Syfy has canceled the Expanse, but its producers want to find it a new home | Hacker News Reader

Syfy has canceled the Expanse, but its producers want to find it a new home

arstechnica.com

55 pointswaits18 comments

SyFy's not at fault here. They don't produce The Expanse, they only have limited first-run distribution rights in the US and Canada. The producer, Alcon, retains all other rights to the show.

The Expanse is the most expensive TV show that isn't Game of Thrones--estimates are that each episode is approximately 70% of the average cost of GOT, which is currently the most expensive TV show in production. However, ratings-wise, it's not even the most popular show on SyFy, so the advertising revenue isn't that great for the channel. The low revenue, combined with the lack of alternative revenue streams (i.e., digital streaming rights, foreign distribution rights, etc.) means that the show has been a major money loser for SyFy and is one of the reasons that Comcast's cable unit has been underperforming the past 3 years. Alcon also decided to make the distribution rights even more restrictive when they came up for renewal this spring, meaning even less potential revenue for SyFy.

Rather than brand your pitchforks at SyFy for cancelling the show, you should give them credit for keeping it going for 3 seasons in the face of significant revenue losses. And you should blame Alcon for trying to blame hardball when it didn't have the leverage.

[Edit: Rome was actually the most expensive TV show; the average cost per episode was $9m over the course of its run. GOT's season 6 averaged $10m/episode and season 8 will average $15m/episode, but it's earlier seasons were relatively cheap. ]

Why is it so expensive? Most shots can be filmed in a strip mall.

That's what I'm wondering - the books were great but the show felt low budget and rushed, and the VFX were nowhere near as convincing as GOT. I know others loved the show but I'm shocked to hear it was so expensive

Maybe it’s the cost of the actors and actresses

They aren’t exactly A-list actors either.

I don't know why each episode is supposed to be so expensive. I assume they overspend on the wrong types of VFX.

As for Westworld: though the cast is large and costly, the actual shots themselves can be done relatively cheaply since they don't need VFX for most of them.

There are plenty of shows that lose money during the first run with the expectation that they will make money in syndication, streaming, etc.

Most production companies though will sell the right to the network to run the show at a price where the network can make money off of advertising during the first run and the production company will take the hit and make it up later.

I can’t believe The Expanse is more expensive per episode than Westworld for example. It all feels so cheaply produced. The books are awesome btw.

Wow that makes me sad. I think it’s the best sci-fi I’ve seen as of late. It’s crazy to me to think syfy wouldn’t move forward with it. Maybe it’s for the better though; their brand has been significantly tarnished over the years. It would be amazing if AMC would pick it up. I think it fits with Into the badlands and their general feel.

ehhhh AMC can be kind of awful.

Come on Netflix! This show is such a hidden gem. It needs a company that can really push it and make it as good as it can be.

The world of the show and books is such a great look at a possible not long off future. A lot of sci-fi is much further ahead or not as far.

I know! However, I'm not keeping my hopes up since I assume Netflix would want full exclusive rights to stream it forever if they were to fund it and it seems like the company that owns those rights Alcon Entertainment is unwilling to give that up.

I guess Netflix might be interested. They already have broadcasting rights for The Expanse for a lot of regions outside of the US.

And they really are in need of something to put against a GOT-scale series based on the Tolkien universe over at Amazon's Primevideo service, which will definitely start streaming around 2019/2020.

That is too bad. I bought the first two seasons on google play and really enjoyed the visuals, story, and acting. A friend’s son created the Belter language.

Maybe Amazon or Netflix will pick up the franchise.

Oh boy, I love Te Expanse and didn't realize season 3 was out! Watched the first two seasons on Amazon, just purchased season 3. Gonna be a great weekend.

Without knowing how good season 3 is, I'd say Amazon should just pick it up.

Never Trust Syfy...

Hopefully it lands on a network with a budget and more competent management. SyFy is where bad schlock lives and anything good dies.

SyFy doesn't produce the show; it only distributes it in the US and Canada. SyFy has mismanaged many of its shows in the past, but this isn't one of them.

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