The Earth ship Canterbury may be space debris, but the story of The Expanse goes on.

Syfy Channel this week gave fans a happy new year by renewing the high-profile, outer space drama for a second season. The order will also expand — ahem — the show from 10 to 13 episodes in Season Two, which will premiere in early 2017.

Set 200 years in the future when our solar system has been colonized, the series tells the story of a hardened detective (Thomas Jane) and a rogue ship’s captain (Steven Strait) in a complex story that interweaves the case of a missing woman and attempts to spark a shooting war between Earth and Mars.

The Expanse is based on a series of novels by James S. A. Corey, with Farscape‘s Naren Shankar serving as showrunner.

Syfy had offered the first episode of the show online and through VOD as an early preview in November, and then released the first four hours online after the December 14 television debut. The strategy looks to have worked, with 4.3 million viewers sampling the show ahead of its TV premiere.

The first three episodes have averaged a healthy enough 1.6 million viewers (Live + 3 Days) in its TV broadcast.

“The Expanse is firing on all cylinders creatively, building a passionate fan base among viewers and critics alike, and delivering on Syfy’s promise of smart, provocative science fiction entertainment,” Syfy President Dave Howe said.

Because of the long lead-time needed for the show’s effects-heavy production schedule, producer Alcon Television Group had commissioned scripts and prep work on Season Two even before the show premiered in December.

New episodes of Season One are now airing Tuesdays at 10/9c on Syfy Channel in the U.S. Keep up with The Expanse with our show guide, and talk about the series every week at GateWorld Forum!

Via Deadline