The Expanse, Gateway & More: Four Sci-Fi Series We Can’t Wait To See

Let's see what's out there on the horizon.

By David Wharton | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Gateway

Gateway

What is it?
Another project with its origins in classic sci-fi literature, Gateway is based on Frederik Pohl’s novel of the same name, which took home a boatload of honors, including a Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and John W. Campbell Memorial Award. It also launched Pohl’s acclaimed “Heechee Saga.” Here’s how Amazon describes Gateway:

Gateway opened on all the wealth of the Universe…and on reaches of unimaginable horror. When prospector Bob Broadhead went out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he decided he would know which was the right mission to make him his fortune. Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Robinette Broadhead has to face what happened to him and what he is…in a journey into himself as perilous and even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he drove himself to take!

Why should we care?
Well, it’s always nice to see Hollywood pulling science fiction material from somebody other than Philip K. Dick, and Pohl’s catalog is virtually untouched by film and television. Gateway has a killer hook, imagining humanity discovering technology well beyond their own left abandoned, just waiting for somebody figure it out and start going boldly into the larger galaxy. I’m a sucker for a good “ancient race that vanished without a trace” story such as in the Mass Effect games or the short-lived Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade, and Gateway has that potential for gripping “archaeological sci-fi” potential in spades. With several books in the Heechee series, the show also wouldn’t be short on material to adapt.

Should we get our hopes up?
It’s early days yet, but tentatively, yes. One of the best signs for any adaptation is that the people behind it are genuinely enthusiastic about the source material. The De Laurentiis Company recently grabbed up the rights to Gateway along with Entertainment One Television (Hell on Wheels), but they’d actually been trying to get their hands on the project for years, so clearly they are serious about making Gateway happen. And while there’s no network or talent attached yet, Deadline reports that “a number of established showrunners” are interested in the project. Fingers crossed.


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