It is a busy time for science fiction drama. I’m still trying to make up my mind about whether to go to see the new Star Wars film. Almost everyone I have seen comment about it on social media says it is good, but some of those people also enthuse over the current Doctor Who which make me want to run a mile from anything else they like.

Fortunately I don’t need to go to the cinema. If I want great science fiction on TV all I have to do is sit at home and watch The Expanse. This is a new series on SyFy based on the successful novels by James SA Corey (aka Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck). It doesn’t have quite the emotional punch of Jessica Jones, but that means I was able to binge-watch the first four episodes without having to stop for breath.

The setting is near future and the science looks to be pretty solid. I’ve seen physicists enthusing on Twitter about how the show gets things right. Certainly the show is well aware of the dangers of living in space, and it shows the cast dealing with those issues in a sensible manner. We are in the story of the opening novel, Leviathan’s Wake, so I know pretty much what is going to happen, but I’m enjoying the way it is told and the visuals.

The bad news is that although SyFy has a UK channel it hasn’t yet set a broadcast date. The first four episodes are available to stream via syfy.com (though you may need TunnelBear to make that work). I have no idea when I’ll be able to watch the rest. But watch it I will, because it actually looks like a story set in a real potential future with real space flight produced by people who care about science.