Syfy: The Expanse

[keg in kc]

I'm really excited about this - it's a fantastic set of books that I think could translate into really good TV.

Syfy orders 'The Expanse' series based on 'Leviathan Wakes' (think 'Game of Thrones' in space)

By James Hibberd on Apr 11, 2014 at 6:30PM

Syfy has given a direct-to-series order to an exciting-sounding new project based on an acclaimed sci-fi book series. The cable network has ordered 10 episodes of The Expanse, from Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man) and Alcon Television Group. The project has been described by industry insiders as “Game of Thrones in space” — not so much because of the specifics of the plot, but because it tells a dramatic sprawling grown-up story within a popular fantasy genre that’s based on a respected series of novels.

The logline: “A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.”

The Expanse is based on a series of books by James S.A. Corey. The most well-known title is probably the first in the series, Leviathan Wakes, which has been praised for reinventing and updating the old-school Star Wars/Firefly-style space opera. Syfy won a bidding war with another content producer to acquire the project.

Syfy president Dave Howe promised, “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. The Expanse joins a killer line-up of high-concept, high quality series, along with recently announced original projects Ascension, 12 Monkeys, the renewal of Helix, and the soon to premiere Dominion.”

Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company developed the original pitch, with Fergus and Ostby, and will also executive produce. “The Expanse is one of the most special pieces of material we’ve ever encountered and it has been our dream to bring it to life since the moment we read it,” Daniel and Brown said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to be doing it with this team of all-stars.”

Added Alcon president Sharon Hall: “The Expanse is an addictive, sophisticated, character-driven franchise and Mark and Hawk are the perfect people to steer it. Their script is a totally immersive and accessible sci-fi journey.”

(Just FYI, the author of Leviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey, is actually a collaberative pseudonym of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. I guess EW didn't know this...)

[Third Eye]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

I assume the character of Alex will be re-cast?

They already did it with Avasarala's husband, though that's certainly not as important of a role.

I’ll definitely be curious how they approach it, i.e. either re-cast a major character in the final season or completely depart from the source material. That being said, I haven’t read the books, so maybe there is a resonable way to do it.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Third Eye

I’ll definitely be curious how they approach it, i.e. either re-cast a major character in the final season or completely depart from the source material. That being said, I haven’t read the books, so maybe there is a resonable way to do it.

So they've hinted at some of the big shit to happen in the coming books, but I'm like others that I don't see how it's possible to even come close to covering the ground that the remaining books (and there's still one more!) have covered.

Like... it's a HUGE amount of ground to cover. It was almost unsettling to me (I just read all the books in the last few months during COVID) how crazy far the books go in changing the world. Just not sure how they can do it in the series with that limited number of episodes with which to work.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by NewChief

So they've hinted at some of the big shit to happen in the coming books, but I'm like others that I don't see how it's possible to even come close to covering the ground that the remaining books (and there's still one more!) have covered.

Like... it's a HUGE amount of ground to cover. It was almost unsettling to me (I just read all the books in the last few months during COVID) how crazy far the books go in changing the world. Just not sure how they can do it in the series with that limited number of episodes with which to work.

How well did Amazon pull off Season 4? From what I'm told (have only read the 1st book but am caught up on the series) it's the only season that largely tried to follow the book's arc trajectory beginning to end so that the end of the season lined up with the end of the book. How well did they capture that? I assume things were left out and embellishments were added to make it work for TV, but do you think they left out anything big or perhaps went too fast like they did to wrap up the third season?

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

How well did Amazon pull off Season 4? From what I'm told (have only read the 1st book but am caught up on the series) it's the only season that largely tried to follow the book's arc trajectory beginning to end so that the end of the season lined up with the end of the book. How well did they capture that? I assume things were left out and embellishments were added to make it work for TV, but do you think they left out anything big or perhaps went too fast like they did to wrap up the third season?

Yes. The last season is pretty on target. The problem is that you have like 4 books to cover in the next season (s). I'll put a spoiler below that doesn't give away much in the way of plot details, but does reveal some of the general structure:

Spoiler!

Those books involve like multiple decades and some truly cataclysmic rises/falls of entire civilizations... the scope gets MUCH larger in the remaining books, and I don't see how they can do it justice in that timeframe. But maybe they have a solid plan.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Yes. The last season is pretty on target. The problem is that you have like 4 books to cover in the next season (s). I'll put a spoiler below that doesn't give away much in the way of plot details, but does reveal some of the general structure:

Spoiler!

Those books involve like multiple decades and some truly cataclysmic rises/falls of entire civilizations... the scope gets MUCH larger in the remaining books, and I don't see how they can do it justice in that timeframe. But maybe they have a solid plan.

The plan is to stop the series after the events of Book 6, I believe. Do you think that could work? At the very least, do you trust the writers of the books (who are heavily involved with the production) to clean things up enough?

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

The plan is to stop the series after the events of Book 6, I believe. Do you think that could work? At the very least, do you trust the writers of the books (who are heavily involved with the production) to clean things up enough?

Yeah. That makes sense, actually. It basically cleaves off a huge plot twist that I'm not sure I love anyway. I can definitely see how they could change things a bit there and end up with a satisfactory ending.

[Discuss Thrower]

If "Mr. Corey" is in to it, I'd love to see something like the Vesta Incident turned into a telefilm.

[Bowser]

So life as it will happened with me the last few years and I never got around to watching this. I finally FINALLY dove in and binged almost the first two seasons (I was almost tempted to turn off the turd of a game against the Broncos and get back to it. Almost). I'm at the part where Draper asks for political asylum on Earth.

This show is absolutely amazing. I haven't been drawn into a show like this since Game of Thrones up til about season 6. I stopped reading this thread around post 100. I'll be back when I'm all caught up.

And no, I never ended up reading the books, either. After I'm caught up on the show, I'm 100% sure I'll dive into those as well.

[Bowser]

This show has been crack. I'm to the point where Holden and crew are on Ilos. I can't get enough of this, lol.

And Amos might be my favorite character of any series in some time, haha.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by Bowser

This show has been crack. I'm to the point where Holden and crew are on Ilos. I can't get enough of this, lol.

And Amos might be my favorite character of any series in some time, haha.

Have you seen Bobbie yet?

[Miles]

Originally Posted by Bowser

This show has been crack. I'm to the point where Holden and crew are on Ilos. I can't get enough of this, lol.

And Amos might be my favorite character of any series in some time, haha.

The actor that plays Amos does a really good job and particularly as the show progresses.

I suspect you would also really like the books.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

My initial response to this when I saw it a couple of days ago was disappointment.

I just don't think they can wrap it up in one season. They'll have to scrap almost everything. I guess we're lucky to get as much as we have.

I was initially bummed out by the news but the comments about ending with book 6 in the source makes a lot of sense. With it having been cancelled once and all of the other shows it seems not getting endings these days I’m glad this one at least will.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by stumppy

Have you seen Bobbie yet?

Oh yeah. I like her as well - an equal badass but with emotion. If her and Amos end up with a kid, they'll end up ruling all the portal worlds lol.

[Bowser]

The **** you mean I have to wait until February 3 for season 5?? DO THEY NOT UNDERSTAND MY LEVEL OF ADDICTION TO THIS SHOW??

[Bowser]