The story
Humanity has settled the Solar System, and an uneasy three-way standoff holds between Earth, a militarised Mars and the exploited workers of the asteroid Belt. A world-weary detective on Ceres searching for a vanished young woman, the survivors of a destroyed ice-hauling ship and a steely UN politician on Earth all find themselves pulled towards the same conspiracy, one bound up with alien technology that could shatter the fragile peace.
Why it matters
The Expanse became the model fan-powered rescue. Syfy cancelled it, more than 100,000 fans signed a petition, and Amazon picked it up within the month. Its fourth season was the first not shown on live TV, and Rotten Tomatoes' consensus said it handled the network change without missing a beat.
How it was rescued
Syfy aired three seasons from December 2015 and cancelled the show in May 2018. Fans campaigned hard, even crowdfunding a plane to tow a #SaveTheExpanse banner around Amazon Studios, and that same month Prime Video picked it up. The first Amazon season was released on 12 December 2019.
Filed under: Cancelled, then revived online
Notable facts
- Fans crowdfunded a plane to fly a "#SaveTheExpanse" banner around Amazon Studios after Syfy's cancellation. (source)
- Wil Wheaton, George R. R. Martin and Patton Oswalt were among the celebrities who backed the campaign to save the show. (source)
- The first Amazon season holds a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 34 reviews. (source)
- The series won three Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation from six nominations. (source)