The Expanse Moves From SyFy To Amazon

“We couldn’t be more excited that The Expanse is going to continue on Amazon Prime! We are deeply grateful that Jeff Bezos, [new Amazon Studios head] Jen Salke, and their team at Amazon have shown such faith in our show,” said Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, who produce the series. “We also want to thank Laura Lancaster, head of Alcon Television for her tireless efforts. We are fully aware that this wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the staggering outpouring of support from the most creative, hardest working sci-fi fans around the world. From reddit campaigns to airplanes, we say thank you. It worked!”

The official pickup comes days after The Hollywood Reporter revealed that retailer and streaming outlet was near a deal to revive the space drama The Expanse for a fourth season a week-plus after Syfy canceled the series once season three wraps in June. Amazon at the time declined comment as the deals had yet to close.

Syfy had only first-run linear rights in the U.S. to The Expanse, which was based on James S. A. Corey’s best-selling book series of the same name and starred Steven Strait. Amazon Studios had streaming rights to the first three seasons of the show. Bezos is a big fan of the book — the source material was on the screen when the executive displayed Amazon’s Kindle Fire for the first time to press — and was livid that the TV series went to NBCUniversal-owned Syfy. The move is said to have ignited Bezos’ demand that Amazon Studios brass find the company’s version of Game of Thrones.

The Expanse was a pricey show for Syfy and the nature of the deal put additional pressure for the show to perform on its linear network as the cabler did not have either SVOD or international rights to profit from. (Netflix had international rights to the series.) The drama was Syfy’s first major push back into the traditional science fiction genre.

“The Expanse transported us across the solar system for three brilliant seasons of television. Everyone at Syfy is a massive fan of the series, and this was an incredibly difficult decision,” said Chris McCumber, president of entertainment networks at NBCU Cable Entertainment. “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.”

At Amazon, The Expanse joins a growing roster of genre programming including its upcoming Lord of the Rings TV franchise; Jordan Peele’s Nazi hunting drama series; Gillian Flynn’s Utopia remake; futuristic drama The Peripheral from Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan; Consider Phlebas; and a reboot of Hanna, among others.

Here’s the video of Bezos making the announcement from Twitter

 

I’ll just let him say it…#TheExpanse#RocinanteIsSafe#BreakingNews

Thank you @JeffBezos pic.twitter.com/wxHN31zgJs

— Cas Anvar (@Casanvar) May 26, 2018

The Hollywood Reporter Expanse Amazon News