Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has saved ‘The Expanse’

Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com and Blue Origin, was engaged in a wide-ranging panel discussion at the 2018 International Space Development Conference. He ruminated about such topics as the return to the moon, lowering the cost of space travel, and the industrialization of low Earth orbit. However, the greatest cheers in the packed ballroom came when Bezos announced that Amazon’s live streaming service is going to pick up the space-based science fiction series “The Expanse” for its fourth season.

‘The Expanse’ was canceled by the SyFy Channel

The SyFy Channel was running the third season of “The Expanse” when it announced that it was canceling the series.

The decision brought an uprising of anger from the show’s fans and a determined effort to save the show by finding it a new platform for it to run. Amazon, which has such shows as “The Man in the High Castle” and the upcoming “The Lord of the Rings” TV series determined that “The Expanse” would be a good fit as the live streaming service’s version of “Game of Thrones.”

The decision of the SyFy Channel to cancel the show and of Amazon to pick it up will likely be seen as the most short-sighted and most brilliant moves in television programming history, respectively. Bezos, who has been under fire from politicians like Bernie Sanders for his business practices, bought himself a great deal of good will and, presumably, new subscribers because of his decision.

What else did Bezos have to say?

Ironically, Bezos also discussed the various ways that his other company, Blue Origin, was working to bring about something like the future of “The Expanse.” The show depicts a human civilization that has settled the solar system while engaged in the kinds of conflict that have always plagued the species.

Blue Origin is one of the companies, like SpaceX, that is working to open up the high frontier of space to human settlement and economic activity. The New Glenn orbital rocket will enter service in less than two years. Bezos is also keen to partner with NASA in the space agency’s return to the moon effort. The long-term dream is to move heavy industry into space, zoning Earth for residential and light industrial development.

Amazingly, Bezos has positioned himself to own the rights to a show depicting a space-faring future and is developing a business to help bring that into reality. The cross-marketing possibilities are endless and have yet to be explored thoroughly by Bezos’ growing business empire.