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The Expanse renewed for sixth and final season at Amazon

Amazon Studios

After surviving cancellation once already with a move from Syfy to Amazon, a true ending for The Expanse has been set into motion.

The sci-fi drama, initially developed by writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, has officially been renewed for a sixth and final season at Amazon Prime Video. The news arrives ahead of the fifth season, which is set to premiere on Dec. 16.

The Expanse enjoyed three seasons on the Syfy channel before the network announced its cancellation in 2018. In the aftermath of calls from fans — as well as the cast and crew — to #SavetheExpanse, as the collective hashtag campaign was called, Amazon picked up the show and gave it a fourth season on the streaming platform.

"The dedication and artistry of everyone who helps bring The Expanse to the screen is incredible,” showrunner Naren Shankar said in a statement. “Our fans are awesome, and we cannot wait to get rolling on season 6!”

Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, co-CEOs and co-founders of Alcon Television Group who executive produce The Expanse, gave a special thanks to Shankar and writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Abraham and Franck wrote for both The Expanse book series and the show.

“From the moment we committed to bringing this show to life up until this final season, we have worked tirelessly to honor the vision of the writers," Kosove and Johnson said jointly. "We have prided ourselves on having one of the most diverse casts on television and giving a platform to stories that matter. A special thanks to Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the writers of both the books and series, and to Naren Shankar, the series showrunner and Executive Producer. It continues to be an honor and privilege to work with this team. We also would like to thank Amazon for their continuing support to help us tell this story in its fullest and to bring The Expanse to a global audience."

Vernon Sanders, co-head of television at Amazon Studios, said this sixth season will offer "the incredibly loyal and passionate fans" "the satisfying conclusion to the series that they deserve."

EW spoke to Shankar ahead of the season 5 premiere, and the showrunner teased the theme of the new episodes "really is about the sins of the past."

"To one extent or another, that's every single story line, whether it is Naomi [Dominique Tipper] personally confronting the fact that she had a son with this very charismatic, and now quite violent, revolutionary-type leader. Whether it's Amos [Wes Chatham] connecting to his past, or going back to Earth for reasons that we're not quite sure of. Whether it's Holden's [Steven Strait] past with unleashing the protomolecule. Whether it is the past geopolitical history of the Belt, and its relationship with the inner planets, which we see through Avasarala."

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