--- title: "The Expanse" year: 2015 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-expanse" fi1m_score: 64 critics_score: 58 critics_reviews: 6 published: "2026-09-17T16:57:39.524898+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T16:57:52.125964+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Expanse (2015) Created by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby · MPA TV-14 · Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy **Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 58 from 6 reviews *In a sentence:* Space politics would be easier to follow if someone handed round a seating plan > *The Expanse* builds a convincing setting, then makes meeting its inhabitants needlessly difficult. The detail and cast reward an interest in political science fiction, but the tangled opening and heavy explanations are substantial obstacles. ## Synopsis Jim Holden (Steven Strait), Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper) and Amos Burton (Wes Chatham) are among the central figures in *The Expanse*, a space drama combining mystery and political intrigue. Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar) feature in a wider story that moves between separate strands. The opening introduces its characters alongside the workings of their society, with political questions and a mystery developing in parallel. The connections between these stories take shape gradually as the series establishes the people and the setting. ## Review *The Expanse*, created by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, is worth trying if political science fiction is already a pleasure. Its opening asks for more patience than it earns. It brings space drama, mystery and political intrigue together, with a seriousness that suits the material. The difficulty is getting these stories to hold our attention at the same time. There is enough promise to justify staying, though anyone hoping for a clear immediate reason to care will have some waiting to do. The early episodes keep introducing information before the last explanation has become useful. We were frustrated by the switches between political intrigue and mystery, because each demanded fresh concentration before the people involved had begun to matter. The exposition makes this worse: too many conversations seem concerned with making sure we understand the setting. That leaves the characters with less room to be interesting, and the opening can feel busy even while it is moving slowly. The casting gives the series a better chance than that introduction suggests. Steven Strait’s Jim Holden is a sober centre, though his seriousness becomes wearying when the writing supplies little else to hold on to. Dominique Tipper gives Naomi Nagata a welcome directness, while Wes Chatham gives Amos Burton an edge that keeps him worth watching. Shohreh Aghdashloo’s Chrisjen Avasarala has a firmness that the early storytelling badly needs. These performances encourage us to keep listening when the dialogue has become work. The visual world is more immediately convincing, with the attention to practical detail making the setting feel habitable. We can believe people live here, and that belief helps sustain an interest when the plot is struggling to do so. Clinton Shorter’s music is effective at sustaining unease, although the dialogue sometimes talks it away. The images suggest a coherent place even when the separate storylines are making it difficult to get our bearings. Stephen Roque’s editing has the difficult job of keeping those stories moving without making every interruption feel like a fresh start. The opening does not always manage it: just as one strand begins to acquire some urgency, our attention is required elsewhere. As the opening stories gather pace, the mixture of mystery and political intrigue becomes more involving, and the care taken over the setting begins to pay off. That improvement makes the hesitation beforehand more irritating, because we can see how much more engaging the series can be. In a space drama, we want to know what a person needs before being asked to learn how the whole society works. *The Expanse* is too willing to postpone that part, trusting its larger mysteries to keep us interested while it explains the rules. For some, working through those explanations will be part of the enjoyment, and the improving momentum offers a reason to persist. Try it if political science fiction is already a pleasure, and allow for a start that makes getting to know everyone unnecessarily difficult. *Fi1m score 64, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews lean towards a mixed assessment of The Expanse, with praise concentrated on its world-building and reservations about how it introduces its story. Critics find promise in the combination of space drama, noir and political intrigue, and several admire how convincingly the setting is realised. The early episodes are the main obstacle: even favourable assessments acknowledge that the pacing takes patience before the separate storylines gain momentum. The spread is wide, particularly on whether the characters make that patience worthwhile. Den of Geek finds them believable and praises the realistic detail, making it the clearest enthusiast. The Guardian is the strongest dissenter, finding too much exposition and too little reason to care about the characters or understand the stakes. Elsewhere, complaints about familiar tropes, muddled plotting and density recur. The central disagreement is how much the promising setting compensates for a difficult opening stretch. ### Reviews we read (6) - **The AV Club**, Alex McLevy (B): The review finds the series a partial success as a space opera mixed with noir and political intrigue, praising its world-building and eventual momentum but criticizing disjointed storylines and pacing issues in early episodes. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-expanse-is-less-a-tv-series-than-a-10-hour-pulpy-sc-1798186164) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (55/100, inferred): The series has expansive aspirations but struggles with meandering storylines and familiar tropes in its first episodes, though it has potential to grow and the world is well-realized visually. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/expanse-tv-review-843309/) - **Variety**, Maureen Ryan (45/100, inferred): The critic finds promise in the series' political themes and world-building but criticizes the muddled first episodes and generic characters, concluding it is a middling space saga that needs improvement to succeed. [Read](https://variety.com/2015/tv/reviews/the-expanse-review-syfy-thomas-jane-1201644484/) - **The Guardian** (30/100, inferred): The series is big, ambitious and good-looking but incredibly confusing, with too much exposition and not enough investment in characters or clear stakes. It improves after the first few episodes but falls far short of Battlestar Galactica. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/14/the-expanse-review-syfy-earth-mars-war) - **Den of Geek**, Michael Ahr (4.5/5): The critic praises the realistic attention to detail and engaging premise in this space drama, highlighting its believable world-building and characters. They note it may be slow-paced for some but rewards intelligent viewers. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-expanse-review-spoiler-free/) - **Collider**, Allison Keene (★★★): The series has enough interesting elements to make it worthwhile despite some kinks in its early episodes. The critic notes its dense, insider-y feel can be hard to follow without prior knowledge of the source novels. [Read](https://collider.com/the-expanse-review-syfy/) ## Details - **Created by:** Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby - **Creator:** Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby - **Director:** Breck Eisner, Jeff Woolnough, Terry McDonough, Robert Lieberman, David Grossman, Kenneth Fink, Thor Freudenthal, Anya Adams, Bill Johnson, Mikael Salomon, Marisol Adler, Jennifer Phang, Sarah Harding, David Petrarca, Thomas Jane, Nick Gomez, Simon Cellan Jones - **Writer:** Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck, Dan Nowak, Naren Shankar, Georgia Lee, Hallie Lambert, Robin Veith, Matthew Rasmussen, Alan Di Fiore, Laura Marks - **Novel:** Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck - **Editor:** Stephen Roque - **Music:** Clinton Shorter - **Producer:** Ty Franck, Daniel Abraham, Dan Nowak - **Cast:** Steven Strait as Jim Holden; Dominique Tipper as Naomi Nagata; Cas Anvar as Alex Kamal; Wes Chatham as Amos Burton; Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala; Frankie Adams as Bobbie Draper; Paulo Costanzo as Shed Garvey; Sara Mitich as Gia - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-14 - **Release (the US):** 14 December 2015 - **Genres:** Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0QwBp_da28 ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: free - Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd - Apple TV: buy, sd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Hugo Awards 2017: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (won) ## If you liked this - *Outland* (1981): A mining colony gives the space thriller a grubby, workaday setting. - *Babylon 5* (1994), Fi1m 74: Station politics and patient plotting reward an appetite for competing loyalties. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/babylon-5.md) - *Planetes* (2003): Orbital debris collectors make space travel feel like an ordinary, precarious job. - *Moon* (2009), Fi1m 83: A lonely lunar workplace keeps its science fiction close to human needs. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/moon.md) - *Aniara* (2018): A Swedish space voyage becomes a bleak study of people living under pressure. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-expanse