- Guide
- The Expanse
- Updated
- Status
- This guide covers all six seasons of The Expanse and is complete: the series ended with season 6 in January 2022, and no new season or sequel series has been announced as of October 24, 2026.
The Expanse Seasons Guide: Episode Counts, Dates and Where to Start
The Expanse ran six seasons and 62 episodes, on Syfy from 2015 to 2018 and on Amazon Prime Video from 2019 to 2022. This guide lays out what each season covers, how long it is, which novel it adapts and where to start.
The Expanse seasons guide: all six seasons explained
The Expanse is an American science-fiction series developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby from the novels by James S. A. Corey, the shared pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. It is set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System. Three powers dominate: the United Nations of Earth and Luna, the Martian Congressional Republic, and the Outer Planets Alliance, a loose confederation of colonies across the asteroid belt and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Both inner powers exploit the Belters who live in the belt, and into that uneasy balance the series drops a mystery that starts as a missing-person case and grows into a question about alien technology.
The first practical question is how many seasons of The Expanse there are, and the answer is six. The series premiered on Syfy on December 14, 2015, and the last episode was released on Amazon Prime Video on January 14, 2022. Across those years it produced 62 episodes: 10 in season 1, 13 in season 2, 13 in season 3, 10 in season 4, 10 in season 5 and 6 in season 6. The table below gives every season with its dates, and the section after it describes each one without revealing how it ends.
The run has two homes. Syfy broadcast the first three seasons and canceled the series in May 2018. Amazon picked it up the same month and produced the last three for Prime Video. That change is the main dividing line in the show's history: the Syfy seasons total 36 episodes and the Amazon seasons total 26. Seasons 1 to 3 aired weekly on cable, season 4 arrived as one drop of ten episodes on December 12, 2019, and seasons 5 and 6 returned to a weekly rollout.
Three leads anchor the early seasons. Chrisjen Avasarala, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, is a senior United Nations official trying to keep the peace between Earth and Mars. Josephus Miller, played by Thomas Jane, is a detective on the asteroid Ceres assigned to find a missing young woman. James Holden, played by Steven Strait, is a ship's officer whose crew becomes the center of the series, flying a ship called the Rocinante. Critics described the first season as a blend of science fiction and noir-style detective drama set against political intrigue, and the series was widely praised for its scientific realism. It received three Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation out of six nominations, according to Wikipedia.
On order, there is one sensible way through: broadcast order, season 1 to season 6. The story is continuous, and the political situation at the start of each season is the result of the last one.
The Expanse seasons at a glance
| Season | Episodes | Aired | Based on | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 10 | December 14, 2015 to February 2, 2016 (Syfy) | First half of Leviathan Wakes | A missing woman on Ceres and a crew with nowhere to go |
| Season 2 | 13 | February 1 to April 19, 2017 (Syfy) | Second half of Leviathan Wakes, start of Caliban's War, the short story "Drive" | A war scare between Earth and Mars and a search on Ganymede |
| Season 3 | 13 | April 11 to June 27, 2018 (Syfy) | Rest of Caliban's War, then Abaddon's Gate | A structure beyond Uranus that every government wants to reach |
| Season 4 | 10 | All ten episodes released December 12, 2019 (Prime Video) | Cibola Burn and the novella "Gods of Risk" | A new world, settlers and a company with its own security force |
| Season 5 | 10 | December 15, 2020 to February 2, 2021 (Prime Video) | Nemesis Games | The crew scattered and a Belter faction with a plan |
| Season 6 | 6 | December 10, 2021 to January 14, 2022 (Prime Video) | Babylon's Ashes and the short story "Strange Dogs" | The final season, a fleet action and a distant colony |
Episode counts, air dates and source-novel assignments follow the series and episode-list pages on Wikipedia, checked October 2026. The six seasons add up to 62 episodes.
The season-by-season guide
Each section covers one season in order: the premise, the length, the source material and the people involved. None of them gives away how a season ends.
Season 1: Ceres, the Canterbury and the Rocinante (10 episodes, 2015-2016)
Season 1 premiered on December 14, 2015, and ended on February 2, 2016, with 10 episodes. The pilot had screened at San Diego Comic-Con that July, and Syfy put the first episode online on November 23, 2015. The season follows the first half of Leviathan Wakes through three storylines. On Ceres, Detective Miller is told to find Julie Mao, a young woman with ties to the Outer Planets Alliance. On Earth, Avasarala works to stop tension between the United Nations and Mars from tipping into war. In deep space, an ice hauler and later a Martian warship are destroyed by unknown stealth vessels, and the survivors, Holden, Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal and Amos Burton among them, escape in a gunship they rename the Rocinante.
Terry McDonough directed the first two episodes, and Fergus and Ostby wrote the pilot, "Dulcinea." The pace is the slowest of the six, because the setup has to introduce a solar system of politics, a Belter language and three separate casts before they meet. The episodes run from "Dulcinea" to the finale, "Leviathan Wakes." Ten episodes is a light commitment, and it is the right place to find out whether the series suits you.
Season 2: Eros, Ganymede and a war scare (13 episodes, 2017)
Season 2 premiered on February 1, 2017, with its first two episodes released together, and finished on April 19, 2017, with 13 episodes. Syfy ordered it in December 2015, and filming ran from April 13 to September 12, 2016. The season concludes Leviathan Wakes, starts the second novel, Caliban's War, and adapts the short story "Drive." Frankie Adams joined as Bobbie Draper, a Martian Marine gunnery sergeant, and Terry Chen plays Prax Meng, a botanist from Ganymede looking for his missing daughter.
This is where the scale opens up. A deployment to the moon Ganymede puts a Martian squad in the middle of an incident that Earth and Mars each blame on the other, while Avasarala works to prevent a war. Wikipedia's summary of critical response credits the season with more character development and politically charged storylines, and the thirteen episodes run from "Safe" to a finale named for the second novel, "Caliban's War."
Season 3: the last Syfy season and the Ring (13 episodes, 2018)
Season 3 premiered on April 11, 2018, and ended on June 27, 2018, with 13 episodes; the last two aired on the same night. Syfy renewed the series on March 16, 2017, and filming began on July 12, 2017. The first six episodes conclude Caliban's War, and the remaining seven use material from Abaddon's Gate. The United Nations has declared war, and the story widens to a structure beyond Uranus that Earth, Mars and the Belters all race to reach. Elizabeth Mitchell and David Strathairn joined in recurring roles.
The episodes run from "Fight or Flight" to the finale, "Abaddon's Gate." The timing is part of the season's history: Syfy canceled the series on May 11, 2018, while the season was still airing. For a viewer, season 3 is where the show shifts from a mystery into a story about a changed Solar System, and it is the natural stopping point for anyone who only wants what Syfy made.
Season 4: Amazon takes over (10 episodes, 2019)
Season 4 was the first for Prime Video, and Amazon released all ten episodes on December 12, 2019. It is almost entirely adapted from the fourth novel, Cibola Burn, with the novella "Gods of Risk" supplying material for the second episode. Hundreds of habitable systems are now reachable, and the balance of power has been upended. Cara Gee's Camina Drummer takes on a larger role, and Avasarala sends the Rocinante to a newly settled world called Ilus, where Belter refugees and a company-backed science team are in conflict. Burn Gorman plays Adolphus Murtry, the security chief for Royal Charter Energy.
With one main location and a small set of antagonists, the season has a tighter focus than the one before it. The ten episodes run from "New Terra" to the finale, "Cibola Burn."
Season 5: the crew apart (10 episodes, 2020-2021)
Season 5 premiered on December 15, 2020, with three episodes on the first night, and ended on February 2, 2021. Amazon had renewed the series for it in July 2019, and filming ran from September 23, 2019, to February 21, 2020. The season adapts Nemesis Games. The Rocinante sits in dry dock at Tycho Station, and each crew member pursues a personal mission, which spreads the cast across the system.
Keon Alexander, Nadine Nicole and Jasai Chase-Owens were promoted to the main cast. Alexander plays Marco Inaros, a Belter faction leader who assembles a fleet, and Chase-Owens plays his son Filip. Thomas Jane, who played Miller in the first two seasons, directed the third episode, "Mother." The season runs from "Exodus" to the finale, "Nemesis Games."
Season 6: the final season (6 episodes, 2021-2022)
Amazon ordered a sixth and final season on November 24, 2020, ahead of the fifth season's release. Filming ran from January 27 to May 7, 2021, under COVID-19 restrictions, and the December 10, 2021, premiere date was announced on October 8, 2021. The six episodes were released weekly through January 14, 2022, and they adapt Babylon's Ashes and the short story "Strange Dogs." The Rocinante crew fights alongside the combined fleet of Earth and Mars to protect the inner planets from Marco Inaros and his Free Navy, while a separate storyline follows a young colonist on a distant planet.
Wikipedia calls the season truncated, and its critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls it a graceful conclusion. The authors have said they see it as a pause, not a conclusion. The television story reaches an ending point while the book series carries on for three more novels.
The Expanse books and which season adapts which
The series is based on a nine-novel sequence written as James S. A. Corey: Leviathan Wakes (2011), Caliban's War (2012), Abaddon's Gate (2013), Cibola Burn (2014), Nemesis Games (2015), Babylon's Ashes (2016), Persepolis Rising (2017), Tiamat's Wrath (2019) and Leviathan Falls (November 30, 2021). The series won the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2020, and Abraham and Franck also served as writers and producers on the television adaptation.
The mapping is close to one season per book, with some shuffling, as the table shows. The television series covers the first six of the nine novels, and Persepolis Rising, Tiamat's Wrath and Leviathan Falls have no screen adaptation. Readers who want more can pick up Persepolis Rising, the seventh book. A comic called The Expanse: Dragon Tooth, announced in January 2023, is a story set between Babylon's Ashes and Persepolis Rising.
Cancellation and rescue: how The Expanse moved from Syfy to Amazon
Alcon Entertainment produced and financed the series and sold three seasons to Syfy. On May 11, 2018, Syfy canceled it, and Alcon began shopping it elsewhere. Fans calling themselves Screaming Firehawks gathered more than 100,000 signatures on an online petition, lobbied Amazon Studios and Netflix, and crowdfunded an airplane that flew a "#SaveTheExpanse" banner over Amazon Studios. Wil Wheaton, George R. R. Martin and Patton Oswalt were among the public supporters.
Amazon announced in May 2018 that it would produce a fourth season, renewed the show for a fifth in July 2019, and ordered the sixth and final one on November 24, 2020. Prime Video also took over exclusive worldwide distribution of the first three seasons on February 8, 2019. Alcon's Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said they were considering a range of possibilities after season 6, and no continuation was announced as of October 24, 2026.
Where to start, where to watch and what is new in 2026
Start at the beginning. The pilot, "Dulcinea," sets up all three storylines and the main characters, and the first season is short. The series does not repay skipping.
An availability check on JustWatch dated October 24, 2026, lists all six seasons on Amazon Prime Video in the United States, with digital purchase on Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango At Home and no free option. Catalogs change, so check a current listing before subscribing.
The sources checked for this guide point to no new season or sequel series. Related projects exist: Abraham and Franck formed a company called Expanding Universe with Naren Shankar and Breck Eisner in November 2024, and it is developing a television adaptation of their newer trilogy, The Captive's War, at Amazon. The prequel game The Expanse: A Telltale Series released its first episode on July 27, 2023, and The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, from Owlcat Games, has a spring 2027 window, per a March 26, 2026, Xbox Wire post. None continues the television story.
The entries that matter when time is short
These eight episodes carry the most weight if only part of the series is on the schedule. Titles and numbers follow the episode list on Wikipedia.
- Season 1, episode 1, "Dulcinea": the pilot, which introduces Miller, Avasarala and the setting.
- Season 1, episode 10, "Leviathan Wakes": the first-season finale, named for the first novel.
- Season 2, episode 1, "Safe": the opener that brings in Bobbie Draper and the Martian side of the story.
- Season 2, episode 7, "The Seventh Man": the aftermath of the Ganymede incident and the push for an Earth and Mars peace summit.
- Season 2, episode 13, "Caliban's War": the second-season finale.
- Season 3, episode 13, "Abaddon's Gate": the third-season finale and the last episode Syfy aired.
- Season 5, episode 3, "Mother": directed by Thomas Jane, who played Miller earlier in the series.
- Season 6, episode 6, "Babylon's Ashes": the series finale, released January 14, 2022.
Reading on The Expanse
0 takesRough Cut Review's other pages on the series go deeper into single seasons, episodes and characters than this guide does.
Frequently asked questions about The Expanse
How many seasons of The Expanse are there?
Six. The Expanse ran from December 14, 2015, on Syfy to January 14, 2022, on Amazon Prime Video. Syfy made seasons 1 to 3 and Amazon made seasons 4 to 6.
How many episodes does The Expanse have in total?
62 episodes across the six seasons.
How many episodes are in each season of The Expanse?
Season 1 has 10, seasons 2 and 3 have 13 each, seasons 4 and 5 have 10 each, and season 6 has 6.
Is The Expanse finished?
The television series is complete. Season 6 was announced as the final season on November 24, 2020, and ended on January 14, 2022. The books run to nine novels, and the show adapts the first six.
Why was The Expanse canceled on Syfy?
Syfy canceled it on May 11, 2018, after three seasons. The sources checked for this guide give no stated reason, so none is offered here.
How did The Expanse get saved?
Amazon Prime Video announced in May 2018 that it would produce a fourth season. Fans had gathered more than 100,000 petition signatures and crowdfunded a banner flown over Amazon Studios.
Where can I watch The Expanse in the US?
A check on October 24, 2026, lists all six seasons on Amazon Prime Video, with digital purchase also offered on Amazon Video, Apple TV and Fandango At Home.
Which book does each season of The Expanse adapt?
Season 1 and part of season 2 adapt Leviathan Wakes, seasons 2 and 3 adapt Caliban's War, season 3 adapts Abaddon's Gate, season 4 Cibola Burn, season 5 Nemesis Games and season 6 Babylon's Ashes.
Do I need to read the books before watching?
No. The series tells its story from the start and assumes no knowledge of the novels.
Where should I start with The Expanse?
Start with the pilot, "Dulcinea," and watch in broadcast order. There is no alternate watch order.
Is there going to be a season 7 of The Expanse?
None has been announced. The authors call season 6 a pause, and Alcon has said it is committed to the property, but no continuation had been announced as of October 24, 2026.
Is there new Expanse news in 2026?
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, a game from Owlcat Games, has a spring 2027 release window per a March 26, 2026, Xbox Wire post. Neither it nor the planned Captive's War series continues the show.
Who created The Expanse?
Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby developed it for Syfy and wrote the pilot, with Naren Shankar as an additional showrunner. It is based on the novels by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.
What language do the Belters speak?
Belter Creole, an invented language created for the show by the linguist Nick Farmer.