'The Expanse' Space Drama May Go to Amazon After Syfy Cancellation: Report

Two people focus on a translucent screen in the foreground — Crewmembers of the Rocinante plot a course in "The Expanse" Season 3. (Image credit: Syfy)

According to recent reports, Amazon executives are in talks to pick up "The Expanse" — the space drama recently canceled by Syfy channel— for a fourth season.

Variety.com confirmed with sources yesterday (May 21) that Amazon is considering picking up the series, which is produced and financed by Alcon Television Group. Amazon already owns U.S. streaming rights for the show, while Netflix has international rights. (Syfy had first-run airing rights in the U.S.)

Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, may join the celebrities (and an astronaut!) who are diehard fans of the series: According to a report posted yesterday on The Hollywood Reporter, "Sources say Bezos is a big fan of the book 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'."

Several of the "Expanse" cast and crew discussed the potential pickup for a live video discussion on Facebook with LA Talk Radio, where Cas Anvar, who plays the pilot Alex Kamal on the show, pointed out that Bezos actually uses the first "The Expanse" book, "Leviathan Wakes" (Orbit, 2011), as an example when demonstrating Amazon's Kindle e-reader.

The cast and crew reiterated that nothing was final but said that they were optimistic that fan efforts (including, perhaps, the banner flown over Amazon Studios) were making a difference.

Anvar also read a statement on from Alcon on Sunday (May 20) on AfterBuzz TV, quoting the production company as saying:

"To the fans and the stakeholders of 'The Expanse', your passion and your advocacy have not gone unnoticed. Please stay ignited and excited as we work through a few scenarios. The cast, the crew, the producers, the writers, we are all deeply moved and motivated to make this work. There are a lot of moving parts…there are no promises at this point, but a commitment to try everything."

The next episode of "The Expanse" Season 3 airs tomorrow (May 23) at 9 p.m. EDT/PDT (8 p.m. CDT) on Syfy.

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Sarah Lewin started writing for Space.com in June of 2015 as a Staff Writer and became Associate Editor in 2019 . Her work has been featured by Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, Quanta Magazine, Wired, The Scientist, Science Friday and WGBH's Inside NOVA. Sarah has an MA from NYU's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program and an AB in mathematics from Brown University. When not writing, reading or thinking about space, Sarah enjoys musical theatre and mathematical papercraft. She is currently Assistant News Editor at Scientific American. You can follow her on Twitter @SarahExplains.