According to The Hollywood Reporter, space opera The Expanse is on the cusp of being rescued from cancellation by Amazon, with a deal for a fourth season said to be near but not finalized.
The cancellation of The Expanse, which is down only 6% year to year in the demo, was said to come down to finances, as Syfy didn’t own SVOD or international rights and could only profit from the series through live viewing. Where the series was performing more like a co-production than a Syfy original, it couldn’t make up for the network’s inability to monetize it through non-linear means. However, upon the cancellation 10 days ago, producer Alcon Television shopped the series to other platforms, with Amazon emerging as leading candidate. The streamer is purported to be looking for its own Game of Thrones and where it already owned the domestic rights to the first three seasons of The Expanse (Netflix owns the international rights), made a natural home for the cult favorite.
The Expanse would join a scripted slate for Amazon that includes The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Transparent, Lore, The Dangerous Book for Boys, and The Man in the High Castle.
The third season of The Expanse airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on Syfy, with a network finale scheduled for later this summer.
