This article contains spoilers for The Expanse.

SyFy cancelled The Expanse after season 3 amid fan outcry and a "Save The Expanse" campaign. The Expanse has a 95% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has built a dedicated fanbase. Despite the ambitious world-building, the show never stopped valuing character development, and this was key to The Expanse's success.

The Expanse is set in a colonized Solar System, and while the series is complex and detailed, the main story is about the protagonists uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the peace of the universe. The original novel series is extensive, but the show's characters are mostly accurate to the source material. The final season introduced new characters to The Expanse, but most of the core cast took center stage. The show always highlighted the talents of the main actors, many of whom have worked on some major projects since The Expanse's cliffhanger ending.

9 Steven Strait (James Holden)

From A Spaceship To A Courtroom

Steven Strain played one of the few characters in The Expanse who appeared in every season. James Holden became the reluctant hero of The Expanse, captaining the Rocinante after his previous ship was destroyed. Holden's character arc throughout the six seasons was fairly typical for a hero, and if The Expanse were to continue, it could complete his story. That said, the 30-year time could make a recasting necessary.

Strain has swapped The Expanse's spaceship for a courtroom, as he is now playing a lawyer, Flynn Calhoun.

After The Expanse wrapped, Steven Strain starred in the 2024 thriller Body Language and has recently ed the cast of Chicago Fire for season 13. Strain has swapped The Expanse's spaceship for a courtroom, as he is now playing a lawyer, Flynn Calhoun. His character is dating Violet, who has been a Chicago Fire main character since season 4.

8 Dominique Tipper (Naomi Nagata)

ed The MonsterVerse in 2023

The Belter, Naomi, is a skilled engineer and one of the most valuable teammates on the Rocinante. Though she found happiness dating Holden, Naomi's strained family relationships are some of the saddest storylines in The Expanse, and her moral dilemma between saving the system or her child is heartbreaking. Naomi's ending in The Expanse is one of the show's darkest moments, and Dominique Tipper was utterly believable in the role.

Dominique Tipper has appeared in several movies and TV shows after The Expanse, including the crime drama series Headhunters, the TV mini-series Testament: The Story of Moses, and even ing the MonsterVerse franchise. Tipper played Brenda Holland in the 2023 MonsterVerse TV series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

7 Wes Chatham (Amos Burton)

Moved To A Different Spaceship

Amos Burton is one of The Expanse's toughest and most potentially brutal characters, as well as Wes Chatham's biggest role yet. That said, some viewers may recognize him from The Hunger Games franchise, where he played Castor. The Expanse gave Wes Chatham the chance to show his versatility in storylines concerning subterfuge and self-sacrifice, as well as violence. The Expanse might be extremely well respected as a sci-fi series, but Chatham later starred in an even bigger sci-fi franchise.

After a one-episode role in NCIS: Hawai'i, Wes Chatham landed what he described to his fans on social media as "a dream come true for me." Chatham, a huge Star Wars fan, played Captain Enoch in the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off series, Ahsoka. He then went on to star as Jack in the extremely violent serial killer horror movie Squealer and now has two action-adventure TV series in post-production: Cross and The Wayfinders.

6 Shohreh Aghdashloo (Chrisjen Avasarala)

Has Had An Extensive Voice Acting Career

Shohreh Aghdashloo's character, Chrisjen Avasarala, was one of the most memorable in The Expanse and had what is almost certainly the greatest character development arc in the series. Chrisjen began The Expanse as a ruthless torturer, but over time became a political peacemaker after losing her loved ones to the wars. Aghdashloo explained in an interview with Screen Rant that "she is now looking for diplomacy rather than taking revenge or torturing people."

Shohreh Aghdashloo has a very distinctive and expressive voice, and since The Expanse, she has done voice work in video games, TV series, and movies. In addition to her live-action work, Aghdashloo voiced Lakshmi-2 in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Forouzan in the Kung Fu Panda spin-off The Dragon Knight, and an actual dragon in the movie Damsel, with Millie Bobby Brown. She also returned to the world of The Expanse, voicing Avasarala in the game The Expanse: A Telltale Series.

5 Frankie Adams (Bobbie Draper)

Has An Appearance In A Disney Live-Action Movie

The hardened soldier Bobbie Draper first appeared in The Expanse season 2 and quickly became a fan-favorite character for never sacrificing her loyalty to what she believes is right. The character had originally been difficult to cast as she has a very specifically described muscular appearance, but Adams' background in boxing gave her an edge over many of the other actors, making her perfect for the role of Bobbie.

After The Expanse, Adams has taken on fewer but larger projects, with a main role in the TV drama The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which also stars Sigourney Weaver. That said, she has been cast in the 2026 live-action version of the extremely successful Moana. Adams was one of the first cast to be announced, and she will be playing Sina, Moana's mother.

4 Cara Gee (Camina Drummer)

Returned To The World Of The Expanse

The Belter captain Camina Drummer first appeared in The Expanse in a recurring role in season 2, but she became one of the main characters from season 4 onwards. By season 6, Cara Gee told Screen Rant that while she is extremely different from her character, she was excited to represent the polyamorous community in a way that has not been done in a mainstream show before.

Gee returned to the world of The Expanse in 2023, voicing Drummer in the video game The Expanse: A Telltale Series, but she has also ed another series. She played Percy Whallach in the drama Bones of Crows, which tells the story of a Cree woman who becomes a code talker in WWII. The movie inspired a spin-off series, where Gee reprised her role. Gee also plays Siana in the post-apocalyptic fantasy drama Sweet Tooth.

3 Shawn Doyle (Sadavir Errinwright)

Has Several Very Varied Projects (& Another Major Sci-Fi Franchise)

Sadavir Errinwright is one of the more complex characters in The Expanse, and he is central to many of the main plots around political intrigue and corruption. Throughout The Expanse, Errinwright grew to be the second most powerful person on Earth. His actor, Shawn Doyle, is no stranger to playing nuanced characters like Sadavir, with a list of pre-The Expanse appearances that includes Lie To Me, Desperate Housewives, and his role in Big Love, which would be his career break.

Since The Expanse ended in 2022, Doyle has played the antagonistic genius, Ruon Tarka, in Star Trek: Discovery, which adds another major franchise to his sci-fi credentials.

Since playing Sadavir Errinwright in The Expanse, Shawn Doyle's career has only grown, and he has had more recurring roles in acclaimed TV shows. Since The Expanse ended in 2022, Doyle has played the antagonistic genius, Ruon Tarka, in Star Trek: Discovery, which adds another major franchise to his sci-fi credentials. He also had a recurring role in three crime dramas in a row (Gray, Something Undone, and Accused) before making a major change and appearing in the comedy TV series Son of a Critch.

2 Thomas Jane (Joseph Miller)

Currently Starring In A Crime Drama

Thomas Jane already had some extensive acting credentials before playing Josephus Miller in the first four seasons of The Expanse. He was known for playing tough, gritty characters with a vulnerable side, like the vigilante Frank Castle in The Punisher. Few characters in The Expanse fall into easy "good guy" and "bad guy" camps, and Miller is no exception. He began the show as a jaded and corrupt cop and developed into a character who was trying to do the right thing, which plays to Thomas Jane's strengths.

Since The Expanse ended, Thomas Jane has continued his success as an actor, often taking on producing roles too, like the crime thriller TV series Troppo, in which he also stars as Ted Conkaffey. Thomas Jane is also a comic book writer and has recently written a book that he describes as "a love letter to horror" in an interview with Screen Rant. The Lycan follows a crew of big game hunters who find themselves trapped on an island with a werewolf.

1 Nadine Nicole (Clarissa "Peaches" Mao)

Still Acting In TV Sci-Fi Series

The ending of The Expanse left several stories unresolved, and one of these is the fate of Clarissa "Peaches" Mao, who learns that she’s suffering from complex endocrine collapse syndrome, which is a fictional disease in the world of The Expanse. Her illness was a change from the original novels, so we were left unsure of what her fate would be. Nadine Nicole was widely praised by reviewers for her portrayal of Peaches' redemption arc and her turmoil toward the end of season 6.

The Expanse has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Nadine Nicole has continued to build her career in the sci-fi genre, with a significant role voicing Patty in the animated sci-fi TV series Exception. Like Peaches in The Expanse, Patty is also a complex character and appears to be a traitor while having good intentions. Nicole has also appeared in the crime dramas The Rookie: Feds and FBI: Most Wanted. Her next sci-fi series, Xtra Life, is currently in production.