Syfy continues to ramp up its slate of scripted series with a straight-to-series 10-episode order for drama The Expanse based on James S.A. Corey's book series, it was announced today by Syfy President Dave Howe. The Expanse is produced by Alcon Television Group (ATG), a division of Alcon Entertainment, and marks the company's first series order.
Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man) wrote the pilot and will continue to serve as writers and executive producers. Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company developed the original pitch and will also executive produce.
Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson and Sharon Hall will serve as executive producers. Ben Roberts will co-produce with Ben Cook as a producer. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck - who penned the book series under the name James S.A. Corey - will be show producers.
A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship's captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.
Said Howe, "The Expanse is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy's most ambitious series to date. Bringing this coveted book franchise to television with our partners at Alcon and the Sean Daniel Company is a giant win for Syfy, reinforcing our overall strategy to produce bold, provocative and compelling sci-fi fantasy stories. The Expanse joins a killer line-up of high-concept, high quality series, along with recently announced original projects Ascension, 12 Monkeys, the renewal of Helix and the soon to premiere Dominion."
ATG President Sharon Hall states, "The Expanse is an addictive, sophisticated, character-driven franchise and Mark and Hawk are the perfect people to steer it. Their script is a totally immersive and accessible sci-fi journey. We are thrilled to be in business with Syfy on this venture."
Brown and Daniel added, "The Expanse is one of the most special pieces of material we've ever encountered and it has been our dream to bring it to life since the moment we read it. We couldn't be more excited to be doing it with this team of all-stars - Mark, Hawk and our partners at Alcon and Syfy."
