Summary
- The Expanse season 6 was the show’s final season, and there are no signs of a season 7.
- The show’s cancelation was likely due to budget constraints and lower viewership figures.
- The Expanse ended before adapting the remaining three books in the novel series, leaving unresolved storylines.
The Expanse season 6 marked the Rocinante’s farewell run — and there are no signs that the story will continue in The Expanse season 7. Based on the novels by James S.A. Corey, The Expanse delivered grounded, intelligent science fiction with high production values, impressive visuals, ambitious socio-political themes, and multi-layered characters. Curiously, the cancelation of the show following season 6 was not the first time The Expanse was ended. After its first three seasons on SyFy The Expanse was picked up by Amazon, continuing for three more seasons on Prime Video before finishing with The Expanse season 6.
The Expanse ended before adapting the remaining three books in the novel series. Now The Expanse season 6 has come and gone, bringing an eventful run of space dogfights and alien antics to an end. Until its final chapter, the Rocinante retained its critical armor. Viewers who enjoyed the show can still partake in the novels to truly finish the story, but many will notice some key differences. Here’s why season 6 was the last ride for The Expanse cast, the last season’s departures from the book, and whether there’s any hope for The Expanse season 7.
The Expanse: TV Show Factions Explained
There’s a lot of politicking in Syfy’s The Expanse, so we have a handy faction guide that breaks down what drives Earth, Mars, and the Belters.
Why Amazon Ended The Expanse With Season 6
The Expanse Season 7 Likely Didn’t Happen Due To Budget
Amazon didn’t provide an official reason why The Expanse season 7 didn’t happen. However, considering there are nine books, and each season adapts roughly one novel, season 6 can’t be considered the ideal ending. Money is likely a factor, which would also explain why The Expanse season 6 is so short, consisting of just six instead of the usual 10 to 13 episodes. Despite the lack of an official reason for the show ending with The Expanse season 6, several factors indicate that The Expanse was canceled simply because viewing figures didn’t justify The Expanse season 7 and beyond.
While The Expanse‘s per-episode budget has never been made public, one producer confirmed on Reddit that the figures were high, but not Game of Thrones levels, as some suspected. Those visual effects and futuristic sets don’t come cheap, and The Expanse‘s Toronto stage is around 80,000 square feet. Counterbalance this with the show’s popularity, and the prospects of The Expanse season 7 and double-figure seasons begin to look even slimmer.
Like other streaming services, Amazon didn’t release viewership figures in the same way network TV ratings are measured, but estimates suggest The Expanse season 4 performed well for the platform. Unfortunately, the switch from SyFy to Amazon wasn’t enough to turn the series into a mainstream juggernaut befitting its IMDB review score, which would’ve been crucial for funding The Expanse season 7.
Though Amazon saved The Expanse from cancelation after its third season on SyFy, the show didn’t attract the kind of numbers that Amazon wanted. On the bright side, The Expanse evidently performed well enough to warrant a proper ending with season 6, rather than the immediate smiting SyFy attempted.
The Expanse Ending & Credits Tease Explained: What Happens Next
The Expanse season 6 brings Amazon’s sci-fi series to a fittingly frantic end. Here’s how it happened, the credits tease meaning, and what comes next.
The Expanse Season 7 Would Have Been Much Harder To Write
The Narrative Of The Final Expanse Novels Presented Adaptation Difficulties
Non-commercial factors also played a part in The Expanse‘s cancelation. As per the source material, The Expanse season 7 would’ve comprised a 30-year time jump, posing a huge narrative hurdle. In past interviews, producers revealed they were considering ways of handling this timeline leap, but The Expanse ending with season 6 and avoiding the problem altogether made more sense.
The main cast can’t spend entire seasons being artificially aged through CGI or prosthetics, but the time jump is vital to the overarching story. It can’t be ignored without deviating wildly from the books. Wrapping up the narrative with The Expanse season 6 allowed writers to sidestep these potential pitfalls.
The Expanse: Who Are The Belters? Origin, Purpose, & Real Meaning Explained
Who are the Belters, also pejoratively called “skinnies,” in the sci-fi series The Expanse? Here’s their origin, purpose, and real meaning explained.
Why The Expanse Needs To Continue
There Is More Story To Tell After The Expanse Season 6
The ending of The Expanse was positively received — but the latest cancelation shouldn’t have been where the story ended. There were plenty of narrative arcs left to explore. “Babylon’s Ashes” addressed the immediate storylines in play — Marco Inaros’ domination, peace between Inners and the Belt, and Naomi’s attempts to rescue Filip. However, the larger, long-term arcs remain unresolved.
Admiral Winston Duarte was still building something sinister over on Laconia, with the planet’s Protomolecule station pulsing blue as it created a brand-new warship, unlike anything Earth and Mars were capable of producing. Even more foreboding was the growing anger behind the Ring entities. The Marco Inaros incident riled up the Dark Gods further, and Holden remained concerned that these mysterious aliens would wipe out humanity at any given moment.
The Expanse Ignored One Of The Oldest Sci-Fi Tropes (& It Was Much Better For It)
The Expanse tends to avoid certain sci-fi tropes. However, there’s one in particular that has a huge impact on the show’s narrative at large.
How Do The Expanse Books Compare To The TV Show?
There Are Many Differences Between Both Versions
The largest departure that The Expanse made from its literary source material was its use of the main characters, and cherry-picking pieces from different books to better fit the narrative. Characters in The Expanse were introduced early in the series, rather than popping up at random as they do in the novels. Avasarala, for example, doesn’t appear until the crew gets to Caliban, whereas in the show, she’s introduced immediately.
Characterizations were also changed from the books to better fit the plot of The Expanse. Many have pointed to Prax and Bobbie being the most different when held up to their novel counterparts, and James Holden’s character was made to be less idealistic. The largest complaint came from those trying to read the books while simultaneously watching the show, as The Expanse‘s plot was not told linearly, unlike the novels.
As people were reading, many plot points were spoiled by the show. However, this was done to provide the backstory and motivations of certain characters, which made the overall narrative more screen friendly. With multiple questions still to answer, The Expanse‘s ending only hinted at the Laconia-Sol conflict in the books and an alien threat that wipes out the Protomolecule. The live-action version of James S.A. Corey’s sci-fi opera is definitely primed for a continuation in some form.
Why Holden’s Expanse Ending Is Better Than The Books
The Expanse’s finale adapts the ending of Babylon’s Ashes – but makes an important change to James Holden’s story, strengthening his ending.
The Expanse’s Legacy Already Proves It Ended Prematurely
Demand For The Expanse Season 7 Hasn’t Waned
It hasn’t even been that long since The Expanse ended and people are already nostalgic for its characters and keen handling of socio-politics through sci-fi storytelling — proof positive that Amazon could have, and should have, proceeded with The Expanse season 7. Even though The Expanse lasted for a full six seasons, it’s shaping up to be this generation’s Firefly. However, unlike Firefly, the future of The Expanse is actually backed by three more novels yet to be adapted on screen, which only makes its premature cancelation more frustrating.
Following the current ending, The Expanse season 7 would have been based on the seventh book, Persepolis Rising, which, alongside the succeeding books Tiamat’s Wrath and Leviathan Falls, is all about the rise of the Laconian Empire. Whether it takes the form of a feature-length movie or The Expanse season 7, the studio should invest in a more conclusive ending to this story.
Amid the formulaic narratives of mainstream sci-fi, there’s no denying that The Expanse is one of the few series that masterfully handled the challenge of fleshing out a high-stakes, dystopian future society with an original plot. For that, if nothing else, the Rocinante deserves to continue its journey in The Expanse season 7.
The Expanse
The Expanse is a sci-fi series set in the distant future where humanity has spread out across the solar system, but the alliances between the three most potent governing bodies have reached a state of the cold war. In the series, a mixed crew finds themselves at the center of a dangerous intergalactic conspiracy that threatens to bring war to the colonized worlds.
- Release Date
- November 14, 2015
- Cast
- Thomas Jane , Dominique Tipper , Cara Gee , Jasai Chase-Owens , Florence Faivre , Cas Anvar , Keon Alexander , Frankie Adams , Shawn Doyle , Steven Strait , Paulo Costanzo , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Wes Chatham , Nadine Nicole
- Seasons
- 6
- Writers
- Mark Fergus , Hawk Ostby
- Showrunner
- Naren Shankar , Mark Fergus , Hawk Ostby
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
