Steven Strait (“Magic City”) and Emmy winner Shohreh Aghdashloo (“House of Saddam”) are set to star in Syfy’s “The Expanse,” a 10-episode space opera based on the best-selling book series, the network announced on Thursday.
Set 200 years in the future, “The Expanse” follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a detective and a ship captain named Holden together in a race across the solar system to expose a conspiracy.
Strait will play Holden, an officer on the ice-carrying freighter the Canterbury. Aghdashloo will appear as Chrisjen Avasarala, a smart and passionate member of a political legacy who has risen in the ranks of Earth’s governing body without standing for election.
Syfy previously announced that Thomas Jane (“Hung”) will also star as Detective Miller, a world-weary native of the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
“Steven and Shohreh are both outsanding talents who we feel lucky to have in our series,” said Bill McGoldrick, executive vice president of original content at Syfy, in a statement.
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Added Sharon Hall, president of Alcon Television, “We knew this material would attract high-end talent. Steven Strait embodies the humor, gravitas and humanity that the character of James Holden possesses. Having him alongside Thomas Jane as our leading men is thrilling. The incomparable Shohreh Aghdashloo is our dream Chrisjen Avasarala.”
“The Expanse” is set to premiere on Syfy in 2015.
