I've nearly finished season 1, and short of reading the books (which I'm intending to do), am somewhat at a loss for a good sci-fi series that can match it to watch next. To me it's the best sci-fi on TV since Battlestar Galactica (leaving aside the later seasons of that one).
Can anybody recommend anything else that comes close to The Expanse? Not really interested in "Adventure of the week" style space operas.
Babylon 5 comes to mind, it's old but it matches the scope and detail to character, story, developement.
shareAdventure of the week is a little hard to dismiss when it comes to most TV shows, even BSG had it's filler episodes, as much as I thought it was great sci-fi. All I can really say is I loved both BSG and The Expanse and enjoyed these shows too:
Farscape: Great show with one of, if not the, best villain I've ever seen on TV, possibly even the big screen, Scorpy is amazing.
Firefly: Serenity to finish it, can't go wrong, shame it didn't get the seasons it deserved.
Dark Matter & Killjoys: Very well done budget sci-fi, good shows, Dark Matter is closer to the rag-tag crew thrown together.
Stargate Universe: Preferred this to other Stargates, even though they're all decent. Bobby Carlyle & Louis Ferreira are very good in it. Another 'shame it was canned' scenario. Worth a watch though.
There's quite a few other shows that might come good, aren't space sci-fi or simply have their problems but are enjoyable nevertheless. Westworld, Colony, 12 Monkeys, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Caprica, Defiance, The 100. Dark Angel was a good show back in the day, as was Sliders (I know, adventure of the week). For a laugh Red Dwarf is a must for any sci-fi fan and Lexx is a riot.
Unfortunately there's not too much like The Expanse, nor enough sci-fi shows in general, but whatever you do stay well clear of Falling Skies. There is the notion 'it has to be seen to be believed', but it's really not worth it, disastrous writing and direction ruined a show with a good cast and good premise.
Of course
Battlestar Galactica
Babylon 5 (first and last seasons not too good)
Star Trek: Voyageur and Next Generation (original might be somewhat dated)
Battlestar Galactica had a prequel too that I liked a lot- Caprica (2 seasons)
Sarah Conner Chronicles (perhaps not exactly a space show)
There was a show called Defying Gravity (2009) that you'd probably enjoy.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1319690/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_38
It was about an international team of astronauts making a long-term voyage around the sun and planned to do fly-bys of the major planets. Some degree of cheeseball romance that's a little too-inbred ( soap opera ), but as the mission unfolds it holds interest - due to the presence of something alien stowed onboard. Unfortunately cancelled after 13 eps when it was picking up steam.
I would also recommend Space:Above and Beyond (1995). It only lasted one season, and the first few episodes are really weak, but it grew very strong characters before the unfortunate series finale.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112173/?ref_=nv_sr_1
~ As far as live-action shows, you will find nothing else that's really similar to The Expanse. Many, many, terrible movies with similar elements, and a few badly-written and short-lived TV shows that did not live up to promises. (Terra Nova, Earth2, et.al.)
~ You would have to turn to ANIME to get a well-written character-driven space adventure. There are tons of them.
A definite +1 for Battlestar Galactica (2003 Reimagined). I've gone through that series 3 times since 2010, it does not get old.
shareDark Matter,
Black Mirror (excellent sci-fi, although not in space, each episode is about completely different matter),
Babylon 5 (as other mentioned poor CGI, but good story).
If you like sci-fi with inteligent robots or computers here (near the end) you can find a list of such films and series:
https://steemit.com/science/@dragonfruit/how-to-make-humanoid-artificial-intelligence-friendly-to-humans
Tried to watch Dark Matter, but as much as I love sci-fi and can accept quite a bit of cheesiness and cliches I could only take a few episodes. Comparing it to The Expanse is like comparing The Godfather to Suicide Squad.
shareI really like The Expanse because it does not pander. The Star Treks are
always injecting pandering moments where they raise up humans, as say
opposed to Vulcans, or refer back to the 20th century Earth constantly.
I really hate that.
The Expanse creates a realistic world and sticks with it. It's pretty good and
no, right off the bat anyway I cannot think of another series that is as good.
I like how the effects are more believable, even if the animation is not that
great, the acceleration and braking for gravity is cool.
The thing I don't like are the chairs and injections for high-G maneuvers.
That's silly.
Battlestar Galactica is really good, but just not as realistic, and much too
fantastic. Also kind of weird in how it tries to connect in some way with the
old series.