‘The Expanse’ Makes Plans For A Final Season
by Erik Amaya
The Expanse has been cancelled again.
The fan favorite science fiction series has also been renewed by Amazon for a sixth season, which, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is planned to be its last. Based on the novels of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck — collectively credited as James S.A. Corey — the series tells the tale of a spacefaring human race who have colonized the solar system for financial gain. The incredible distances involved means those who toil off of Earth have their own culture and values. And as the peoples of The Expanse have not outgrown conflict or prejudice, the spaceways are filled with unrest and, occasionally, alien technology worth starting a war over. The mixture of culture exploration, capitalist criticism, and high-concept sci-fi elements made it compelling viewing.
Granted, the number of people compelled to watch was not high enough for Syfy, who originally commissioned the series and cancelled it after its third season. Amazon famously swooped in to rescue the series after a fan campaign proved it had an audience and ordered a fourth and fifth season in short order.
“From the moment we committed to bringing this show to life up until this final season, we have worked tirelessly to honor the vision of the writers. We have prided ourselves on having one of the most diverse casts on television and giving a platform to stories that matter,” executive producers Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said in a statement “A special thanks to Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the writers of both the books and series, and to Naren Shankar, the series showrunner and executive producer. It continues to be an honor and privilege to work with this team. We also would like to thank Amazon for their continuing support to help us tell this story in its fullest and to bring The Expanse to a global audience.”
One person not returning for the final season is Cas Anvar (per Deadline), who was accused of sexual misconduct of the summer. The rest of the cast and Shankar will return to chart The Expanse‘s final course. Production may start as soon as January. And though it is ending, fans still have two seasons worth of episodes to look forward to. The program’s fifth season debuts December 16th on Amazon.