Syfy has given a direct-to-series order to an exciting-sounding new project based on an acclaimed sci-fi book series. The cable network has ordered 10 episodes of The Expanse, from Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man) and Alcon Television Group. The project has been described by industry insiders as “Game of Thrones in space” — not so much because of the specifics of the plot, but because it tells a dramatic sprawling grown-up story within a popular fantasy genre that’s based on a respected series of novels.
The logline: “A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.”
The Expanse is based on a series of books by James S.A. Corey. The most well-known title is probably the first in the series, Leviathan Wakes, which has been praised for reinventing and updating the old-school Star Wars/Firefly-style space opera. Syfy won a bidding war with another content producer to acquire the project.
Syfy president Dave Howe promised, “The Expanse is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy’s most ambitious series to date. Bringing this coveted book franchise to television with our partners at Alcon and the Sean Daniel Company is a giant win for Syfy, reinforcing our overall strategy to produce bold, provocative and compelling sci-fi fantasy stories. The Expanse joins a killer line-up of high-concept, high quality series, along with recently announced original projects Ascension, 12 Monkeys, the renewal of Helix, and the soon to premiere Dominion.”
Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company developed the original pitch, with Fergus and Ostby, and will also executive produce. “The Expanse is one of the most special pieces of material we’ve ever encountered and it has been our dream to bring it to life since the moment we read it,” Daniel and Brown said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to be doing it with this team of all-stars.”
Added Alcon president Sharon Hall: “The Expanse is an addictive, sophisticated, character-driven franchise and Mark and Hawk are the perfect people to steer it. Their script is a totally immersive and accessible sci-fi journey.”
(Just FYI, the author of Leviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey, is actually a collaberative pseudonym of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. I guess EW didn't know this...) [Reply]
Originally Posted by keg in kc:
I just hope they don't oversell the "Game of Thrones in space" thing. It's not, although the series is pretty wide in scope. The first book is more of a detective novel than anything, though. Like half space opera half hard boiled noir.
It should play really well on television.
What you don't want to see some bad cgi male robots get it on with each other. That is probably what they mean by GoT in space. [Reply]
New trailer looks much better. Definitely going to watch.
Enjoying Dark matter and Killjoys so far too. Not BSG quality, but fun. And Dark Matter has a pretty interesting story going so far. Good to get some space based sci-fi again. [Reply]
It's the most expensive show syfy has ever done, is being written by Abraham and Franck so it should be true to their books, and it already has a 2nd season committment. All good signs. We'll see.
I haven't watched any of Dark Matter yet but I do like Killjoys a lot. [Reply]
Originally Posted by keg in kc:
It's the most expensive show syfy has ever done, is being written by Abraham and Franck so it should be true to their books, and it already has a 2nd season committment. All good signs. We'll see.
I haven't watched any of Dark Matter yet but I do like Killjoys a lot.
Killjoys seems like the more refined show (better acting/budget/fx), but Dark Matter just has a really cool story so far. Once they have the big reveal I may lose interest, but until then it's got me coming back. Both of these shows kind of snuck up on me.
If The Expanse is on the next level, since we already know it has a great story and has a monster budget, I'll be thrilled. Trying to keep expectations low though. :-) [Reply]
Binge watched all of Dark Matter (so far). Solid little show. They've got a good Friday setup now with Defiance, Dark Matter and Killjoys.
This little Expanse featurette makes me feel even better about it. The guy playing Amos really gets his character on an emotional level, which was something I'd worried about (anybody who's read the one that just came out will understand...). They're not making him a nice guy.
First review of the pilot that I've seen (it aired at comiccon...):
Originally Posted by io9:
Welp, we have a new favorite show. At San Diego Comic-Con, we got to watch the entire pilot of Syfy’s The Expanse, based on the books by James S. A. Corey—and we were blown away. This is a show that digs into the politics of our spacefaring future, but knows it’s the characters that make science fiction shine.
