Steven Strait and Shohreh Aghdashloo have been cast in starring roles for Syfy's upcoming series The Expanse.
The 10-episode space opera is based upon James S.A. Corey's bestselling book series and is set in the future, where humanity has expanded further into the solar system. A ship captain and detective find themselves uneasy allies as they look for a missing young woman and then stumble upon a conspiracy, which could end humanity.
Strait (Magic City) will star as Jim Holden, who is merely an officer on an ice-carrying freighter at the start, but eventually finds himself the captain of a ship, Variety reports. Aghdashloo was cast to play Chrisjen Avasarala, who is a clever politician back on Earth.
The character's inclusion is surprising and would likely mean that the first season will include a mixture of the first two books in The Expanse series since she doesn't appear in the first book Leviathan Wakes.
"Steven and Shohreh are both outstanding talents who we feel lucky to have in our series," exec vp of original content Bill McGoldrick said.
Syfy cast Thomas Jane back in July to play Detective Miller, who is a world-weary sort living in a colony in the Asteroid Belt.
The Expanse will air in 2015 and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby are writing and executive producing and will be showrunners alongside Naren Shankar.
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