Set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System, it follows a disparate band of protagonists – United Nations Security Council member Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo), cynical detective Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane), and ship's officer James Holden (Steven Strait) and his crew – as they unwittingly unravel and place themselves at the center of a conspiracy that threatens the system's fragile peace, while dealing with existential crises brought forth by newly discovered alien technology.
The three largest powers are the United Nations of Earth and Luna, the Martian Congressional Republic on Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA), a loose political confederation of colonies scattered across the asteroid belt and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
UN Deputy Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala works to prevent simmering tensions between the United Nations and Mars from erupting into all-out war.
Ceres police investigator Josephus "Joe" Miller is tasked with finding a missing young woman, Julie Mao, who has ties to the OPA.
James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal, and Amos Burton survive both attacks and escape in the Tachi, a Martian gunship.
[1] The crew of the Rocinante, with Miller's help, investigate and eventually discover a biohazard that kills off most of the humans on the asteroid spaceport Eros, including Julie.
Martian Marine Bobbie Draper fights an inhuman figure on Ganymede and later, during peace talks between Earth and Mars, becomes a protégé of Avasarala.
Earthers begin demanding an organized exodus to solve the planet's overcrowding, while efforts to terraform Mars and the Belt grind to a halt with the realization that naturally habitable worlds are available.
While the rest of the crew try to ease tension between the colonists and an officially backed scientific expedition with private military support, Holden discovers ruins from the same civilization that built the Rings.
A deadly conspiracy threatens Earth, as the crew of the Rocinante pursue personal missions while their ship is in dry dock at Tycho Station.
Holden and the crew of the Rocinante fight alongside the Combined Fleet of Earth and Mars to protect the Inner Planets from Marco Inaros and his Free Navy.
The combined fleet, allied with the ships of Camina Drummer and other Belter forces, defeats Marco and the Free Navy by antagonizing an unknown alien presence.
[13][14] On April 11, 2014, Syfy announced a straight-to-series commitment to a television adaptation of the book series, and ordered the production of 10 one-hour-long episodes for the first season.
[2] October of that same year, Dominique Tipper, Cas Anvar, Paulo Costanzo, and Wes Chatham were cast as Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal, Shed Garvey, and Amos Burton while Jonathan Banks and Jay Hernandez were announced to be guest starring in the series.
[4] Produced by Alcon Television and The Sean Daniel Company, principal photography on the first season started on October 29, 2014, in Toronto[16] and concluded on March 27, 2015.
[47] Drawing comparisons to the opening sequence of Game of Thrones, Jason Morehead of Opuszine notes that not only does it depict the development of Earth's expansion into the solar system, it introduces the viewer to the political dynamics within the series.
Scott noted in a post on Facebook that her words were drawn from Norwegian, though she apologized for any errors in syntax, grammar and pronunciation.
As explained in one article, "People who have migrated to the Belt come from all over Earth speaking dozens of languages, and they're often isolated for years at a time on remote mining stations.
The site's consensus states: "The Expanse blends sci-fi elements and detective noir into a visually compelling whole, though it takes a few episodes for the story to capture viewers' intrigue.
[62] Reporting on the pilot screening, io9's Lauren Davis declared herself "blown away" by The Expanse, appreciating its "incredible sense of scale" and its "deeply thought out future world that reflects on our present one, with high production values and characters who speak and act like real people".
[65] At Tor.com, Justin Landon highlighted The Expanse's "bold and unique cinematography" and its claustrophobic, discomforting set designs, as well as the "extremely faithful" characterization, but remarked that the patois spoken by the Belters, the natives of the asteroid belt, made the series difficult to follow.
The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's second season offers more of the show's excellent signature production values while increasing character development and politically thrilling narratives.
[68] Writing for io9, Katherine Trendacosta noted how the show had become "shockingly prescient", insofar as many of the issues and ideas explored by The Expanse mirrored contemporary trends in global politics.
[70] Writing for 13.7: Cosmos & Culture, a blog hosted by NPR, astrophysicist Adam Frank praised the show and its writers for the scientific realism.
The site's critical consensus reads, "Building on earlier potential and extending character arcs throughout a solidly crafted third season, The Expanse continues to impress – and shows no signs of abating.
"[74] Speaking about the premiere, Kevin Yeoman said, "All in all ... season three begins by dramatically raising the immediate stakes of the story without drastically altering the dynamics of the show itself.
The site's critical consensus reads, "Smart and thrilling as ever, The Expanse's fourth season doesn't miss a beat, successfully navigating network changes without losing any of its rich character work or narrative complexities.
The site's critical consensus reads, "The Expanse's truncated final season honors the series' characters and themes with a graceful conclusion.
[98][99][100] Emily VanDerWerff of Vox describes the first season of the series to be a "blend of science fiction and noir-infused detective drama, with a backdrop of political intrigue".
[146] The game is a prequel to the TV series, Cara Gee reprised her role as Camina Drummer, the executive officer onboard a scavenger ship named Artemis.