The Expanse NYCC panel did not disappoint with a kick-ass trailer and season 5 premiere date

NYCC’s best panel on Thursday was The Expanse, which gave the greatest gift to fans with an incredible trailer for season five and the premiere date, just before Christmas.

The Expanse panel at this year’s virtual New York Comic Con provided a ton of details about the series’  upcoming fifth season.

Dominique Tipper (Naomi Nagata on the show) was the hostess with the mostest. She was joined by cast members Shoreh Agdashloo, Frankie Adams, Cara Gee, Steven Strait, Wes Chatham, showrunner Naren Shankar, and the co-authors and producers Ty Frank and Daniel Abraham.

Here are some highlights from their NYCC 2020 presentation.

The season 5 trailer

Tipper premiered the new season trailer, and it is out-of-this-world (so appropriate) awesome.

The season 5 premiere date

What made this panel so excellent was the generous amount of information disclosed about character development and where the next season is going. The Expanse has always been grateful to its fans and the panel was chock-full of detailed morsels that they can devour. The best bit, we got a premiere date, and like season four, it will debut right around the holiday season.

The official season five premiere date is December 16, 2020. Furthermore, rather than the Netflix-style binge model used in season 4, the series will be going back to a more weekly episode format this time around. (Sort of.)

The first three episodes of season 5 will drop at once and the rest will release on a weekly basis on Amazon Prime. This should feel familiar to fans of The Boys, also an Amazon production, which released its second season in the same pattern. (Maybe it’s a new trend.)

In the case of The Expanse, I believe this is a good thing. The series includes so much political intrigue, brilliant (and realistic) rich scientific detail, and intricate plot development that you really need a week to properly decipher it all.

Trailer breakdown

So let’s take a look at that trailer again (and if you’re like me, you’ve watched it more than once now). There’s so much to glean from that and the subsequent discussion that took place at the panel.

First off, we will get a deeper dive into Naomi’s past, including the son she hasn’t seen for years. I’ve been waiting for the show to get to this point!  Tipper mentioned an emotional parting from Holden so she can search for her son, Filip.

And guess who helps? Fred Johnson! Yes, Chad Coleman is back. And hurrah for that! He only appeared once in the last season. Considering that he was a pivotal part of the show from the beginning, it’s a big boost to have him back. Fred will help Naomi find her son.

The big threat seems to be imminent is Marcos Inaros, Naomi’s former lover and the father of Filip. We discovered last season that he’s not only very much alive but uniting the belters in their quest for autonomous power. From the trailer, this quest will grow into a global threat, while at the same time fortifying belter alliance. He’s a charismatic leader and will be a powerful foe in S5. He’s clearly playing the long game and has been for quite a while, just under the radar.

Another deep dive comes courtesy of Amos Burton, who will spend some time in Baltimore. We will find out more of his backstory (and about those heels!). A fun bit during the panel, West Chatham challenged Shoreh Agdashloo to a race in heels—it’s not just a comment his character made during the last season, he claims he’s practiced. This is the kind of content I tuned in for.

The Expanse trailer also shows ‘Bobby’ Draper and Christjen Avasarala uncovering a conspiracy and getting ready for war. No glorious f-bomb-laden quips from Avasarala (dang), I guess they’re saving those wonderful nuggets for the series. I do hope we see more of Draper and Avasarala working together because their dynamic is fantastic.

The cast also celebrated the incredible diversity on the show, which Tipper said is the most diverse on television. The Expanse really does set the bar for glorious diversity that also sets production standards of the highest quality.

When it comes to space, there is The Expanse, and the rest of the sci-fi shows are just mere mortals.

Is The Expanse just not the coolest, most generous show? Are you as thrilled as I am for Season 5? What was your favorite part of the panel? Stay tuned here for all your NYCC news.