Sad news for fans of sci-fi TV this morning, as Syfy has announced that it won’t be picking up the brilliant The Expanse for a fourth season.
Deadline reports that the network has decided that the current season will be the last, but there may be some hope yet for the adaptation of theacclaimed James SA Corey books.
One of the reasons cited for the cancellation is that Syfy only has US first run linear rights, which means that all their eggs are in the “people watching it live” basket (which, as we all know, is not as healthy as it used to be). Production company Alcon Television Group is responsible for the production of the show, and they are looking to set it up elsewhere.
Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said “We are very disappointed the show will not be returning to Syfy. 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.”
Netflix has the UK rights to the show, so that feels like a natural move…right? The ratings have not been spectacular but they’re not terrible, and it’s one of the best-reviewed series out there. The Expanse also feels like something of a rarity at the moment, and we’d hate to see this complex, compelling SF series ended before its time.
For those who have yet to start the series, and we recommend that you do, here’s the first season synopsis. “A police detective in the asteroid belt, the first officer of an interplanetary ice freighter and an earth-bound United Nations executive slowly discover a vast conspiracy that threatens the Earth’s rebellious colony on the asteroid belt.”
Keep up with the latest genre news with the new issue of SciFiNow.