‘The Expanse’ Cast Talks Moving From Syfy To Amazon And Impact Of Diversity In Sci-Fi – CCXP

Dino-Ray Ramos

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The Expanse stars Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Cas Anvar and Frankie Adams took the stage at CCXP and didn’t waste any time thanking the fans for supporting the show that was canceled by Syfy after three seasons and moved to Amazon for season four.

“You get to know that what you’re doing is important, is cared for by the people who are watching it,” said Tipper about the show’s journey. “By it being canceled, it had a renewed purpose. We are grateful we get to make the show.”

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As the season 4 synopsis states: “The Expanse begins a new chapter for the series with the crew of the Rocinante on a mission from the U.N. to explore new worlds beyond the Ring Gate. Humanity has been given access to thousands of Earth-like planets, which has created a land rush and furthered tensions between the opposing nations of Earth, Mars and the Belt. Ilus is the first of these planets, one rich with natural resources, but also marked by the ruins of a long dead alien civilization. While Earthers, Martians, and Belters maneuver to colonize Ilus and use its natural resources, these early explorers don’t understand this new world and are unaware of the larger dangers that await them.”

Strait says that the move to Amazon opens up more opportunities to tell more stories as they aren’t chained to a specific time limit. He also says that there are no restrictions on what they can say. The cast laughs and says that they can curse more.

Adams chimes in, “And you can binge it in one day!”

In addition, Strait points out how the fourth season will follow the fourth book and how the sci-fi series is diverse and inclusive.

“You can’t dumb down representation,” Tipper said. “We are representing so many different people who rarely get represented. I am proud that The Expanse does that.” She points out that the stories are never specific when it comes to the person’s gender or race, but is valuable to see diverse faces telling stories about humans figuring out how to navigate life.

“I hope all of you see yourselves in the characters,” she adds.

Anvar continues Tipper’s sentiment, saying that he never saw someone Middle Eastern, South Asian or brown like himself on screen when it came to prominent roles in sci-fi. “To be able to be part of a show where we are showing millions of people out there that you can be a warrior and look like we do… that makes me proud.”

The fourth season of The Expanse will premiere as an Amazon Prime Original on December 13.

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