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 unlurking:
These guys write MUCH faster than GRRM. Read the books. The first three were excellent. I still need to read the next few.
EDIT:
Want to see how much NOT like GRRM these guys are? Check out the dates on each book.
Started reading the first book. I'm only about 60 pages in, but damn, it's great. Beautifully written. Even though I know what's ultimately going to happen, I'm into it. Enjoying the little differences between the book and the show as well, and the lavish, but not overbearing, details that really make the story come alive. [Reply]
You'll probably find that reading is going to change your perspective on certain characters and locations. In a good way. Some stuff you just can't do on a TV budget... [Reply]
Originally Posted by keg in kc:
You'll probably find that reading is going to change your perspective on certain characters and locations. In a good way. Some stuff you just can't do on a TV budget...
I have noticed after 100 or so pages that the characters in the show are more, for lack of a better word, severe, than in the book. The show seems to put more hard edges on characters and their relationships with others than the book does. I guess that's mainly done for dramatic effect.
I'm glad I watched the show first - otherwise, it might well have annoyed me. [Reply]
Also you already know some things about the main characters' backgrounds that don't show up at all in print for another 3 or 4 books. But most of that makes sense for tv. [Reply]
This book just gets better and better. I'm about halfway through it now.
I was a little confused at first because Miller seemed so much more confident and competent in his job and abilities in the book than the show. The way that was all kicked to the curb was brutal, and the reader experiences it the way he does as a POV character.
I really lost a lot of sleep from these books which are like crack. The worst was when I hit the point in the first book with Eros and maybe got an hour or two of sleep before work. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
Season 2 ends somewhere in the middle of Caliban's War. Been a few year's since I read it, so not sure exactly how far through it gets.
I'm about a quarter of the way through Caliban now. Overall the main story is the same, but the details are starting to diverge a great deal. They definitely mixed shit up to introduce key characters early, which is understandable when you realize the necessities involved in creating an episodic show.
But I'm fine with that. Keeps me on my toes. These books are wonderful. [Reply]
Since it's been a while for me, I don't notice a lot of the differences. I'd like to finish the reading the series, but I think I'm going to wait until the show is over. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
Since it's been a while for me, I don't notice a lot of the differences. I'd like to finish the reading the series, but I think I'm going to wait until the show is over.
There was a lot of shit in the show that just seems like filler now. The show delved deeper into Bobbi's relationship with her squad before the Ganymede incident. The book introduced her on Ganymede right before it happened. Also, in the show Prax evacuated Ganymede and then returned - there was one really fucked up scene where the OPA guys spaced everybody who was from Earth or Mars, including his female friend, while he watched in horror. In the book, he meets up with Holden on the moon and never left. The couple running the freighter that they hijack so they can land isn't in the book, either; they were provided with a freighter by the OPA.
I guess those scenes do fill in some background on how the various groups feel about each other, but it seems a few lines of dialogue could have sufficed. Again, the needs of a series with budget constraints may have forced them to add shit and draw out the story. That makes perfect sense. And of course the show is so well done that I don't really mind it. [Reply]
