Since debuting in late 2015, The Expanse has been the most successful show on SyFy. It was announced earlier this week though that season three will be the show’s last on the network, as they have decided not to renew the series for a fourth season.
Considering The Expanse was one of the series that lead Syfy’s return to its roots, choosing tv programming more similar to Battlestar Galactica as opposed to crappy CGI monster movies, the decision may come as a surprise to many. While its total number of viewers is nowhere near other sci-fi/fantasy shows like Game of Thrones, it has found great critical success, with season three sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
According to Deadline, the cancellation is linked to the nature of the show’s agreement for the series. The agreement apparently only gives the cable network first-run linear rights in the U.S.
“That puts an extraordinary amount of emphasis on live, linear viewing, which is inherently challenging for sci-fi/genre series that tend to draw the lion’s share of their audiences from digital/streaming.”
When the production company behind the show, Alcon Television Group, found out about the cancellation, they had the following to say.
“We are very disappointed the show will not be returning to Syfy,” said co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. “We respect Syfy’s decision to end this partnership but given the commercial and critical success of the show, we fully plan to pursue other opportunities for this terrific and original IP.”
While disappointed, they also assured fans that they were not giving up on The Expanse, as they plan to shop it to other buyers.
The final episode of season three of The Expanse is slated to air in early July. For more information, be sure to check back to the site for updates, as well as all of your other nerdy news and needs!