Ridley Scott's 4-Hour Sci-Fi Series Is 'Prometheus Meets The Expanse'

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Published Jul 27, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT

Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel.

Back in 2008, Ridley Scott produced a four-episode miniseries that has elements of his sci-fi epic Prometheus and the Prime Video series, The Expanse. Scott has to be one of the most prolific artists working today, still putting out movies well into his 80s, and he hasn't relegated his talents only to Hollywood.

Scott has also worked extensively in TV, most often as a producer, though occasionally as a director. He's been involved with several notable shows, including The Terror, Raised by Wolves, The Man in the High Castle, and of course, more obvious series like Blade Runner 2099 and Alien: Earth.

One of his more forgotten efforts (not even appearing on his Wikipedia page) came in the 2008 miniseries The Andromeda Strain, which premiered on A&E. Based on Michael Crichton's 1969 novel, adapted into a movie in 1971 directed by Robert Wise, The Andromeda Strain miniseries was produced by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott.

Like the novel, the miniseries focuses on a team of scientists who uncover a deadly, extremely virulent disease that could be extraterrestrial in origin. Along with a time shift to the modern early 21st century, The Andromeda Strain also makes several notable changes to storylines and character arcs.

The Andromeda Strain Is Tonally Similar To Ridley Scott's Prometheus

Two characters looking at a dying animal in a glass box in The Andromeda Strain.

The Andromeda Strain has some connections to Scott's other productions, particularly Prometheus, his Alien prequel film that arrived in 2012. Set about 100 years before the events of Alien, Prometheus follows a group of scientists seeking the origins of humanity, a quest that results in the horrible deaths of nearly everyone involved.

Prometheus and The Andromeda Strain have very similar tones, in that both begin with an air of almost hopeful fantasy, as teams of scientists put their minds and resources together in order to explore the mysteries of something that they have less understanding of than they could ever imagine.

The arrogance of both teams telegraphs that something bad is going to happen to both of them, but also makes you excited for the moments of comeuppance. In both show and movie, however, once the teams come face-to-face with the true horror of the alien disease they are dealing with, the tone shifts from a scientific mystery to a grim survival horror.

The Andromeda Strain's Virus Has Similarities To The Expanse's Protomolecule

Two characters in protective suits ina. neighborhood in The Andromeda Strain.

The Andromeda Strain also has similarities to other notable science fiction productions, including The Expanse, primarily the similarity between The Expanse's Protomolecule and the titular virus of The Andromeda Strain. In The Expanse, the Protomolecule is also an infectious agent of extrasolar origin.

Extrasolar is to The Expanse as extraterrestrial is to The Andromeda Strain, considering where The Expanse takes place. Both of the mysterious viruses appear to be products of synthetic biology and do not have any analogs to the extensive samples the scientific communities possess.

Though the Andromeda strain is more deadly, both viruses alter the minds of those they infect. Both the Andromeda strain and the Protomolecule are capable of rewriting their own code and the code of those it infects to most benefit themselves. The Andromeda Strain may not have had the longevity of The Expanse or made the same cultural footprint as Prometheus, but it's still worth returning to.