast member Lyndie Greenwood announced that the fourth season concluded filming.[41] Filming for the fifth season began on September 23, 2019, and ended on February 21, 2020.[42] Production on the sixth season took place between January 27, 2021, and May 7, 2021.[43][44] It was impacted byCOVID-19 pandemic restrictions,[45] as was post-production of the fifth season.[46]
The title sequence of the series has been lauded by reviewers for its ability to elegantly and wordlessly convey important information about the worlds in which the series takes place. The title sequence was created by Breeder, amotion graphics design studio inBrisbane, Australia.[47] Drawing comparisons to the opening sequence ofGame of Thrones, Jason Morehead ofOpuszine notes that not only does it depict the development of Earth's expansion into the solar system, it introduces the viewer to the political dynamics within the series. "Earth is the old guard, intent on controlling the system and her former colonies; technologically advanced Mars is driven to become a paradise; and the Belt is fighting to keep from being treated as a second-class citizen by both Earth and Mars."[48]
While the title sequence does change visually as the series progresses, the lyrics that accompanyClinton Shorter's title theme – written and performed byLisbeth Scott – remain the same. Scott noted in a post onFacebook that her words were drawn from Norwegian, though she apologized for any errors in syntax, grammar and pronunciation.[49]
The show's soundtrack was composed by Shorter.[50][51] The first season's soundtrack dubbedThe Expanse Season 1 – The Original Television Soundtrack, consisting of nineteen tracks, was released byLakeshore Records, on May 20, 2016, via iTunes,[50] and on May 26, 2016, via Amazon.[51]
The Belter characters speakBelter Creole, an invented language created for the show by linguistNick Farmer; these characters speak English with a distinctive accent. As explained in one article, "People who have migrated to the Belt come from all over Earth speaking dozens of languages, and they're often isolated for years at a time on remote mining stations. To communicate, they evolve acreole called Belter, which becomes thelingua franca for what is essentially the solar system's new proletariat."[52][53]
The pilot episode was screened atSan Diego Comic-Con in July 2015. In the United States, seasons 1 to 3 ofThe Expanse were broadcast bySyfy and streamed onAmazon Prime Video.[54] In Canada, these seasons aired onSpace[55] and streamed onCrave.[56] In New Zealand, these seasons aired onSky.[57] In all other countries where Netflix is available, seasons 1 and 2 were streamed[58] until September 2018. On February 8, 2019, Prime Video took over exclusive distribution of the first three seasons worldwide in preparation for premiere of the fourth season in 2019.[59]
The complete series has been released onBlu-ray andDVD as both individual seasons and a complete series set.[60]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the first season has a score of 78% with an average rating of 7.1 out of 10 based on 46 reviews. The site's consensus states: "The Expanse blends sci-fi elements and detective noir into a visually compelling whole, though it takes a few episodes for the story to capture viewers' intrigue."[61] The first season received a rating of 65 out of 100 onMetacritic based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[62] Reporting on the pilot screening,io9's Lauren Davis declared herself "blown away" byThe Expanse, appreciating its "incredible sense of scale" and its "deeply thought out future world that reflects on our present one, with high production values and characters who speak and act like real people".[63] Max Nicholson ofIGN characterized the pilot as "grim and dramatic", and a "very dense hour of television", with the terminology and large cast sometimes difficult to follow for viewers unfamiliar with the novels, but highlighted the pilot's "gorgeous" visuals and effects reminiscent ofBattlestar Galactica,Dune andFirefly.[64] Writing forVariety,Maureen Ryan was unimpressed by the first four episodes "awkwardly linking a series of somewhat muddled stories" and the series's stereotypical characters but credited it with tackling "issues of class, representation and exploitation" and a convincing design.[65] AtTor.com, Justin Landon highlightedThe Expanse's "bold and unique cinematography" and its claustrophobic, discomforting set designs, as well as the "extremely faithful" characterization, but remarked that thepatois spoken by the Belters, the natives of the asteroid belt, made the series difficult to follow.[66]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 95% with an average rating of 9 out of 10 based on 21 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's second season offers more of the show's excellent signature production values while increasing character development and politically thrilling narratives."[67] On Metacritic, it has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 5 reviews.[68] Writing for io9, Katherine Trendacosta noted how the show had become "shockingly prescient", insofar as many of the issues and ideas explored byThe Expanse mirrored contemporary trends in global politics.[69] Brian Tallerico, in "WhyThe Expanse Is the Best Sci-FI TV Show You're Not Watching" forRolling Stone, praised the show for its contemporary political relevance and called its willingness to mix tones, and its protagonists, laudable. He summarized that at its core,The Expanse was all about people responding to fear – fear of the other, fear of the new, fear of inequality, fear of death.[70] Writing for 13.7: Cosmos & Culture, a blog hosted byNPR,astrophysicistAdam Frank praised the show and its writers for the scientific realism. He wrote that "more than any other TV space-themed show, it gets the science right".[71]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 100% with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on 26 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Building on earlier potential and extending character arcs throughout a solidly crafted third season,The Expanse continues to impress – and shows no signs of abating."[72] Michael Ahr ofDen of Geek said the series "wowed fans with its complex characters, its political intrigue, its attention to scientific authenticity, and its stunningly good visual effects, and with several more books in the series that inspired the show, there's plenty more source material for the adaptation to explore in future seasons."[73] Liz Shannon Miller ofIndieWire praised the performances of Coleman and Strait in the absence of the Joe Miller character, saying "In general, while the mid-Season 2 departure of Joe Miller (Thomas Jane) and his wonderful hats does leave a bit of a vacuum, the ensemble has coalesced nicely, with both established performers like Chad L. Coleman and relative newcomers like Strait settling into their roles."[74] Speaking about the premiere, Kevin Yeoman said, "All in all ... season three begins by dramatically raising the immediate stakes of the story without drastically altering the dynamics of the show itself."[75]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 100% with an average rating of 9 out of 10 based on 34 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smart and thrilling as ever,The Expanse's fourth season doesn't miss a beat, successfully navigating network changes without losing any of its rich character work or narrative complexities."[76] The season received a rating 91 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from 4 critics indicating "universal acclaim".[77] Writing forDen of Geek, Michael Ahr gave it a 5/5 review and wrote, "With its brilliantly crafted, multilayered plot,The Expanse season four proves itself worthy of Amazon's rescue in a nearly perfect season."[78] Sadie Gennis ofTV Guide also praised the fourth season, giving it a score of 4.5/5.[79]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 100% with an average rating of 8.7 out of 10 based on 32 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's many threads come to a head in an excellent fifth season that expertly capitalizes on everything that makes the show work while setting the stage for an epic final season."[80] The season received a rating 82 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from 5 critics indicating "universal acclaim".[81]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 96% with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on 23 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's truncated final season honors the series' characters and themes with a graceful conclusion."[82]
The series has been described as aspace opera by critics.[98][99][100]Emily VanDerWerff ofVox describes the first season of the series to be a "blend of science fiction andnoir-infused detective drama, with a backdrop of political intrigue".[101]Vice has referred to the series as a "sci fi noir mystery-thriller"[100] and ashard science fiction.[102] Opposed to the latter, the source books' authors defined their approach as aiming for a "Wikipedia level of plausibility".[103][104] To complicate the plot, they kept inertia realistic, as well as light speed delay, which solved a "cellphone problem" for the show.[105]
Prior to the series premiere, Mark Fergus spoke of the series'sWestern themes: "Everywhere is kind of back to thefrontier rules so it gives us all that stuff back that we lost. Cellular technology. You can get a little more Western about it."[106] The fourth season, according to the writers, also had "space Western vibes".[107]
Analyzing the show,Tech Times wrote thatThe Expanse "...is more than just a science fiction show about people traveling the solar system in spaceships. It ... covers ... politics, poverty, oppression, discrimination, and the struggle for resources in harsh environments."[108]
Season four was the first season not to be broadcast on live TV and not get weekly viewership ratings. Per Parrot Analytics, the season ranked fourth in most watched digital originals in the United States in December 2019.[118]
Beginning December 16, 2020,Wes Chatham andTy Franck started hosting weekly programs that feature behind-the-scenes information about the series, first asThe Expanse Season 5 Aftershow after each season's episode.[148] Upon the conclusion of Season 5 (after the airing of the season 5 finale), they continued on Wednesdays asTy & That Guy Podcast, covering each series' episode, fromThe Expanse S1E1, additionally discussing their inspirations fromgenre culture, and occasionally having guests both related and not to the series.[149][150]The Expanse Season 6 Aftershow with Chatham and Franck, produced byAmazon Studios, was distributed byAmazon Prime Video andTy & That Guy Podcast in video and audio formats.
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