'The Expanse,' which critics called the best sci-fi TV show since 'Battlestar Galactica,' has been canceled after 3 seasons

Syfy

"The Expanse."

• Syfy cancelled its space-drama "The Expanse" on Thursday, but the show's production company is looking to shop the series around to other networks, according to Deadline.
• The third season of "The Expanse" premiered in April to universal critical acclaim, but its ratings were steadily slipping.

The cable network Syfy cancelled its critically acclaimed space-drama series "The Expanse" on Thursday, but the production company behind the show is planning to shop the series around to other networks for renewal, according to Deadline.

The third season of "The Expanse" premiered in April to universal critical acclaim and a 100% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but its ratings steadily decreased in each of its seasons. The third season's last episode will air on Syfy on May 30.

In a statement to Deadline on the show's cancellation, Chris McCumber, the president of entertainment networks for NBCUniversal Cable, said, "'The Expanse' transported us across the solar system for three brilliant seasons of television. Everyone at Syfy is a massive fan of the series, and this was an incredibly difficult decision."

The show, based on the series of novels by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (pen name James S.A. Corey), is set 200 years in the future when humanity has colonized the Solar System. The Solar System is divided and on the brink of war, and the series' conflicts deal with the rocky relationship between Earth, Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA).

Moving forward, Alcon Television Group, the show's producer, will look to find a new home for the series, the company told Deadline.

"We are very disappointed the show will not be returning to Syfy," Alcon Entertainment cofounders and CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson told the outlet. "We respect Syfy's decision to end this partnership but given the commercial and critical success of the show, we fully plan to pursue other opportunities for this terrific and original IP."

Alcon did not specify any potential suitors for the series.