Prime Video's 62-Episode Sci-Fi Masterpiece Deserves Credit For Skipping To Book 2

Published Nov 14, 2026, 5:08 PM EST Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek. Craig is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-elvy-5b31a3381/ According to conventional wisdom, the more faithful a live-action adaptation remains to its source material, the more acclaim will be headed its way. That's certainly true for The Expanse, which started on Syfy before moving onto Prime Video halfway through. The future-set space opera rendered James S.A. Corey's novel series in glorious live-action, knowing exactly which parts of the books could be trimmed out, condensed, or tweaked in ways that would remodel the story for a visual medium without feeling like huge deviations. Generally speaking, TV series based on books and comics start off relatively close to the original story, then forge their own separate path as the show unfolds. The Umbrella Academy, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead are all examples of series that grew increasingly confident in ignoring the instruction manual. The Expanse worked in the opposite direction. The show's six-season run covered Corey's first six books, averaging out at one book per season, and by the time Amazon got hold of it, The Expanse literally was adapting one specific book in each season. During the Syfy days, however, those lines were a little more blurred, and not without good reason. The Expanse's First Season Jumps Ahead To Book 2 Image via MovieStillsDB The Expanse's TV incarnation is known for its blend of space adventuring and interplanetary politics that has earned it such accolades as 'Game of Thrones in space.' While the books adopt a similar mashup of styles, that wasn't the case in James S.A. Corey's debut, Leviathan Wakes. That first book only followed the narratives of James Holden, leading his crew aboard the Rocinante, and Detective Miller, investigating the disappearance of Julie Mao before fatefully joining up with Holden. The Expanse's first book is actually very light on political intrigue, with characters such as Chrisjen Avasarala and Sadovir Errinwright forced to wait until the sequel, Cibola Burn, before making their respective bows. Instead of leaving them hanging around for season 2, The Expanse's TV series got Avasarala and Errinwright involved right from the start, adding in new plot points (such as the character of Franklin DeGraaf) to show the unseen politics that happened entirely in the background of book one. The Expanse's first season mixed the thriller-y excitement of Leviathan Wakes with the slow-burn conspiracies and careful maneuvering of Cibola Burn, and this was undoubtedly the right call. It gave The Expanse's early episodes a more balanced palette, and one that would feel consistent with the seasons to come. Had that initial run of episodes followed the book's full-throttle approach directly, viewers would've been in for an abrupt switch of genres when season 2 started taking a deeper interest in the nitty-gritty of diplomacy. The Expanse Skipping To Book 2 Means A Popular Character Sticks Around Bringing Earth politics into The Expanse season 1 inevitably meant parts of Leviathan Wakes were delayed until season 2, which was great news for a certain Josepheus Miller. The Expanse's first book concludes with Miller crashing Eros onto Venus, and his physical form dying in the process. The Expanse season 1, however, merely ended with Miller escaping Eros alongside Holden and joining the Rocinante crew as a temporary member. Not only did this allow Thomas Jane an extra season on the show, it meant The Expanse retained the noir-ish, 'private detective with a grudge' vibe that tagged along behind Miller, at least for a little while longer. The TV series enjoyed more tonal consistency as a result, and as great as they are, the first entries in the book series are a lot starker in their leaps between genres. It's not a huge issue on the page, but would have made for a jarring experience in a TV adaptation, and The Expanse deserves all the credit for spotting that potential pitfall in advance. Release Date 2015 - 2022-00-00 Network SyFy, Prime Video Showrunner Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby Cast Dominique Tipper Naomi Nagata Directors Breck Eisner, Jeff Woolnough, David Grossman, Kenneth Fink, Rob Lieberman, Terry McDonough, Thor Freudenthal, Bill Johnson, David Petrarca, Jennifer Phang, Mikael Salomon, Sarah Harding, Marisol Adler, Anya Adams, Nick Gomez, Simon Cellan Jones Writers Georgia Lee, Robin Veith, Hallie Lambert, Matthew Rasmussen, Ty Franck, Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Daniel Abraham, Dan Nowak Franchise(s) The Expanse