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]
I love the fact that the authors are having so much input. Really psyched for this one.
Unfortunately I'm on this recent kick to read source materials before seeing movies and am currently trying to finish up 4 more Star Wars books before Force Awakens. I've already read the original for Expanse, but had no idea that they'd expanded it with EIGHT more books and more to come in 16/17.
Trying to catch up on some good comics and TV shows too. I'm in media overload!
EDIT:
OK looks like mostly short stories. Only 2 new books published in the series to hit 5 currently, with a planned total of 9. Still a lot of reading to do this month.
Not sure how I feel about the pilot. The sound was so badly mixed that I could barely make out the dialogue over the soundtrack a lot of the time, and the episode itself felt 'off' even beyond that. Like the pacing was a bit off. But it wasn't bad, per se. Maybe a little too much world building. Which would only be a problem in the first episode. So we'll see how it goes the rest of the season. I really hope they get it right, and it finds an audience. [Reply]
Watched on syfy.com. Worst commercial stream I've seen in years. I'd recommend torrenting over that POS garbage.
Besides that, I enjoyed it. Definitely agree that there were pacing issues. Probably could have done better doing a 2 hour pilot. Lot of potential though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
Watched on syfy.com. Worst commercial stream I've seen in years. I'd recommend torrenting over that POS garbage.
Besides that, I enjoyed it. Definitely agree that there were pacing issues. Probably could have done better doing a 2 hour pilot. Lot of potential though.
It's on Syfy's YouTube channel as well. I had no problems. Overall, I'm in "wait and see" mode. As others have said, it felt like it needed to be 2 hours to pull in the casual viewer. [Reply]
Childhood's End looks intriguing too. I enjoyed the last mini-series, Ascension. Really pretty pleased with the direction SyFy is moving with their original content. Although I still would rather they change their name back to SciFi!
