COMET is no stranger to great sci-fi storytelling; just look to our regular airings of Stargate SG-1, Babylon 5, and The Outer Limits for proof of that. So we know good sci-fi when we see it. And when it comes to the current state of sci-fi storytelling on TV, it doesn’t get much better than The Expanse, which has just released the trailer for its upcoming fourth season.
The Expanse has had a bit of a rough journey to even make it to season four. After three critically-lauded seasons on Syfy, the network inexplicably canceled the series, leading to a massive outcry among the show’s fanbase. It didn’t take long for The Expanse to find a new home, though, as Amazon scooped up the series just two weeks after its Syfy cancellation and announced that it would produce and stream a fourth season. Now, we’re getting our first look at that Amazon season of The Expanse thanks to a new trailer — and the show looks better than ever.
The trailer shows that there’s a new planet for the crew of the Rocinate to explore beyond the Ring Gate, but a group of refugees have already claimed it for themselves. This “New Terra” then becomes ground zero in a battle between the different factions of the solar system, turning an already-tense situation into a powder keg. The season marks a considerable change from the previous ones, a point hammered home by the new season’s official synopsis:
Season 4 of The Expanse begins a new chapter for the series with the crew of the Rocinante on a mission from the U.N. to explore new worlds beyond the Ring Gate. Humanity has been given access to thousands of Earth-like planets which has created a land rush and furthered tensions between the opposing nations of Earth, Mars and the Belt. Ilus is the first of these planets, one rich with natural resources but also marked by the ruins of a long dead alien civilization. While Earthers, Martians and Belters maneuver to colonize Ilus and its natural resources, these early explorers don’t understand this new world and are unaware of the larger dangers that await them.
The Expanse season 4 begins streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 13.