The Expanse is based on the Hugo Award-nominated series of novels by James S. A. Corey – the pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who also co-wrote the TV series – it takes place 200 years in the future, in a fully colonized solar system in which the human inhabitants of Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt teeter on the brink of war.

A cold war has been simmering between Earth and Mars and it’s threatening to break out into a violent conflict. Meanwhile, many denizens of the asteroid belt (known as Belters) resent the way they’ve been treated by the governments and corporate entities of the planets.

The constant infighting prevents humanity as a whole from cooperating in the face of a looming even bigger threat than total war, an alien superbug that could wipe humanity from the system. In short, the solar system is a powder keg waiting to explode.

The show is a combination of gritty space opera and political thriller, it is also home to some gorgeous spaceship and space station science fiction delight. The show is produced by Alcon Entertainment who called on the design talents of Toronto based North Front Studio, founded only three years ago by veteran game and movie veterans, The Expanse was North Front’s biggest job to date.

The below concept art is all courtesy of North Front Studio.