Petition to revive Syfy's 'The Expanse' reaches close to 85,000 signatures, 'Designated Survivor' to possibly find home on Netflix
The past fortnight has not been a good one for fans of numerous TV shows. The cancelation of the likes of 'Brooklyn 99' (which was hearteningly revived by NBC), 'The Last Man on Earth,' 'Lucifer,' 'Great News,' and 'Quantico' was met with equal parts shock and disbelief, though arguably none have garnered as strong a reaction as the axing of Syfy's 'The Expanse.'
Critically acclaimed for its breathtaking visuals, excellent character development, and political narrative, 'The Expanse' has been one of the network's flagship shows since its premiere in 2015. However, Syfy decided to not purchase the rights for future seasons because of reportedly restrictive distribution arrangements, with producers Alcon Entertainment now forced to find other channels to distribute possible future seasons.
Fans are doing their bit to get the attention of executives as well. A petition on change.org has already reached close to 85,000 signatures and a website, savetheexpanse.org, has also been set up in a bid to find the beloved sci-fi show a new home.
Terming the cancelation a 'damn shame,' the petition addressed Netflix and Amazon directly, asking the streaming services to pick up the show, noting that the former already holds the international broadcasting rights as well and that the latter was responsible for streaming rights in North America.
Supporters in Santa Monica, California, took it one step further. Pooling in money, they hired an airplane to carry a banner that read 'Save The Expanse' and fly over the Amazon Studios headquarters there.
The writers of the show took notice of the efforts, tweeting: "We’re here & it’s incredible. Our fans, everyone banding together, you’re incredible. We’re emotional & we’re humbled & we’re thankful. No matter what happens, we are ALL part of something special. Thank you."
The efforts also received the backing of 'Game of Thrones' writer George R.R Martin, who took to Twitter and wrote that 'The Expanse' was 'the best space show on television, far and away,' and comedian Patton Oswalt, who had previously also come out in vocal support of the resurrection of 'Brooklyn 99' and lobbied Amazon to come to the rescue.
While the future of 'The Expanse' looks bleak, one show that was given a new lease of life is ABC's American political drama series 'Designated Survivor,' which was canceled by the network after two seasons. Distributors eOne were involved in 'active discussions' with other networks to carry the show, with Deadline now reporting that Netflix will pick up the Kiefer Sutherland-starring thriller.