As hard as it is to believe, this year marks ten years since The Expanse premiered (originally) on SyFy. To this day critics still sing its praises as one of the most realistic science fiction productions ever. (Although, 2015’s The Martian, ironically also ten years old this year, gives the show a run for its money in that category. So too will next year’s Project Hail Mary – both of the later being from the mind of writer Andy Weir.) So how does the show hold up a decade later? We’ve begun our re-watch to answer that very question. So far, the verdict is very clear: very well. Perhaps a little too well.
For those unfamiliar, The Expanse is a sci-fi series (now on Amazon) that ran for a total of six seasons. James S. A. Corey’s book series of the same name serves as the source material. As with any adaptation, the series took some liberties and deviated here and there, but by and large stayed pretty true to the premise. A few hundred years in the future, Earth, Mars, and “The Belt” (mining colonies on the asteroid belts of our solar system) are on the brink of war over natural resources. Amidst it all, James Holden (Steven Strait) and his rag-tag crew of the Rocinante (a legitimate salvage!) find themselves in the middle of one of the biggest conspiracies in the history of mankind.
The Expanse: as poignant and relevant as ever
While admittedly some of the “made for TV” effects don’t hold up quite as well to today’s standards, the themes and writing more than hold their own. Diving deeply into the corruption of politics, international (in this case, interplanetary) strife, and socio-economic divide, The Expanse is just as poignant now, if not more so, than when it first premiered. Bolstering that fact is some fine acting from the show’s main cast, including Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham (Star Wars: Ahsoka), Thomas Jane, and the sensationally omnipresent Shohreh Aghdashloo.
Was The Expanse a perfect series? No. Few are. Notwithstanding, outside of its rabid fan base (of which I’d be a card-carrying member, if we had cards), the show remains to this day grossly underrated. Re-watching now (or watching for the first time) in light of today’s political landscape makes every nuance of the show all the more palpable. For me, this is likely the third of fourth re-watch, and even now I still catch little, key elements I’ve never noticed before. That’s how deep, and how well-crafted, this series is…. It allows you to keep discovering, a decade later.
All episodes of The Expanse are streaming on Amazon Prime Video. If you’ve not yet seen it, I highly suggest you give a try.
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