The Expanse optioned for Television Series

[Rhom]

I have a friend who works for the production company. He's very confident that it'll be good. He says the budget is on the same level as Game of Thrones, and the writers put a serious effort into working out how a spacebattle where everybody obeys the laws of physics would go. Also that even though there wouldn't be any physical differences between Belters and Inner Planeters, there would be significant cultural differences, and that they were making a Belter patois into a workable language.

I'm calling shenanigans already. No way SyFy ponies up GoT money for this. I just don't see it. They very well may put a decent budget on it, but I just don't see them going that far.

[williamjm]

I have a friend who works for the production company. He's very confident that it'll be good. He says the budget is on the same level as Game of Thrones, and the writers put a serious effort into working out how a spacebattle where everybody obeys the laws of physics would go. Also that even though there wouldn't be any physical differences between Belters and Inner Planeters, there would be significant cultural differences, and that they were making a Belter patois into a workable language.

Sounds promising. It's a pity that the Belters won't be physically different, but it was also inevitable, I can't really see how they could have done it properly (particularly not on a TV budget).

My dream casting for Fred Johnson would be Dennis Haysbert and considering how much he's actually on screen, I would think you could get him fairly cheaply.

That would be a good bit of casting. I'm not sure I've watched anything Thomas Jane has been in so I can't really judge. For Holden I was watching Dollhouse recently and thought that Tahmoh Penikett could do a good job of the slightly naive idealistic earnest determination that's a key part of Holden's character (see also his role in BSG).

[White Walker Texas Ranger]

I'm calling shenanigans already. No way SyFy ponies up GoT money for this. I just don't see it. They very well may put a decent budget on it, but I just don't see them going that far.

Maybe he was exaggerating a bit, but they are trying to rebrand themselves.

[Starkess]

First bit of casting news has broken. Miller is to be played by three time Golden Globe nominee, Thomas Jane. While he might not be a household name, anyone who's seen the adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist will remember his performance. The guy's got chops.

Heh, I recognize him from Hung (of which I watched only one episode). He has a good look for Holden.

[red snow]

Don't forget "the Punisher" as [art of Thomas Jane's resume...

I've seen him in a few other things and he's pretty good (does great voice work) and this could be a role in which he shines.

Now we just have to wait for Miller to be cast. It's a role I suspect may come across really well on screen. There's a whole host of people who could play the part though. So hopefully they don't pick a bad fit.

Real shame they aren't making any attempt to differentiate belters and planet dwellers. I know it would have been tricky but hopefully they'll at least cast taller thinner people for belters. Maybe give them piercings or something. I just hope this isn't a precursor for them admitting they have gravity in the show - that would really change the show. At the same time I can see that being the most difficult and expensive thing to do with a live-action show.

[Rhom]

Don't forget "the Punisher" as [art of Thomas Jane's resume...

I've seen him in a few other things and he's pretty good (does great voice work) and this could be a role in which he shines.

Now we just have to wait for Miller to be cast. It's a role I suspect may come across really well on screen. There's a whole host of people who could play the part though. So hopefully they don't pick a bad fit.

Real shame they aren't making any attempt to differentiate belters and planet dwellers. I know it would have been tricky but hopefully they'll at least cast taller thinner people for belters. Maybe give them piercings or something. I just hope this isn't a precursor for them admitting they have gravity in the show - that would really change the show. At the same time I can see that being the most difficult and expensive thing to do with a live-action show.

I presume you mean Holden?

[Black Wolf Smith]

I guess SyFy can do more then I thought, because I just watched Dominion, and it had some partial nudity.

@ Red snow, don't know how I quoted myself, but anyway... Dominion has shown side boobs, and full shot of both M & F asses. IDK why but we here in the US are more worried about words and naked people then showing blowing someone up or cutting them in half.

First bit of casting news has broken. Miller is to be played by three time Golden Globe nominee, Thomas Jane. While he might not be a household name, anyone who's seen the adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist will remember his performance. The guy's got chops.

I would say the crappier Punisher, Deep Blue Sea (aka cheap Jaws knock off) and Hung are what he is best known from. He is good, he has been around, but he has never seemed to break thru to the next level, other as a guest actor. I use to get him confused w/ Mark Valley, but then Valley started getting better gig's.

I notice that SyFy has gone so far as to have already put The Expanse on their web site, which they did not do when they were working up Blake's 7 last year( which they passed on)

[red snow]

I presume you mean Holden?

Ha! This is what happens when you read something late at night. Weirdly I think Thomas Jane could have made a better Holden than Miller but I'm sure the casting folk know what they're doing. Maybe Holden will be someone younger?

@ Red snow, don't know how I quoted myself, but anyway... Dominion has shown side boobs, and full shot of both M & F asses. IDK why but we here in the US are more worried about words and naked people then showing blowing someone up or cutting them in half.

I would say the crappier Punisher, Deep Blue Sea (aka cheap Jaws knock off) and Hung are what he is best known from. He is good, he has been around, but he has never seemed to break thru to the next level, other as a guest actor. I use to get him confused w/ Mark Valley, but then Valley started getting better gig's.

I notice that SyFy has gone so far as to have already put The Expanse on their web site, which they did not do when they were working up Blake's 7 last year( which they passed on)

It's partly true in the UK with the nudity vs violence. We're ok with swearing and after 9pm it seems to be ok to do most things (with the exception of erect penises).

Apparently Thomas Jane made a short fan film of Punisher that people said was great and he has worked on comics. I could see him being a bit of a geek with the show when he reads and (I assume) enjoys the books.

I don't think Blake's 7 ever got as far as casting either so this one does look like more of a lock.

[RedEyedGhost]

I don't think Blake's 7 ever got as far as casting either so this one does look like more of a lock.

Oh, it's a lock. They didn't order a pilot, they ordered ten episodes.

[red snow]

Oh, it's a lock. They didn't order a pilot, they ordered ten episodes.

Sweet. I guess 10 episodes would cover the first book. Is there any confirmation on how tightly they are following the books? I think mimicking the GOT format could work but equally I suspect they could play a bit more loosely with things eg True Blood

[karaddin]

I watched a Dan and Ty Google talk and they were asked a question along the lines of "will it follow the season = book format, with the second season starting over the time jump ahead with the new characters etc" and Dan said "I can't answer that, but the answer to that question makes me happy".

[Starkess]

Ha! This is what happens when you read something late at night. Weirdly I think Thomas Jane could have made a better Holden than Miller but I'm sure the casting folk know what they're doing. Maybe Holden will be someone younger?

Yeah I think he looks like Holden. Doesn't look worn down enough to be Miller!

[karaddin]

Yeah he fits my mental image of Holden more than Miller as well, but I admit to having the portly look in mind for an alcoholic and Miller basically never eats on screen.

ETA So my point is I'm happy to wait and see what they do with it, and who they cast as Holden.

[Werthead]

Naren Shankar has also joined The Expanse as a writer, producer and co-showrunner. He's a veteran of all three 1990s Star Trek shows, cutting his teeth on them at the same time as Ronald D. Moore, and also wrote for Farscape and, more recently, CSI. He also wrote one of the (apparently numerous) drafts for the Doom movie, but everyone has an off day (assuming any of his material made it to the final cut).

[Maester Llama]

In terms of the makeup of the seasons, and this is jumping the gun a bit, I wonder if the book-a-season structure might be complicated slightly by a desire to maintain parts for characters who come into the books in important roles, but then exit for some time before, very possibly, returning again. I know we haven't seen this much yet, and certainly some of the points-of-view in the second and third novels are likely to never appear again, but I strongly suspect some of the others will be back in some nontrivial capacity. [i have no idea whether this is just optimism, but I just can't see Bobbie and Avasarala not coming back into the story in one way or another at some point down the line.] I'd guess that hiring actors in lead roles and then telling them "Okay, we're writing you out, but if we don't get canned we're gonna need you again in a lead role in three years, so please clear your schedule. Off you go then." might not work that well. Sure, it happens all the time for secondary characters [sam, for instance, though I could see her role getting upped a bit for the show and in fact kind of hope this is the case], but for lead characters?

Someone suggested Tahmoh Penikett, who played Helo in Battlestar Galactica, for Holden. I agree; I could see it working. Particularly in terms of verbal delivery. He can do an earnest righteousness that I can definitely see being associated with Holden.

[williamjm]

In terms of the makeup of the seasons, and this is jumping the gun a bit, I wonder if the book-a-season structure might be complicated slightly by a desire to maintain parts for characters who come into the books in important roles, but then exit for some time before, very possibly, returning again. I know we haven't seen this much yet, and certainly some of the points-of-view in the second and third novels are likely to never appear again, but I strongly suspect some of the others will be back in some nontrivial capacity. [i have no idea whether this is just optimism, but I just can't see Bobbie and Avasarala not coming back into the story in one way or another at some point down the line.] I'd guess that hiring actors in lead roles and then telling them "Okay, we're writing you out, but if we don't get canned we're gonna need you again in a lead role in three years, so please clear your schedule. Off you go then." might not work that well. Sure, it happens all the time for secondary characters [sam, for instance, though I could see her role getting upped a bit for the show and in fact kind of hope this is the case], but for lead characters?

For Avasarala it would be easy to come up with some scenes showing her doing some political manoeuvrings back on Earth (perhaps negotiating with the OPA/Mars?) related to the events in Abaddon's Gate/Cibola Burn, there are even a small number of those in the books but they could increase them. Bobbie would be a bit trickier, they could depart from the books and have her accompanying the Rocinante (or one of the other ships in AG) either as a new part of the crew or as Avasarala's representative on the ground. That would change some of the plotlines a bit but it wouldn't be an implausible or unworkable change.

[Jaxom 1974]

Yeah he fits my mental image of Holden more than Miller as well, but I admit to having the portly look in mind for an alcoholic and Miller basically never eats on screen.

I'm open to Jane as Miller. Though with Holden, I've always thought he skewed younger. Early thirties at most.

[White Walker Texas Ranger]

I always imagined Miller as McNulty in space. But I guess Miller isn't nearly as much of a womanizer.

[williamjm]

So if I want to get caught up on this, do I basically just need to finish the first book by the time the first season airs?

It does look likely that the first book's story will form the first season. The second book changes setting and much of the cast so I can't imagine any of it will be in season 1.

[The Iceman of the North]

So if I want to get caught up on this, do I basically just need to finish the first book by the time the first season airs?

No, you should def finish Cibola Burn before the first season airs.