How The Expanse made realistic space travel more exciting than warp drive

Science fiction is under no obligation to be scientifically accurate, and some shows, like Star Trek, flagrantly violate the laws of physics with every warp jump. But others make an earnest effort to get the science right, and few of these hard science fiction shows have seen more commercial success than The Expanse, the Amazon Studios series set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System and political drama unfolds on a cosmic stage.

In The Expanse, there are no artificial gravity machines or teleportation devices. Humans have expanded beyond Earth, but it hasn’t been easy. On Mars, people live out their lives underground, dedicated to a multi-generation terraforming effort that might allow their great-great-grandchildren to breathe air on the surface. The “Belters” who live beyond Mars, meanwhile, have no illusions of ever seeing a sky. Instead, they build giant greenhouses on Jupiter’s moons and mine asteroids for resources that they can sell to denizens of the inner Solar System. Without any faster-than-light tech, trips across the Solar System can take weeks or even months, not unlike traveling from Europe to the Americas several centuries ago.

Weaving all the messy complexities of physics and biology into a show that includes epic space battles and ancient alien technology isn’t easy. The Expanse’s knack for doing so—without subjecting the audience to long expository dumps about fusion reactors—can be chalked up largely to Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who wrote the books the series is based on under the pen name James S.A. Corey, and to executive producer Naren Shankar, who holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and applied physics from Cornell University. With Season 5 of The Expanse launching on December 16, The Science of Fiction spoke with Shankar about how his scientific background has shaped his approach to the show, how hemming to the laws of physics opens up new opportunities for drama, and how sometimes, scientific realism must be sacrificed for the sake of cool space maneuvers.

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.