A couple of weeks ago we got some terrible news. The Expanse, the critically acclaimed adaptation of the James SA Corey space opera novels now in its third season, was cancelled by Syfy.

Although the US-based cable channel was responsible for broadcasting the science fiction show, it wasn't responsible for the production—that's all down to Alcon Entertainment. Syfy only bought the first-run linear rights, meaning that it only really cared about viewers watching the show live in the US on Wednesday evenings. Streaming rights after each season was complete went to Amazon here in the US, with Netflix carrying the show internationally.

But it looks like the day may have been saved. On Monday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Amazon appears set to step into the breach for season four. By all accounts, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos was a big Expanse fan and wasn't happy that Syfy had the broadcast rights for the show in the first place.

News of the cancellation sparked a massive fan campaign to save the show, notably on Twitter—my favorite example being someone dressing up their cat as one of the characters:

Pics of Nessie the cat as Drummer from @TheExpansePO in case the video doesn’t load for you! #SaveTheExpanse #WatchTheExpanseLive pic.twitter.com/1enYEV4ASY — terseink #SaveTheExpanse (@BoopleSnoot19) May 21, 2018

It's not a completely done deal yet, but time is of the essence; if a deal isn't reached soon, the show's sets are scheduled to be dismantled, which would make restarting production at a later date that much harder. But with any luck, Bezos' actions mean TV viewers will be able to find out exactly what the protomolecule has in store for the solar system.

In the meantime, if you're a fan of The Expanse and you haven't read those excellent novels, I highly recommend doing so. While the overall plot remains roughly the same, the show's writers have taken the action in some subtly different directions, meaning there's plenty to keep you engaged if and when season four does make it to our screens.