NYCC 2020: ‘The Expanse’ Sets December Debut; Switches To Weekly Schedule
by Erik Amaya
The Expanse is returning on December 16th. And it has a trailer celebrating that fact.
But when Amazon’s sci-fi series returns, it will have one remarkable change: it’s going back to a weekly schedule. As appears to be Amazon’s new broadcast model, the first three episodes will be available for binging on December 16th, but the remaining seven episodes of the season will appear weekly. During the program’s New York Comic Con Metaverse panel, star Dominique Tipper suggested the change will allow the show’s fans to do weekly livetweets and plan more coordinated conversations. Executive Producer Naren Shankar agreed.
The program is sci-fi in the truest sense as it tells the story of a humanity spread across the solar system; bringing its various cultural and political frictions along with it. As novel series co-writer Ty Franck put it, “mankind keeps making the same mistakes.” The program was infamously rescued by Amazon when Syfy cancelled the show after its third season, and now stands as one of the streamer’s most beloved shows. The fourth season used the complete binging model — that is to say, all of the episodes were available on its premiere date — but it is clear Amazon is interested in keeping shows in the public consciousness for longer than a week. And a show like this definitely deserves added attention.
The Expanse returns December 16th.
