(Cover image: Jeremy Benning)

In this blog series, we report on the production progress and other news of The Expanse each week. We collect the latest social media and press activity from the show’s production team, cast, and the community. We hope this series is useful for those who are not able to closely monitor social media but who want an easy way to catch up on all the latest Expanse updates each week.

To catch up on the previous week of updates, check out our last post here.

Following our mini-hiatus week, we have a lot of material, despite the small break in production. We have a particularly large amount of fan art to share.

Production

Even if they aren’t working, some production folks KEEP WORKING! We appreciate when they share their insights and experiences with us. An advantage of keeping track of the production crew (and writers) is that we have a chance to meet some of the huge amount of folks responsible for bringing the show to life.

  • The Expanse Production Office shared more of the behind-the-scenes magic as they showed where background effort is performed prior to filming a scene. This covers processes such as hair and make-up, and wardrobe. This particular day, there were one hundred background performers, and clearly the crew treats those with as much care! As they mention, just one of the unnoticed moving parts! Some astute fans noticed this filming (see below under Community, Fan Location Pictures).
  • Chris Danelon shared this Anubis concept art from Season 1 by North Front Studios.
  • Jeremy Benning (Director of Photography) shared this image of the process of dialing in a new lighting cue. He also showed off a new first-person camera rig, which will be used in a “breaching sequence” in Season 4.
  • VFX Jenn shared a terrific photo of behind the scenes of what it looks like on set (the outside of the set). If you check this out, you’ll see a comment by Greg Boutin, who is involved in set construction. He loves his work!

  • A lot of equipment is necessary in TV productions. This is especially true for The Expanse. Wired connections make using cameras and other equipment challenging. KITPLUS (@tvbay) recently got the chance to catch up with Jeremy Benning of the @csc_CDN to talk about his experience using the #BoxxAtom system (a wireless enabling system) on The Expanse.
  • The Writer’s Room got a little love from @42NerdtasticPl with cool Expanse-themed candles. Check these babies out.

Cast & Crew

The cast & crew keeps busy both during production and hiatus, juggling schedules.

  • The publication of the eighth The Expanse novel is drawing even closer. “Page proofs for Tiamat’s Wrath have been turned in. We’re done. It’s all production staff, printers and distribution now. Go fourth, little book, and Godspeed.” – Daniel Abraham
  • The cast and crew have the advantage of reading the scripts and seeing the production come to life before the (very jealous) fans. It’s entertaining to see the cast squeee when they get the opportunity to see the scripts. As Cara Gee says, “holy shit guys. Season 4 is fucking incredible.”
  • Cas Anvar shared his experience at the Golden Globes. We share his hope that The Expanse gets a nomination (or maybe more than one) for Season 4!
  • We like to keep track of other cast efforts, too. Cas Anvar is in Room, now on Netflix in Canada. Check it out to see Brie Larson’s Oscar-winning performance as a mother who was kidnapped as a teenager.
  • If you saw obscure references to #AAS233 this last week, it’s because the American Astronomical Society held its 233rd meeting. During the meeting, lucky attendees got to see Cas Anvar and Cara Gee in The Habitable Zone Goldilocks Paradox series on the Hyperwall (display). You can catch the webisodes online.
  • Our favorite Martian marine Frankie Adams (Bobbie Draper) appeared on the Feelings for Breakfast podcast.
  • What’s Your Story Vancouver sat down with Cara Gee to talk about The Expanse and her new films, Red Rover and Trouble in the Garden.
  • Finally, Cas Anvar had a special message for fans in the new year!

Media

We have some news on Green Ronin’s The Expanse Role Playing Game, and an upcoming expansion kit for Wizkids’ The Expanse boardgame. Green Ronin provides some insight into the game development, as well.

Community

People took advantage of time off and some completed or neared completion of long-term projects. We have a lot to share with you. But, we want to draw your attention to an exceptionally funny video prepared by fan Yanheda. Her fan video “Crack 2” will have you in stitches. And of course don’t forget to check out the January edition of Here Comes the Juice.

That’s it for the first edition of The Expanse Week in Review for 2019! We hope that people were able to take time to rest and rejuvenate and be with friends and family.

For those interested, our detailed record of Expanse-related web activity for this month (assembled by SkalmanIsDaMan) is available here. As always, if we missed something you think belongs in this article, please get in touch with us and let us know!

Thanks for reading and see you next week!
~Kiddle