If finishing The Expanse left you with a vacuum of space in your heart, you’re not alone. Even though it concluded in 2022, fans are still talking about the sci-fi series created by Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham (together known as James S.A. Corey) for its brilliantly written characters and stunning worldbuilding. Often called Game of Thrones in space, The Expanse is a crown jewel of TV’s golden age, but thankfully, there are a few shows out there likely to scratch the same itch.
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Since The Expanse was cancelled for a second time, after being given a final three seasons by Amazon Prime, fans have been digging through archives and streaming carousels in search of shows to fill the void. Space operas, sprawling survival epics, and speculative explorations of human civilization, the shows in this list either directly inspired or were inspired by The Expanse, and are the perfect shows to follow up with.
3) For All Mankind
If The Expanse explores humanity’s end, For All Mankind imagines how we got there. Created by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), this Apple TV+ series spins a course of our history with a twist: what if the Soviets beat the U.S. to the Moon? A realistic portrait of humanity’s climb to the stars, For All Mankind is obsessed with the ideologies that drive exploration and the people affected by them. Much like The Expanse, the show’s attention to detail, gives it an almost documentary feel. While there are no epic space battles, For All Mankind is hard sci-fi that investigates the consequences of accelerationism.
Renewed for a fifth season and with spinoff Star City on the way, For All Mankind continues to build out its alternate universe decade by decade. The creators plan for the show to span about 70 years, ending near our own time. Belonging to the “science-probable” subgenre, the series is a perfect watch for Expanse fans, feeling to many like a spiritual or even canonical prequel. One of The Expanse’s own writers is a producer on For All Mankind, and fans have even spotted an Easter egg nodding to an ad for Jamestown Base on Luna during an Expanse scene with Amos.
2) Babylon 5
Decades before The Expanse, Babylon 5 was pioneering serialized sci-fi. Made in the mid-’90s on a shoestring budget, B5 is a staple of the genre that’s often overlooked today, thanks to some bad CGI. Yet Creator J. Michael Straczynski built a rich interstellar ecosystem that became a blueprint for space operas that followed, including The Expanse. Both shows take place in a politically tumultuous future, with characters aboard a space station battling a microcosm of humanity’s struggles. Like The Expanse, Babylon 5 probes the cost of survival, and similar to the Rocinante crew, B5’s ensemble searches for truth in a deceptive system.
For a while, the barrier to entry has admittedly been the dated visuals of B5, an early adopter of digital VFX. Thankfully, though, the series was recently remastered for Prime Video (as well as a Blu-ray release). Now, Babylon 5 looks better than ever, allowing the show to be more easily accessed by contemporary audiences. While it’s still decidedly not as serious or as visually stunning, it’s worth a watch if you want to experience a similar narrative. Babylon 5 likely inspired The Expanse, and according to Straczynski, The Expanse may in turn become the inspiration for a Babylon 5 reboot.
1) Battlestar Galactica
For many Gen Xers, Battlestar Galactica was, and maybe still is, the definitive space series. The second Moore series on this list is brutally emotional, featuring documentary-style cinematography, phenomenal performances from Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, and a transgressive political allegory surrounding the fallout of 9/11. Set in the aftermath of a devastating surprise attack, humanity’s survivors flee across the stars while facing internal divisions and impossible choices. In an effort to convert modern audiences, longtime fans have likened it to Breaking Bad, but with Vipers and Cylons.
Fans of The Expanse will recognize the show’s DNA in Battlestar Galactica, particularly in the tension between idealism and the realities of survival. Like Holden and his crew, the Galactica’s officers operate under extreme pressure, trying to uphold their humanity while the universe falls apart. The shows share a realistic tone and willingness to pose hard questions regarding civil liberties, democracy, and faith. Both use the void of space as a mirror for our own world, where technology amplifies both our flaws and virtues. Much like The Expanse, BSG is mostly about surviving ourselves. If you want something as powerful and politically charged as The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica is perhaps the best sci-fi show of the 21st century. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a “fracking” masterpiece.
Any other shows you’d recommend to Expanse fans? Let us know your thoughts in a comment below, and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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