Syfy continues to aggressively build its original slate with a 10-episode order to The Expanse, a series based on James S.A. Corey’s series of novels. The project, which received a very rich straight-to-series order in a competitive situation, is in the space opera genre in the tradition of Battlestar Galactica that Syfy brass had been looking to bring back to the network. The Expanse was put together as straight-to-series by Alcon Entertainment’s TV arm Alcon Television Group and Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Co., who developed the original pitch with Oscar-nominated writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man). This marks the first series order for ATG, which launched two years ago. Fergus and Ostby wrote the script on spec and will continue as writers and executive producers.

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A thriller set 200 years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history. “The Expanse is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy’s most ambitious series to date,” said Syfy President Dave Howe. “Bringing this coveted book franchise to television with our partners at Alcon and the Sean Daniel Company is a giant win for Syfy, reinforcing our overall strategy to produce bold, provocative and compelling sci-fi fantasy stories.” The pickup for The Expanse comes on the heels of Syfy’s pickups for Ascension and 12 Monkeys, renewal of Helix, with another recently ordered series, Dominion, set to premiere soon. Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will serve as executive producers alongside Daniel & Brown and ATG’s Sharon Hall. Alcon TV executive Ben Roberts will serve as co-producer; Ben Cook will serve as producer. Alcon retains worldwide distribution rights. Fergus and Ostby are repped by CAA and Mark Gochman. James S.A. Corey, the pen name for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, were repped by IPG on behalf of Baror International.