SyFy canceled the space opera, The Expanse, ten days ago today. Almost immediately after, social media erupted in confusion and panic. And for good reason. The show’s current season (third) has aggregated a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes since it first started airing about two months ago on SyFy. Some of those upset by the news called upon streaming networks, like Netflix or Amazon, to save the series. George RR Martin, Patton Oswalt, Wil Wheaton, and astronaut Andreas Mogensen are among those fighting to keep the show alive.
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. https://t.co/UTD1SUjyUl pic.twitter.com/9TuJKktMBl
— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) May 12, 2018
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 https://t.co/ljk0xMEz7V
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 15, 2018
Say it ain’t so! I just started watching this sci-fi series. I’m really enjoying it, especially the low-gravity environments and its effect on humans. https://t.co/e3U7AvtuPE
— Andreas Mogensen (@Astro_Andreas) May 16, 2018
It seems that these efforts were not wasted, as Amazon is in talks to bring The Expanse to its Prime Video streaming service. CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is a huge fan of the books and was unhappy that the series went to SyFy instead of Amazon, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. “Sources say Bezos is a big fan of the book and was livid that the TV series went to NBCUniversal-owned Syfy. The move is said to have ignited Bezos’ demand that Amazon Studios brass find the company’s version of ‘Game of Thrones’.” Considering that Amazon Prime users have the ability to currently stream the first two seasons in the U.S., there’s a good chance that The Expanse has found its new home.
There has been no confirmation that this deal is happening as of yet, but the Twitter account associated with the show’s writers shed some light on the subject. “We’re excited, but the deal’s not closed…we’re not quite through the woods yet!” they told their followers. They went by saying: “Keep up the fight Expansers & watch this [week’s] episode LIVE with us on SyFy. We’ll be dancing in the streets right along with you as soon as we get anything official.”
Although nothing is set in stone quite yet, the future for The Expanse looks pretty bright at this point in time. And even if Amazon doesn’t take the series on for its fourth season, there’s always the possibility that Netflix might. They have international streaming rights, while Amazon has U.S. streaming rights. Sign this petition if you’d like to join the fight to save the show.
