Syfy's 'The Expanse' Blasts Off with a Two-Night Premiere on December 14, 15

Syfy's highly anticipated space thriller The Expanse will launch with a two-night premiere Monday, December 14 and Tuesday, December 15 at 10PM (ET/PT). The epic drama from Alcon TV is based on the international best-selling book series of the same name and will regularly air on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET for the remainder of its 10-episode first season.

The most ambitious series in Syfy history, The Expanse is set two hundred years in the future, after mankind has colonized the solar system. A hardened detective (Thomas Jane, Hung) and a rogue ship's captain (Steven Strait, Magic City) come together for what starts as the case of a missing young woman and evolves into a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

Shohreh Aghdashloo and Steven Strait Will Star in 'The Expanse,' New 10-Episode Space Opera

Syfy and Alcon TV today announced that Steven Strait (Magic City) and Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Saddam, House of Sand and Fog) will star in The Expanse, the new 10-episode space opera based on the international best-selling book series, premiering on Syfy in 2015.

Strait plays Holden, an officer on the ice-carrying freighter the Canterbury. Holden is a natural leader who's not sure he wants responsibility, but who will soon have no choice when he is drawn into a dangerous plot. Strait's many credits include the movies 10,000 BC, City Island and City Island.

Aghdashloo portrays Chrisjen Avasarala, a smart and passionate member of a political family legacy who has risen high in the ranks of Earth's governing body without once standing for election. In addition to appearing in the long-running TV series 24, Aghdashaloo has starred in films such as X-Men: The Last Stand, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Stoning of Soraya M. She just completed filming on Septembers In Shiraz with Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek, and The Last Knights with Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman.

Terry McDonough Will Direct Pilot of Space Opera 'The Expanse'

Syfy and Alcon TV have announced that award-winning director Terry McDonough (Breaking Bad, Suits, Better Call Saul) will direct the pilot of The Expanse, the new 10-episode space opera based on the international best-selling book series, which will premiere on Syfy in 2015.

A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective (Thomas Jane) and a rogue ship's captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

McDonough won a BAFTA award for directing the acclaimed UK series The Street, and has worked on such notable shows as the Emmy-winning Breaking Bad, Eleventh Hour, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, An Adventure In Space And Time, Wire in the Blood, The Red Road and Suits. He most recently directed episodes of AMC's new 1980s drama Halt and Catch Fire and NBC's adventure drama Crossbones, starring John Malkovich. McDonough recently wrapped filming episodes of AMC's upcoming show Better Call Saul, the spinoff to Breaking Bad.