SYFY has cancelled its best science fiction show: The Expanse. A Deadline report indicates Alcon Television Group, the studio behind the series, will shop the show to other networks and digital services. The network recently renewed two series that began around the same time as The Expanse, The Magicians and 12 Monkeys, for fourth seasons.
The Deadline report cites both low ratings and the nature of SYFY's agreement that "only gives the cable network first-run linear rights in the U.S.," according to Deadline. "That puts an extraordinary amount of emphasis on live, linear viewing, which is inherently challenging for sci-fi/genre series that tend to draw the lion's share of their audiences from digital/streaming."
While The Expanse viewership is lower than that of The Magicians, Krypton and Happy!, the numbers are around the same as other co-productions on the network, such as Dark Matter and Killjoys, the former of which was cancelled last year. The Expanse was co-created and written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, an Oscar-nominated screenwriting duo. The show is based on a best-selling book series by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who use the pen name James S. A. Corey.
"The Expanse transported us across the solar system for three brilliant seasons of television," said Chris McCumber, President of Entertainment Networks at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, according to Deadline. "Everyone at Syfy is a massive fan of the series, and this was an incredibly difficult decision. We want to sincerely thank The Expanse' s amazing cast, crew and all the dedicated creatives who helped bring James S.A. Corey's story to life. And to the series' loyal fans, we thank you most of all."
The Expanse became beloved around the world when the first two seasons hit Netflix, internationally. In the United States, the first two seasons are available on Amazon Prime. At present, the only way to keep up with Season 3 of The Expanse is with a cable subscription. The series could be better suited for a streaming service such as Netflix alongside premium content. There's certainly room for more science fiction on Hulu or Amazon.
For now, there's a slim ray of hope but if the series ends here, at least you can still read the books. The eighth installment, Tiamat's Wrath, is scheduled for release Dec. 4. It's going to be hard to forgive SYFY for this, but now, there's only one thing left to do: watch the heck out of Season 3 so someone else will pick up this masterpiece of a show.
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