The Expanse is an American science fiction television series on Syfy, developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on the series of novels by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (writing under the pseudonym James S. A. Corey). Set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System, it follows United Nations executive Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), police detective Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), and ship's officer Jim Holden (Steven Strait) and his crew as they unravel a conspiracy that threatens peace in the system and the survival of humanity. It also deals with the fractious relationship between Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA). The OPA is an organization that fights for the interests of inhabitants of the (Asteroid) Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Unrecognized as a governing body, the OPA is often accused of outlaw tactics and terrorism.
The series premiered on demand on November 23, 2015, and on Syfy on December 14, 2015. A 13-episode second season premiered on February 1, 2017. In March 2017, Syfy renewed The Expanse for a 13-episode third season to premiere on April 11, 2018. The series received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted its beautiful visuals, well-developed characters, and thrilling political narrative. It has received a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation as well as a Saturn Award nomination.
Video The Expanse (TV series)
Plot
Two hundred years in the future, in a fully colonized Solar System, police detective Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), born on Ceres in the asteroid belt, is assigned to find a missing young woman, Juliette "Julie" Andromeda Mao (Florence Faivre). James Holden (Steven Strait), the Executive Officer of the ice hauler Canterbury, is involved in a tragic incident that threatens to destabilize the uneasy peace between Earth, Mars and the Belt. On Earth, Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), a United Nations executive, works to prevent war between Earth and Mars by any means necessary. Soon, the three find out that the missing woman and the ice hauler's fate are part of a vast conspiracy that threatens all humanity.
Maps The Expanse (TV series)
Cast and characters
Main
- Thomas Jane as Josephus "Joe" Aloisus Miller, a Belter detective on Ceres assigned to find Julie Mao
- Steven Strait as James "Jim" Holden, the Earther captain of the Rocinante, formerly the executive officer of the Canterbury
- Cas Anvar as Alex Kamal, the Martian pilot of the Rocinante, formerly the pilot of the Canterbury
- Dominique Tipper as Naomi Nagata, the Belter engineer of the Rocinante, formerly an engineer of the Canterbury
- Wes Chatham as Amos Burton, the Earther mechanic of the Rocinante, formerly a mechanic of the Canterbury
- Paulo Costanzo as Shed Garvey, the Canterbury's medical technician (season 1)
- Florence Faivre as Juliette "Julie" Andromeda Mao, the missing daughter of business tycoon Jules-Pierre Mao
- Shawn Doyle as Sadavir Errinwright, UN Undersecretary of Executive Administration
- Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala, UN Assistant Undersecretary of Executive Administration
- Frankie Adams as Roberta "Bobbie" Draper, a Martian Marine gunnery sergeant (season 2)
Recurring
- Chad L. Coleman as Frederick "Fred" Lucius Johnson, "The Butcher of Anderson Station," a former UNN colonel-turned-leader of the OPA
- Nick E. Tarabay as Cotyar, a security professional working for Avasarala (season 2)
- Andrew Rotilio as Diogo Harari, a young Belter from Ceres
- Cara Gee as Drummer, Johnson's Belter second-in-command (season 2)
- Athena Karkanis as Octavia "Tavi" Muss, Miller's former partner (season 1)
- Jared Harris as Anderson Dawes, the OPA's Ceres liaison
- François Chau as Jules-Pierre Mao, the owner of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile, a subsidiary of Protogen, and Julie's father
- Terry Chen as Praxideke "Prax" Meng, a Ganymedian botanist (season 2)
- Jay Hernandez as Dmitri Havelock, Miller's Earther partner with Star Helix Security (season 1)
- Lola Glaudini as Shaddid, the captain of Star Helix Security's Ceres detachment (season 1)
- Kevin Hanchard as "Semi" Sematimba, a detective on Eros, and an old friend of Miller's (season 1)
- Martin Roach as Souther, UNN admiral, former UNN Fleet Commander, now commander of the UN's Jupiter fleet
- Daniel Kash as Antony Dresden, Protogen's head of biological research
- Brian George as Arjun Avasarala, Avasarala's husband
- Byron Mann as Augusto Nguy?n, a UNN admiral (season 2)
- Mpho Koaho as Richard Travis, an Earth-born MMC private in Draper's squad (season 2)
- Leah Jung as Mei Meng, Prax's daughter (season 2)
- Greg Bryk as K. Lopez, a MCRN lieutenant assigned to the MCRN Donnager (season 1)
- Elias Toufexis as Kenzo Gabriel, a corporate spy on Tycho Station (season 1)
- Peter Outerbridge as Martens, a MCRN captain assigned to the MCRN Scirocco (season 2)
- Sarah Allen as Hillman, a MMC private in Draper's squad (season 2)
- Dewshane Williams as Sa'id, a MMC corporal in Draper's squad (season 2)
- Conrad Pla as Janus, a UN colonel assigned to the UNS Arboghast (season 2)
- Ted Whittall as Michael Iturbi, a UN scientist assigned to the UNS Arboghast (season 2)
- Ted Atherton as Lawrence Strickland, a Protogen pediatrician on Ganymede (season 2)
- Hugh Dillon as Sutton, a MCRN lieutenant in command of the MCRN Scirocco (season 2)
- Jeff Seymour as Pyotr Korshunov, the MCR Minister of Defense (season 2)
- Rachael Crawford as J. Peñano, a MCRN admiral (season 2)
- Jean Yoon as Theresa Yao, captain of the MCRN Donnager (season 1)
- Elizabeth Mitchell as Rev. Dr. Annushka "Anna" Volovodov, a Europan Methodist pastor (season 3)
- David Strathairn (season 3)
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (2015-16)
Season 2 (2017)
Production
Development
The Expanse is based on the novel series of the same name by James S. A. Corey, a pen name of the authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who also serve as writers and producers for the show. The first novel, Leviathan Wakes (2011), was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. On April 11, 2014, Syfy announced a straight-to-series commitment to a television adaptation of the book series, and ordered the production of 10 one-hour-long episodes for the first season. On that date Syfy President Dave Howe commented: "The Expanse is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy's most ambitious series to date".
Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby wrote the pilot, directed by Terry McDonough, and serve as writers and showrunners alongside Naren Shankar. Produced by Alcon Television and The Sean Daniel Company, principal photography started on October 29, 2014, in Toronto. The pilot episode was screened at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2015.
In May 2015, before the first season aired, writing commenced for a second season, which was ordered in December 2015. The second season of The Expanse premiered on February 1, 2017.
On March 16, 2017, The Expanse was renewed by Syfy for a 13-episode third season set to air in 2018. Filming for season 3 began on July 12, 2017.
Four digital comics based on the books and tying into the television series have been published by ComiXology. The first focuses on the origin of James Holden and was released February 1, 2017. The next three, highlighting the origins of other characters are: Naomi Nagata, released April 19, 2017; Alex Kamal, released May 24, 2017; and Amos Burton, released July 12, 2017.
The show's title sequence was animated and directed by Australian studio Breeder and its VFX team.
Music
The show's soundtrack was composed by Clinton Shorter. The complete soundtrack dubbed The Expanse Season 1 - The Original Television Soundtrack, consisting of nineteen tracks, was released by Lakeshore Records, on May 20, 2016 via iTunes, and on May 26, 2016 via Amazon.
Release
In the United States, The Expanse is broadcast by Syfy and streams on Amazon Prime. In Canada, the series airs on Space and streams on CraveTV. In New Zealand, the series airs on Sky. In all other countries where Netflix is available, seasons 1 and 2 can be streamed.
Reception
Season 1
The first season received a rating of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 76% with an average rating of 7.12 out of 10 based on 41 reviews which summarized critics' consensus as follows: "The Expanse blends sci-fi elements and detective noir into a visually compelling whole, though it takes a few episodes for the story to capture viewers' intrigue."
Reporting on the pilot screening, io9's Lauren Davis declared herself "blown away" by The Expanse, appreciating its "incredible sense of scale" and its "deeply thought out future world that reflects on our present one, with high production values and characters who speak and act like real people". Max Nicholson of IGN characterized the pilot as "grim and dramatic", and a "very dense hour of television", with the terminology and large cast sometimes difficult to follow for viewers unfamiliar with the novels, but highlighted the pilot's "gorgeous" visuals and effects reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica, Dune and Firefly.
Writing for Variety, Maureen Ryan was unimpressed by the first four episodes "awkwardly linking a series of somewhat muddled stories" and the series' stereotypical characters, but credited it with tackling "issues of class, representation and exploitation", and a convincing design. At Tor.com, Justin Landon highlighted The Expanse's "bold and unique cinematography" and its claustrophobic, discomforting set designs, as well as the "extremely faithful" characterization, but remarked that the patois spoken by the Belters, the natives of the asteroid belt, made the series difficult to follow.
Season 2
The second season was also received favorably. On Metacritic, it has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 5 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 94% with an average rating of 8.79 out of 10 based on 16 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's second season offers more of the show's excellent signature production values while increasing character development and politically thrilling narratives." Writing for io9, Katherine Trendacosta noted how the show had become "shockingly prescient", insofar as many of the issues and ideas explored by The Expanse mirrored contemporary trends in global politics. Brian Tallerico, in "Why The Expanse Is the Best Sci-FI TV Show You're Not Watching" for Rolling Stone, praised the show for its contemporary political relevance and called its willingness to mix tones, and its protagonists, laudable. He summarized that at its core, The Expanse was all about people responding to fear - fear of the other, fear of the new, fear of inequality, fear of death. Writing for NPR, astrophysicist Adam Frank praised the show and its writers for the scientific realism. He wrote that "more than any other TV space-themed show, it gets the science right", which he found interesting.
Accolades
References
External links
- Official website
- The Expanse on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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