It's on Amazon Prime, season 1 starts a little slow but it follows the books. Give it a couple of episodes and then get ready for a hell of a ride.
'The Expanse': The Best Sci-FI TV Show You're Not Watching Quick, name the last great science fiction TV show you’ve seen. HBO’s Westworld might count, though that’s almost as much western as it is sci-fi. Orphan Black and Black Mirror have some of sci-fi elements, sure, but they aren’t quite representative of the genre. You may have to go all the way back to Battlestar Galactica, which went off the air in 2009, to find a show that’s done for sci-fi what Game of Thrones has done for fantasy or The Walking Dead has done for horror. But here’s the thing: There is a great science fiction show currently airing new episodes Wednesday nights on SyFy. You’re just not watching it. It’s called The Expanse. And it deserves your attention ASAP. James S.A. Corey’s popular series of space novels was first conceived as an online RPG. (Corey is, in fact, a shared pseudonym for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.) Surprisingly, this plays to the show’s advantage: The detailed background required for a video game gave TV writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (who co-wrote Children of Men) a vast storytelling universe with which to play when it came to adapting the novels. Set 200 years from now, the show imagines a future in which tensions arise between our planet and a colonized Mars; a ring of blue-collar space stations called “The Belt” houses the solar system’s lowest social class. A distress signal leads to the mysterious destruction of a ship, stranding Captain Jim Holden (Steven Strait) and his ragtag crew in deep space. Meanwhile, a Deckard-esque police detective named Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane) becomes obsessed with a missing girl named Julie Mao, who may be the key to understanding an escalating cosmic Cold War. Over the course of The Expanse‘s first season, which started running in late 2015, three main narratives unfolded: the investigative arc; the ship’s crew caught between warring space factions; and the political machinations of those in power on Earth and Mars, headed by the savvy U.N. leader Chrisjen Avasarala (Shoreh Aghdashloo). A little bit of Blade Runner, a pinch of Firefly, some BSG sprinkles here and there – the formula worked. When the show returned for its second season in early February of this year, it expanded its scope, introducing a rebellious Martian soldier Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams) and further broadening the first season’s conspiracy theories and interplanetary espionage aspects. Even more remarkably, the show has found a way to be politically relevant to the current moment without depressingly reminding you of the state of our nation. There’s no #FakeNews subplot (yet), but The Expanse has a facility for sliding between the political machinations of those in power and the people impacted by these interstellar political decisions. A two-party – sorry, two-planet – system that divides those caught in the middle? Sound familiar? And it’s no coincidence that Bobbie regularly refers to Earth soldiers as ” Blues,” while she’s from the ” Red” planet. (Aren’t we all Belters, caught between the “Blues” and “Reds” of 2017?) In other words, this is not a Star Trek exploration saga about discovering new aliens every week – it’s the story of real people fighting for their small corner of the universe day after day. (A world where water is scarce and air is rationed isn’t that hard to envision right now.) And that focus on human behavior allows the show to explore issues like empathy, martyrdom, poverty and how fear can dictate one’s actions. At its core, The Expanse is all about people responding to fear – fear of the other, fear of the new, fear of inequality, fear of death. With all these grander issues in mind, the show wouldn’t work if we didn’t care about the characters, and it’s Captain Holden’s crew that resonates most of all. Strait makes for a good square-jawed leader, but most people would probably follow engineer Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper), pilot Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar) or scene-stealer Amos Burton (Wes Chatham) into battle just as willingly. In particular, these characters have been allowed to loosen up as the series progresses – they have been given sex lives, moral dilemmas and individual arcs that make them, and the world around them, refreshingly three-dimensional. And this is a show with real stakes, allowing “good guys” to kill people when they need to and showing a willingness to ice a familiar face or two, particularly in a shocking, Red Wedding-caliber turn of events in Season Two. There are no red shirts here. Everyone is expendable. Everyone is putting their life at risk. As with a lot of science fiction, The Expanse could stand to take itself less seriously now and then, and its latest run of episodes has also lost some of its noir-ish charm from the first season. However, its willingness to mix up tones, and even its protagonists, has been laudable. The writers have reached a point where you can tell they feel completely confident in the world they’ve created and can do whatever they choose within it. Political intrigue, likable characters, detailed world-building, expensive action – why isn’t The Expanse a mainstream hit? Hopefully, between now and the upcoming third season, which Syfy has thankfully greenlit in an act of good faith, the buzz will continue to build and the show will start to get the audience it deserves. Mars needs viewers, people. The Belt is counting on you. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-...est-sci-fi-tv-show-youre-not-watching-110033/
I've never been that into sci-fi. The only show like that I kinda watched was Defiance for a couple seasons.
Why The Expanse Is the Best Sci-Fi Show You Aren't Watching After airing four seasons and with a fifth on the way, The Expanse has proven itself time and time again to be one of the best sci-fi shows on the air — and one of the best shows, period. Based on the popular James S.A. Corey book series, The Expanse is set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system, providing the series with a near-limitless playing field to explore the tensions between corporations, politicians, and the everyday people fighting for power, wealth, better lives, or just to survive. It's a gripping adventure with important things to say, and yet the epic space drama never seems to receive the accolades or adoration a show of its caliber deserves. As a result, The Expanse was almost doomed to the same gone-too-soon fate as so many other cult hits when Syfy canceled the series after three seasons. Fortunately, Amazon understood just how special this show really is and saved it from cancellation in 2018, leading to what was arguably the show's best season yet — one that expanded the world, deepened its characters, and included startling reflections of our own reality. With a fifth season expected later this year, now's the perfect time to catch up on the action. Still need more convincing? Here are five reasons why you owe it to yourself to stream The Expanse right now. Amazon 1. It's a complex political drama. To paint a full picture of the politics of The Expanse would probably take an entire day, and that's exactly what makes the Amazon drama so compelling. The world of the series is so developed, it seamlessly sucks you in, immediately establishing the socio-economic tensions between the three ruling powers: Earth, the upper, ruling class living a life of privilege on a habitable planet; the Belt, the oppressed working class who provide the necessary resources for Earth and Mars while they toil away mining in the Asteroid Belt; and Mars, an ascendant, militarized power that seceded from Earth and fosters plenty of bad blood from their negative past relations. Adding more trouble to the mix is the Outer Planets Alliance, a loosely organized network run primarily by a former United Nations colonel, Fred Johnson (The Walking Dead's Chad L. Coleman). Depending on your perspective, the OPA is either a sociopolitical organization, championing for the Belters, or a terrorist organization, out to cause trouble for the Earth-Mars Coalition Navy. Caught between all those warring powers are The Expanse's core heroes, a diverse crew working on the ice hauler Canterbury who become key players in the brewing interplanetary conflict after stumbling upon a seemingly abandoned spaceship that may hold the key to humanity's downfall. And that's just scratching the surface of the show's fascinating political machinations. So if you miss early seasons of Game of Thrones, when the drama was more about political maneuvering than dragons fighting zombies, then The Expanse is the perfect show to scratch that itch. Amazon 2. Thomas Jane (and his hat) are revelations. Look, if you first saw an image of Thomas Jane in his fedora and thought, "NOPE. TOO CORNY," we wouldn't blame you. But Jane's character, Det. Miller, is supposed to feel like a put-on image of a noir beat cop. That's his whole persona, and that's exactly why he doesn't fit in — on the force, with the crew of the Canterbury, or really anywhere he goes. When the series picks up, Miller is a disillusioned, alcoholic cop who catches a missing person case that changes his life. He soon becomes obsessed with the missing heiress, Julie Mao, to the point where he's willing to risk it all — his career, his friendships, and even his life — if it means finding her. https://www.tvguide.com/news/best-2010s-shows-watch-right-now/">The Best 2010s Shows to Watch Right Now As the series goes on, The Expanse continues to unveil new layers to Miller, with the Boogie Nightsalum portraying an astounding amount of vulnerability that will shatter your heart with each of Miller's desperate attempts to find a sense of purpose. And through it all, Miller keeps with him his trademark hat — a gift from its previous owner, who gave it to Miller to remind him not to repeat his mistakes after he was kicked off the police force. A fashion statement with a heartfelt message, what more could you ask for? Rafy Photography/Amazon 3. It's tragically relevant. Though The Expanse takes place far in the future, it's impossible not to see our world reflected in the captivating series, which draws upon history as the basis for its explorations of war, colonialism, and cultural oppression. And amid the coronavirus pandemic, the show has taken on a new layer of relevance. When a highly contagious and deadly alien particle is discovered, rather than unite together to try and save as many lives as possible, Earth, Mars, and the Belt's tenuous political relationships quickly collapse into chaos as governments and corporations prioritize profit and power over the public good. And these ruling powers prove repeatedly willing to sacrifice the lives of the lower-class and oppressed communities in the process. It's a disappointingly familiar scenario. Yet through the intrepid crew of the Rocinante, led by its captain James Holden (Steven Strait), as well as allies like Martian marine Bobbie Draper (Frankie Adams) and U.N. leader Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), The Expanse shows how important it is to never stop hoping and fighting for a better world, even if it might not look like what you had once imagined. Syfy 4. The action scenes are some of the best on TV. The Expanse is one of the most detail-oriented shows you'll ever find. Every aspect is well thought out, down to how much light from the Earth would reflect upon the moon's surface at a specific time of day. And when this level of thoughtfulness is applied to the show's action sequences, the results are jaw-dropping and leave you wishing you could watch them on the big screen. Rather than simply creating a sense of tension and overwhelming drama during the battle scenes by cluttering them with shaky close-ups, The Expanse makes sure the action is clear without ever losing an ounce of suspense. This allows viewers to not only easily follow the characters throughout these chaotic moments, but also to appreciate the nuanced tactical strategies they employ in their attempts to survive. Of course, describing action sequences will never be able to match watching them, so just trust us when we say they look cool as hell! 5. Shohreh Aghdashloo, just in general. It is truly impossible to say too many good things about Shohreh Aghdashloo. With credits that spanHouse of Sand and Fog, 24, and Star Trek Beyond, she's had tons of stand-out projects to choose from, but The Expanse's Chrisjen Avasarala is our favorite role by a long-shot. The Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration of the United Nations, Chrisjen is an Earther with the keen ability to manipulate and maneuver people within her complex game of political chess. However, she soon realizes that some people in the government are playing a different game entirely. It's a role that in a lesser actress's hands could come off stiff or one-note, but Aghdashloo brings a depth of humanity to the part, not to mention an undeniable style, wit, and expansive lexicon of expletives and insults she never hesitates to put to use. It's a spectacular performance and one that will leave you craving even more scenes featuring Aghdashloo, a wish which the series fortunately obliges. The Expanse is available to stream on Amazon. Check out more great 2010s series to watch here. https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/expanse-why-to-watch-amazon-prime/
This is good news! https://thathashtagshow.com/2021/12/22/exclusive-the-expanse-sequel-series-movie-amazon/
Good article if you've seen the finale. https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/1...MkcchJbGm7MQj7sB2sXsIZHAOhYS-8jF0j8VHDoRoWlv0
