The Expanse's Steven Strait, Wes Chatham call final season a 'love letter' to fans with 'every beat justified' at NYCC

Following yesterday's NYCC trailer premiere for the final season of The Expanse on Amazon, two of the show's cast members — Wes Chatham (Amos Burton) and Steven Strait (James Holden) — sat down Saturday afternoon for a heartfelt look back at the hit series. Both actors started off by thanking fans for their loyal support over the years, and also looked ahead to how it all will end.

"We're so grateful to have been part of this incredible journey," Strait said. "To tell a story that really feels like it means something not just to us, but to others out there. It's all you ever want as an artist, is to feel like your work has mattered ... We wouldn't be here without you. We wouldn't have been able to finish this story without you."

"One of the easiest jobs I've ever had is going and talking about The Expanse because I am a fan of it and I would be a fan of it [if I wasn't on the show]," added Chatham. "So, to be a part of something like this is a dream come true. But the connection that the show has to the fans ... is unlike anything I've ever done before. Obviously, you guys saved us. Being able to come and share this experience with you guys, it's a really special thing ... Season 6 is basically a love letter to all of you because it's the biggest and best thing that we have done to this point and we are so excited to be able to share it with you guys and cap off the relationship that we've had together."

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The series (based on the sci-fi novels penned by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) will go out swinging with a 65-minute finale, "which is essentially a movie," Chatham added. "It's the longest episode that we've done and [director Breck Eisner] just really crushed it. Knocked it out of the park."

"You need an end point that's very specific," Strait explained. "You have to be aiming for something very, very specific to get there. So, every beat is justified. These small moments that we have in those early seasons come back in the later seasons. The plan is very meticulously plotted all the way through. So, you never know what could happen and that's far beyond our pay-grade, but it is bittersweet. This has been the joy of my adult life, to be able to work on this show."

With that said, The Expanse story isn't completely over — at least on the publishing side where two more books, Leviathan Falls (a novel) and Memory's Legion (a collection of short stories and novellas) are coming down the pipeline. Whether that means the show will be brought back in some way is another story entirely. If you're looking for more Expanse content beyond those, Chatham also hosts an Expanse-related podcast with Franck.

"What I love most about it is that it's really just become a conversation about all things genre," Chatham said when asked if the podcast would continue once the show ends. "It's kind of been a gathering place to get to spend more time and hang out with the fans and then we talk about things that we're fans of. We share this community. We spent two hours talking about Alien [and] we spent an hour talking about Blade Runner. I feel as if we're still having fun, I don't know what it would look like beyond The Expanse, but I think there's definitely a possibility of continuing to do it. I look forward to that."

The sixth and final season of The Expanse arrives on Amazon Prime Video Friday, Dec. 10. Given that the show's last outing is only comprised of six episodes, each new installment will premiere on a weekly basis.

“What it does give you is intensity," showrunner and executive producer Naren Shankar said of the shorter episode count during the main Expanse panel Friday. "Every episode feels as intense as it can possibly be. The compression is there, you never feel like you're letting your foot off the gas pedal, so by the time you get to the end, it's cathartic."

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