The Expanse Fans Took Their Dedication To A New Level To Save The Show
News that "The Expanse" would be ending with Season 6 was bittersweet.
On the one hand, the beloved space opera would finally come to a close, to the disappointment of its dedicated fans. On the other, it would at least get the conclusion it deserved instead of being unceremoniously canceled mid-run, as it very nearly was.
"The Expanse," a space opera about a future in which man has successfully colonized a large swath of our solar system, always had an unsure path ahead of it. While adapted from the successful series of books of the same name, strong source material does not necessarily equal "Game of Thrones" levels of success. That said, the show debuted on the Syfy channel in 2015 to a positive critical reception, via Rotten Tomatoes, and had enough viewer interest to justify a renewal for a second season that aired in 2017 as well as a third that premiered in 2018.
Unfortunately, before the third season had even finished airing, viewers learned that "The Expanse" had been canceled at Syfy. However, diehards soon launched a campaign to keep it on the air that was ultimately successful. Here is how "The Expanse" fans took their dedication to a whole new level to save the show.
Fans started a petition that received over 100,000 signatures and involved celebrities to save "The Expanse"
Fans were floored when Deadline shared that Syfy was no longer interested in producing "The Expanse" on May 10, 2018. Interestingly, though, that same announcement revealed that "Alcon Television Group, which fully finances and produces the critically praised series, plans to shop it to other buyers."
Viewers savvy to the nature of TV production knew that if Alcon still believed in "The Expanse," then the show had a chance. To demonstrate their support, fans started a Change.org petition to try and convince either Amazon or Netflix to pick up the show, which would receive more than 138,600 signatures before it was officially closed out. Netflix initially seemed like the most likely option for a new season, considering that the streaming service had already picked up the international rights to the show in 2016, according to Deadline, but the company ultimately passed on producing "The Expanse."
From then on, Amazon became the primary target. Celebrities like Patton Oswalt and George R.R. Martin voiced their support on Twitter, while a crowdfunding campaign shared on Reddit hired a plane to fly a "Save The Expanse" banner around Amazon Studios in Santa Monica. Then, on May 25, just 15 days after the show had been canceled, Jeff Bezos announced, "The Expanse is saved," while seated next to the show's cast at the International Space Development Conference, via The Verge. The fans had ultimately been successful, and "The Expanse" was officially revived at Amazon.