Despite being one of the most critically acclaimed sci-fi shows of all time, The Expanse was canceled twice. Based on the book series by James S.A. Corey (a pen name for author duo Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck), The Expanse takes place in the far future and follows a large cast of compelling characters. Humanity has colonized the solar system, but the peace between Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt is fragile at best. Although the series begins as a gritty sci-fi murder mystery, it eventually becomes a sprawling space opera with enough political intrigue to rival Game of Thrones.
In its first season, The Expanse centers on Detective Joe Miller (Thomas Jane) and his investigation into the disappearance of Juliette Mao (Florence Faivre). This search eventually leads Miller to connect with James Holden (Steven Strait) and his crew aboard the Rocinante, and they soon get caught up in a massive conspiracy involving The Expanse‘s dangerous bio-weapon known as the protomolecule. The scope of The Expanse only gets larger as the show progresses, with each season adding new characters and new complications.
The Expanse Is One Of The Most Critically Acclaimed Sci-Fi Shows Of All Time
The Expanse Consistently Received Positive Reviews From Critics & Audiences Alike
From the beginning, The Expanse received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many praising its stunning visuals and scientific accuracy. While the complex storyline, vast world, and various accents sometimes made the show difficult to follow, The Expanse never failed to deliver compelling television with fascinating character development. Throughout its six-season run, The Expanse was nominated for numerous awards and took home three Hugo awards and a Saturn award, among others.
The first season of The Expanse has the lowest score on Rotten Tomatoes, at a still impressive 78%, but also has the most reviews.
Hard sci-fi is a genre that is often overlooked at major award shows like the Emmys, but The Expanse was regularly praised by critics across the board. The series has a 95% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 85% audience rating, making it one of the highest-rated sci-fi series of all time. Despite this, The Expanse never achieved the popularity of a show like Game of Thrones and was canceled by SyFy after its first three seasons.
The Expanse Was Canceled Twice Despite Its Success With Audiences And Critics
The Expanse Was Canceled By Syfy & Later Canceled Again by Amazon
Mediocre viewing numbers and a complicated rights agreement led SyFy to cancel The Expanse after its first three seasons. By this point, The Expanse had developed a passionate fanbase who campaigned for the show to be picked up by Amazon Prime Video, who already had the streaming rights. Thankfully, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was reportedly a fan of The Expanse and helped facilitate its move to the platform. While the show continued for another three seasons on Amazon Prime Video, they eventually canceled it, too.
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Each season of The Expanse roughly covers the events of one book in the series, meaning the show’s six seasons cover only the first six books. However, there is a nearly 30-year time jump between The Expanse books six and seven, which may have contributed to the show’s cancellation. The main reason for the cancellation, however, likely came down to the show’s budget. With its epic space battles, sprawling settings, and large cast of characters, The Expanse surely wasn’t cheap to produce, and in the end, the viewing numbers simply didn’t justify the cost for future seasons.
The Expanse Is One Of Many Examples Of Sci-Fi Shows That Struggled To Keep Going
The Expanse Is Far From The Only Sci-Fi Show Canceled Too Soon
The Expanse isn’t the first (and likely won’t be the last) sci-fi show that struggled to find and keep its audience. From classics like Firefly to more recent gems like HBO Max’s Raised by Wolves, high-concept science fiction shows regularly get canceled prematurely. Even being a part of a beloved franchise cannot save some shows, as was the case with Star Trek: Enterprise and Stargate Universe. These canceled shows often left viewers with unanswered questions, as the writers did not always get enough notice to wrap up the storylines properly.
Boom! Studios published a comic book series called The Expanse: Dragon Tooth by Andy Diggle, which picks up after the show’s sixth season and fills in the thirty-year gap before book seven, Persepolis Rising.
The Expanse‘s final season only consisted of six episodes, as opposed to every other season’s 10 or 13, but it still managed to wrap up many of the series’ main storylines. Still, the series finale left several lingering questions, and the book series has three more novels’ worth of story for Holden and his friends. Like many canceled sci-fi shows, The Expanse seemingly had everything going for it. It was based on existing IP, had a dedicated fan base, and was praised by critics, but none of these things were enough to save it from cancellation.
Why Sci-Fi Shows Are Canceled So Often And Rarely Get Proper Conclusions
High Concept Sci-Fi Shows Are Expensive To Produce & Sometimes Struggle To Find An Audience
As a genre, science fiction doesn’t appeal to everyone. Hard sci-fi or space opera shows like The Expanse can be particularly difficult for general audiences to get into. From the beginning, The Expanse drops viewers into a complex and sometimes confusing world that only gets bigger and more complicated. It’s a show that requires one’s full attention and mostly appeals to those already interested in science fiction. With a high-concept show like The Expanse also comes a high budget, which is necessary for the CGI required to depict space battles and starships.
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In the modern television landscape, where viewers have access to hundreds, if not thousands, of options, genre shows can struggle to find and keep an audience. Complicated sci-fi, in particular, can be a hard sell. Sci-fi often holds up a mirror to society and may not provide the escape some viewers are looking for when they sit down to watch TV. Every now and then, a show like Game of Thrones will come along that transcends its genre trappings to achieve mass appeal, but these are the exception, not the rule.
Whether because they are too expensive, too close to reality, or simply too dense and confusing, scif-fi shows like The Expanse often have the unfortunate distinction of getting canceled far too soon.
10/10
- Release Date
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2015 – 2022-00-00
- Showrunner
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Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
- Writers
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Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
- Franchise(s)
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The Expanse
