With its premiere in 2016, The Expanse introduced the world to the ragtag crew of the Rocinate, a group of characters who came to be a family throughout the show’s six seasons. An epic sci-fi saga, The Expanse dropped viewers into a far future in which humans have spread throughout the solar system. The people of Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt currently enjoy a shaky peace, but a conspiracy involving an alien biohazard threatens to send the various factions to war.
The Expanse season 1 begins as a gritty sci-fi murder mystery, but soon morphs into an epic space opera following a cast of characters spread across the solar system. James Holden and his Rocinate crew get pulled into intergalactic politics as they try to eliminate the threat from the biohazardous protomolecule and prevent the solar system from going to war. With political intrigue, shocking reveals, and stunning sci-fi imagery, The Expanse truly feels like Game of Thrones in space, and the Rocinate’s crew make for complex and compelling leads.
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James Holden (Steven Strait)
Captain
Although The Expanse features a large ensemble cast, the Earth-born Holden could be considered the show’s hero in more ways than one. Not only is he usually at the center of the main action of the story, but he also acts as the show’s moral compass. After surviving the destruction of an ice hauler called the Canterbury and the Martian Navy flagship Donnager, Holden and his friends end up on a Martian gunship they renamed the Rocinante.
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Holden takes command of the Rocinante, with Naomi, Amos, and Alex on his crew, and they set out in search of answers regarding the Canterbury’s destruction. This mission leads them to stumble upon The Expanse‘s dangerous protomolecule, and they soon get caught up in events that will shift the balance of power in the solar system. As captain of the Roci, Holden cares deeply about his crew, and he strives to do the right thing even in the face of overwhelming odds.
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Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper)
Executive Officer & Chief Engineer
Having grown up on poor Belter mining ships, Naomi’s loyalties lie with the citizens of the Belt, and she sympathizes with the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA). She has a complicated past that she mostly keeps to herself, and though she understands that violence is sometimes necessary, she does her best to avoid it. Naomi serves as Holden’s second in command aboard the Rocinante, but she’s also a brilliant engineer.
In The Expanse season 2, Naomi and Holden embark on a romance, but Naomi’s loyalty to the Belt sometimes causes conflict between the two. Nevertheless, Naomi would do anything to protect her friends and family, even if it means sacrificing herself. Thanks to her engineering knowledge and upbringing in the Belt, Naomi has a knack for coming up with creative solutions to problems, and she helps save the day more than once.
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Amos Burton (Wes Chatham)
Mechanic
Prior to joining the crew of the Rocinante, Amos served as the mechanic aboard the Canterbury. Although Amos is from Earth, he rarely speaks about his childhood in Baltimore, although later seasons reveal he had been involved with gangs in the city. Because of his rough upbringing, Amos has a warped sense of morality, and he won’t hesitate to kill those who get in his way. This upbringing also equipped Amos with the ability to analyze situations quickly and notice when something is amiss.
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Amos is fiercely protective of the people he cares about, and he often turns to Holden to gauge the difference between right and wrong. Like Naomi, Amos has a knack for coming up with creative solutions, albeit of a more mechanical nature. He has repaired the Roci on numerous occasions, even in the middle of battle. Amos is also a skilled fighter and acts as the unofficial muscle among the Roci’s crew.
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Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar)
Pilot
Born on Mars, Alex enlisted in the Martian Navy, where he developed a love for flying. After being honorably discharged, Alex landed a piloting job aboard the Canterbury alongside Holden, Amos, and Naomi. Alex had a wife and child on Mars, but his continued absence put a strain on the relationship. Alex came to see Holden, Naomi, and Amos as his family, and he was often the calming and optimistic presence who kept everyone together.
Although the character of Alex Kamal survived throughout all nine Expanse books, the character was killed off before the final season of the show due to over thirty allegations of sexual misconduct against actor Cas Anvar.
Alex’s piloting skills helped the Rocinante escape or win several space battles, and he developed a particular fondness for the ship. When piloting the ship, Alex locked in, reacted quickly, and regularly made use of creative maneuvering and flying tactics to get out of sticky situations. In The Expanse season 5 finale, Alex died as he lived, suffering a stroke while piloting the Razorback in high-G while rescuing Naomi.
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Clarissa “Peaches” Mao (Nadine Nicole)
Assistant Mechanic
The daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao (François Chau), Clarissa Mao (nicknamed Peaches courtesy of Amos), grew up on Earth with her family. After Holden and his crew exposed her father’s crimes regarding the protomolecule, Clarissa set out to get revenge against Holden. However, her own guilt eventually caught up to her, and she ultimately helped Holden and his crew save the solar system.
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As part of her revenge plot, Clarissa got an Endocrine Enhancement Implant, which provides her with bursts of extremely enhanced strength and combat skills. Clarissa eventually ends up traveling with Amos, and he invites her to join the crew of the Rocinante just before The Expanse’s final season. Clarissa continues fighting for redemption, eventually proving herself as an asset to the Roci’s crew, particularly when she saves Bobbie’s life.
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Roberta “Bobbie” Draper (Frankie Adams)
Gunner & Pilot
A former member of the Special Forces of the Martian Marine Corps, Bobbie dedicated much of her life to serving Mars. She was one of the first people to come into contact with a monstrous protomolecule-human hybrid and emerged from the encounter as the only survivor. After learning of Mars’ involvement in conspiracies involving the protomolecule, Bobbie grew disillusioned about the Martian government, but she continued to fight for what she believed in.
Bobbie also temporarily served as a bodyguard for UN Deputy Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala, and later reported to Avasarala with various messages and intelligence.
Throughout The Expanse, Bobbie helps uncover conspiracies and ultimately helps prevent a war between Mars and Earth. With her power armor, Bobbie makes for a formidable warrior, but she can hold her own in a fight even without the suit. Although she helps out Holden and his crew throughout the series, she doesn’t officially join the Rocinante’s crew until season 6, serving as both a gunner and a pilot.
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Josephus “Joe” Miller (Thomas Jane)
Detective
During the first season of The Expanse, Joe Miller often felt like the show’s main character, as he investigated the disappearance of Julie Mao (Florence Faivre). Despite being from the Belt, Miller worked on Ceres as a cop for an Earth security company, but they fired him when he stumbled upon information regarding the protomolecule conspiracy. Miller has spent most of his life just surviving, but he felt a connection with Julie Mao and refused to stop looking for her.
After his death, Miller (sort of) returned as The Investigator, a construct created by the protomolecule that communicated with Holden through hallucinations.
At the end of season 1, Miller encountered Holden and his crew on Eros, where they discovered that the station there had been used as a testing ground for the protomolecule. Miller temporarily joined the Rocinante’s crew, but his cynical nature and questionable morals sometimes put him at odds with Holden and the others. Still, Miller ultimately sacrificed himself to help divert Eros into Venus instead of Earth, saving billions of people.
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Praxideke “Prax” Meng (Terry Chen)
Botanist
After surviving the Ganymede incident, Prax encountered Holden and his crew, who enlisted his help to track down Dr. Strickland (Ted Atherton). Prax only knew Strickland as his daughter’s pediatrician, but the doctor was actually involved in conducting experiments that utilized the protomolecule and young children with a particular immune disorder. When Prax learns that his daughter, Mei (Leah Jung), could still be alive, he helps the Rocinante crew get to Ganymede.
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During his time on the Rocinante, Prax helps destroy a human-protomolecule hybrid, and he sets up plant gardens throughout the ship to help with recycling the air. Holden and his crew eventually find Dr. Strickland and Mei on Io, allowing Prax to reunite with his daughter. Throughout his time on the Roci, Prax formed a surprising friendship with Amos. Although Amos taught Prax how to shoot a gun, he recognized that the botanist wasn’t a killer and killed Strickland so Prax wouldn’t have to.
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Bull (José Zúñiga)
Pilot
A former Earth Marine, Bull served on Tycho Station under the command of Fred Johnson (Chad L. Coleman) before he temporarily joined the crew of the Rocinante during The Expanse season 5. Bull does things by the book, and his gruff personality doesn’t exactly endear him to Holden and the Roci’s crew.
As season 5 finds the main characters of The Expanse spread throughout the solar system, Bull fills in as the Roci’s pilot. He helps during multiple conflicts with Marco Inaros (Keon Alexander) and his Free Navy, even when the odds are stacked against the Rocinante. Although Bull seemed primed to replace Alex as the Roci’s pilot, he did not appear in The Expanse season 6.
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Other Temporary Crew Members
Several Others Have Temporarily Helped Out Holden & His Crew On The Roci
- Spy Kenzo Gabriel (Elias Toufexis) – Kenzo stows away on board the Rocinante in The Expanse season 1 to spy on Holden for Avasarala. He is later killed by the protomolecule on Eros.
- UN Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) – Avasarala spends time on the Rocinante during The Expanse season 3, where she supports the mission to Io to rescue Prax’s daughter.
- Paster Anna Volovodov (Elizabeth Mitchell) – In The Expanse season 3, Anna helps save the ships in the Ring Gate and joins the crew of the Rocinante to travel back to Earth.
- Reporter Monica Stuart (Anna Hopkins) – During the Rocinante’s journey through the Ring in The Expanse season 3, Monica Stuart joins the ship’s crew to document the journey. She joins the ship again in season 5 and is present during conflicts with the Free Navy.
The Expanse
10/10
- Release Date
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2015 – 2022-00-00
- Showrunner
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Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
