The Expanse

Submission 4,146

About

The Expanse is a science fiction book and television series about a colonized solar system and the mysterious conspiracy that threatens humanity.

History

Book Series

On June 15th, 2011, under the pen name James S. A. Corey, authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck released the first of seven novels in the _Expanse__ series, Leviathan Wakes. Over the next six years, the pair released six more novels in the series: Caliban's War (2012), Abaddon's Gate (2013), Cibola Burn (2014), Nemesis Games (2015), Babylon's Ashes (2016), and Persepolis Rising (2017).^[1]

Television Series

Three years later, on April 11th, 2014, the Syfy television network announced 10-episode television series based on The Expanse.^[2] Syfy President Dave Howe said:^[3]

"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.

On December 14th, 2015, the first episode of The Expanse aired. The series ran for three season, before being canceled in 2018.

Reception

The Expanse book series was met with positive reviews, with the first book being nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2012.^[4]

Over its three seasons, The Expanse grew in critical acclaim. On the review aggregator Metacritic,^[5] season one received generally favorable reviews, a score of 65 based on 23 reviews.^[5] On Rotten Tomatoes, ^[6] the third season received a 100% score (based on 11 reviews). The site wrote, "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."

Fandom

On June 8th, 2013, the /r/TheExpanse^[7] subreddit launched. Within five years, the subreddit received more than 47,000 subscribers.

On May 6th, 2014, the official Expanse Twitter ^[9] account launched. Within four years, the account has received more than 42,000 followers. Later that year, on September 9th, a Twitter^[10] account for the writers of The Expanse, @TheExpanseWR, launched. Within four years, the account received more than 18,000 followers.

On January 15th, 2015, the ExpanseSYFY Facebook ^[8] page launched. Within three years, the account has amassed more than 149,000 likes and followers.

#SaveTheExpanse

On May 10th, 2018, Deadline^[13] reported that the show had not been renewed by SYFY for a fourth season. However, the show's production company, Alacon, said that they would be shopping the series to other networks.

That day, Change.org ^[12] user Beratnas Gas started a petition asking Amazon or Netflix to save the series. Within one week, the group had received more than 100,000 signatures.

Additionally, several high-profile fans of the show, including comedian Patton Oswalt and Game of Thrones-writer George R.R. Martin. On May 12th, Martin tweeted,^[15] "Just saw online that SyFy has cancelled THE EXPANSE. It's a damn shame, especially for fans of space science fiction… of which I count myself one. It was the best space show on television, far and away. I hope its producers can find another home for it." The post (shown below, left) receved more than 4,500 retweets and 11,000 likes in five days.

On May 14th, Oswalt tweeted,^[16] "Please @amazon -- you guys do some serious, quality shows and this is some of the smartest science fiction to appear in a long time. #SaveTheExpanse." The post (shown below, right) received more than 1,900 retweets and 5,300 likes in three days.

Following the cancellation of the show in 2018, many of the show's fans campaigned to save the series. On May 15th, 2018, @TheExpanseWR tweeted^[11] a video of a plane pulling the banner that reads "Save the Expanse." They captioned the post, "We’re here & it’s incredible. Our fans, everyone banding together, you’re incredible. We’re emotional & we’re humbled & we’re thankful. No matter what happens, we are ALL part of something special. Thank you. 🙏✨ #TheExpanse #SaveTheExpanse." The post (shown below) received more than 1,000 retweet and 2,300 likes in two days.

That day, Redditor^[14] backstept posted about the plane in the /r/TheExpanse subreddit. The post received more than 12,000 points (90% upvoted) and 270 comments in two days.

We’re here & it’s incredible. Our fans, everyone banding together, you’re incredible. We’re emotional & we’re humbled & we’re thankful. No matter what happens, we are ALL part of something special. Thank you. 🙏✨ #TheExpanse #SaveTheExpanse pic.twitter.com/MuGQdrLWYk

— The Expanse Writers (@TheExpanseWR) May 15, 2018