SYFY AND ALCON TV ANNOUNCE START OF PRODUCTION ON "THE EXPANSE," NEW 10-EPISODE EPIC SPACE DRAMA

Dominique Tipper, Cas Anvar, Wes Chatham, Florence Faivre, Jonathan Banks, Paulo Costanzo and Jay Hernandez Join Thomas Jane, Steven Strait and Shohreh Aghdashloo

Based On the International Best-Seller, The Expanse Will Premiere on Syfy in 2015

NEW YORK - October 29, 2014 - Syfy and Alcon TV today announced the start of production for The Expanse, the new 10-episode epic space drama based on the international best-selling book series of the same name. Currently shooting in Toronto, Canada, The Expanse will premiere on Syfy in 2015.

The Expanse is a thriller set two hundred years in the future, after mankind has colonized the solar system. A hardened detective (Thomas Jane, Hung) and a rogue ship's captain (Steven Strait, Magic City) come together for what starts as the case of a missing young woman and evolves into a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

Joining the cast as series regulars are Dominique Tipper (Vampire Academy), Cas Anvar (Olympus), Wes Chatham (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) and Florence Faivre (Alpha House, The Following). Jonathan Banks (Community, Breaking Bad), Paulo Costanzo (Royal Pains), and Jay Hernandez (Nashville, Gang Related) will appear as guest stars throughout the series' first season.

Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Saddam, House of Sand and Fog) was recently announced to play Chrisjen Avasarala, a member of a political family legacy.

Award-winning director Terry McDonough (Breaking Bad, Suits, Better Call Saul) will direct the first two episodes.

Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men, Iron Man) wrote the pilot and will continue to serve as writers as well as executive producers. Fergus and Ostby are showrunners alongside fellow executive producer Naren Shankar (CSI, Farscape).

The Expanse is financed and produced by Alcon Television Group (ATG), a division of Alcon Entertainment, and marks the company's first series order. Alcon co-founders and co-CEO's Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will serve as executive producers with president of Alcon Television Sharon Hall. Alcon Television executive Ben Roberts will serve as co-producer.

Sean Daniel (Graceland, The Mummy) and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company developed the original pitch as a direct-to-series project, with Fergus and Ostby. Daniel and Brown will executive produce. Ben Cook will serve as producer.

The series is based on the popular New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as The Expanse, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey). Abraham and Franck will be show producers.

The multi-installment, best-selling book series is published in 17 countries, including China, France, Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. Book one in the series, "Leviathan Wakes," was nominated for a Hugo Award as well as a Locus Award, while the second novel, "Caliban's War" was nominated for a Locus Award.

ABOUT ALCON ENTERTAINMENT

Co-founders and co-CEO's Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson founded Alcon Entertainment in 1997 with partner Frederick W. Smith, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx. Warner Bros. distributes Alcon's motion pictures via the companies' long-term output distribution agreement.

Alcon has financed and produced, and/or co-financed/produced 29 films to date, including "My Dog Skip," the Academy Award nominated Best Picture "The Blind Side," which earned Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Oscar; "The Book of Eli," starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman; "Insomnia," starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank and directed by Chris Nolan; "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants;" "P.S. I Love You," starring Hilary Swank; the critically acclaimed "Prisoners," a dramatic thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, Terrance Howard and Paul Dano, and the family hit "Dolphin Tale 2," a sequel to its original starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson. Alcon is currently in production on "Point Break," a reimagining of the classic action movie filming on four continents starring Edgar Ramirez, Luke Bracey, and Ray Winstone. The Company is also developing a sequel to "Blade Runner" with Ridley Scott. Alcon Television Group is currently producing a four-hour mini-series documentary for HBO about the life and times of Frank Sinatra, directed Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney; and an hour-long dramatic series entitled "Ice" for Direct TV. Antoine Fuqua is directing the pilot.

ABOUT SYFY

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine Greater.)