This has truly been a bonza couple of weeks for beloved shows being cancelled and then instantly being revived. First we said goodbye to Brooklyn Nine-Nine and then said hello again; now we’re going through precisely the same rigamarole with The Expanse. The cult hit sci-fi series, which was cancelled by SyFy the other week, has been picked up by Amazon Studios.
The Expanse – which is available on Netflix in Australia – attracted strong audiences, many of whom saw it as one of the best space-based sci-fi shows in recent memory, and a worthy heir to the mode originally drawn up by shows like Star Trek.
Just saw online that SyFy has cancelled THE EXPANSE. It’s a damn shame, especially for fans of space science fiction… of which I count myself one. It was the best space show on television, far and away. I hope its producers can find another home for it. https://t.co/UTD1SUjyUl pic.twitter.com/9TuJKktMBl
— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) May 12, 2018
Please @amazon — you guys do some serious, quality shows and this is some of the smartest science fiction to appear in a long time. #SaveTheExpanse https://t.co/ljk0xMEz7V
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 15, 2018
The Hollywood Reporter reports that while the deal hasn’t been fully inked yet, it’s basically locked in over at Amazon. Apparently, CEO Jeff Bezos is a big fan of the show, and that guy basically has enough money to revive any show he wants at literally any time. He could decide he wants to watch some new eps of Gilligan’s Island and someone would absolutely make it for him.
Fans of The Expanse are pretty intense – prior to the reports that Amazon were throwing their hat in the ring, fans literally paid for a plane to fly a message demanding the company pick up the show over the HQ. That is a commitment.
#SaveTheExpanse Airplane Banner is Up & Flying Over #AmazonStudios in Santa Monica Now! Global Aerial Advertising Since 1947 @airadsworldwide pic.twitter.com/RPfC8v5a8O
— Airads Worldwide (@airadsworldwide) May 15, 2018
It’s also proof that your favourite show being cancelled is absolutely not a final death sentence these days, as you can get with all your posting mates on Reddit and throw a tanty so huge that a streaming service will have no choice but to listen up.
Starring Steven Strait, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Dominique Tipper, The Expanse is set in the far future, when humanity has colonised the solar system. If you haven’t watched it, it’s probably worth a crack now.
