Syfy has given a second season to “The Expanse” and is increasing the episode order from 10 to 13 for the futuristic mystery’s sophomore turn, Variety has learned.

The Alcon Television Group series gained traction from an online debut in November that brought in 4.5 million viewers before its official premiere on Dec. 14 on Syfy. The first three episodes that have aired on Syfy have brought in an average 1.6 million P2+ linear viewers (L3).

“‘The Expanse’ is firing on all cylinders creatively, building a passionate fan base among viewers and critics alike, and delivering on Syfy’s promise of smart, provocative science fiction entertainment. We can’t wait to see where the story takes us in season two,” said Dave Howe, president of Syfy and Chiller.

Set 200 years in the future, “The Expanse” stars Thomas Jane and Steven Strait as a hardened detective and a rogue ship captain whose unlikely alliance may end up exposing the greatest conspiracy in human history. In her review of the series, Variety critic Maureen Ryan credited the show for being “openly political, and tak[ing] on issues of class, representation and exploitation.”

Based on Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck’s series of books written under the pen name James S.A. Corey, “The Expanse” has Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (“Children of Men,” “Iron Man”) serving as writers, executive producers and showrunners. Executive producer Naren Shankar (“CSI,” “Farscape”) is also showrunning. Alcon finances and produces the series, with co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson serving as executive producers along with former Alcon TV president Sharon Hall. Alcon TV executive Ben Roberts serves as co-producer. Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company are also executive producers and Ben Cook serves as a producer.

“The Expanse” is reportedly Syfy’s most expensive series to date. Ahead of its debut, Howe told Variety this was necessary.

“[Once they see it,] people will realize that not many networks are investing as much as we are in this quality content,” he said then. “This is not just big. This is premium network scale.”

Season two of “The Expanse” is expected to air in 2017.