Fan Petition To Save ‘The Expanse’ Tops 115K Signatures, Campaign Draws Some Big-Name Backers
The ongoing campaign to save The Expanse is marching on as the petition to keep the show on the air is nearing 80 percent of its target number of signatures. But it’s not just the 116,000-plus signatures that have currently been logged on the petition page that might be keeping fans of the popular space drama optimistic, as a few more familiar names have taken to Twitter to show their support in hopes that the series would be picked up by another network after Syfy announced its impending cancellation.
As of this writing, the “Save The Expanse” petition on Change.org has attracted 116,446 signatures since it was first posted last week, potentially putting it on track to hit the 120,000 mark, or 80 percent of the 150,000 signatures required, sometime this weekend. As noted on the petition page, the hope is that The Expanse will be picked up for U.S. viewers by Amazon or Netflix, given how the former company acquired the show’s international rights and is “betting heavily” on sci-fi series, and how the latter “knows a thing or two” about the genre.
Aside from the ordinary fans who are still heading to the petition site to sign it and explain why they want the series back, a couple more celebrities recently joined the “#SaveTheExpanse” movement on Twitter. These include Peter Mayhew, the actor best known for playing Chewbacca in the Star Wars film franchise, who tweeted that there isn’t “enough good hard sci-fi on air,” and notably tagged Daniel Abraham, who, together with Ty Franck, use the collective pen name James S.A. Corey while writing The Expanse novels the TV show is based on.
#TheExpanse is an incredible, diverse sci-fi show that needs a new home—here's how you can help #SaveTheExpanse: https://t.co/qd1NmiKjUM pic.twitter.com/ynLl5unE6s
— idobi Radio (@idobiradio) May 17, 2018
A few hours later, former MythBusters co-host Adam Savage kept it short and sweet in his Twitter post, sharing a fan video with the hashtag “#SaveTheExpanse” and the words “Yes. This.” He and Mayhew join a number of other celebrity fans, including actors Patton Oswalt and Wil Wheaton and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, who recently took to social media to call for the show to be rescued by another network, or to encourage other fans to keep watching The Expanse while it remains on air. As noted by the Inquisitr in a previous report, the show’s writers have also been a major part of recent initiatives to save The Expanse.
There’s not enough good hard sci-fi on air. #SaveTheExpanse @TheExpanseWR @AbrahamHanover @JamesSACorey @SYFY
— Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) May 17, 2018
Yes. This. #SaveTheExpanse https://t.co/sPLgqQ4H5L
— Adam Savage (@donttrythis) May 17, 2018
Although it’s never a guarantee that a Change.org petition will actually lead to the change being called for, regardless whether the signature goal is reached or not, the Independent reminded readers that it wasn’t too long ago when popular demand from fans led to a well-loved series finding a new home. Just days before Twitter exploded with “Save The Expanse” posts, fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine took to social media to express their disappointment in the police sitcom’s cancellation, but it wasn’t even two days later when reports confirmed that the show would be moving from Fox to NBC for its sixth season.
