Syfy has ordered a 13-episode third season of its space drama series The Expanse for premiere in 2018.

The Expanse was one of the first series greenlighted after the change in direction at Syfy when the network signaled a return to its roots of sweeping space opera series in the vein of Battlestar Galactica. With its setting and scope, the big-budget The Expanse, from Alcon and the Sean Daniel Co, was tipped as a potential successor to Battlestar Galactica. It was part of a crop of Syfy series that launched in 2015, along with hit The Magicians and 12 Monkeys, just renewed for a fourth and final season.

“The Expanse is a gorgeous, thrilling, emotional series that has quite simply raised the bar for science fiction on television,” said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “We, along with the fans, are looking forward to continuing the journey with our partners at Alcon Television Group and the series’ brilliant cast and crew.”

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Currently in Season 2, The Expanse unfolds across a colonized galaxy 200 years in the future, when two strangers become unwittingly swept up in a vast conspiracy. Based on the bestselling book series written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey), The Expanse stars Steven Strait, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Dominique Tipper, Cas Anvar, Wes Chatham and Frankie Adams.

Oscar-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby serve as executive producers and showrunners, alongside Naren Shankar.

The Expanse is financed and produced by Alcon Television Group, a division of Alcon Entertainment. Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson serve as executive producers along with Sharon Hall. Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company are executive producers.

New episodes of The Expanse currently air Wednesdays at 10 PM.