Shohreh Aghdashloo on Syfy’s ‘The Expanse’ is Delivering TV’s Most Extravagant Performance

Don’t feel bad that you’ve been missing out on TV’s most delicious, extravagant, over-the-top-but-in-a-good-way performance. You probably never even knew what you were missing. In today’s peak-TV era, it’s hard to keep tabs on everything that’s available, even when it’s good. But now that we’re into its third season, it’s time you finally sat up and recognized The Expanse.

Airing on Syfy Wednesday nights, The Expanse projects the solar system many years into the future, with a partially colonized Mars is emerging as a rival to the fading Earth, with the nomad workers of the asteroid belt caught in the middle of their escalating conflict. As the series has moved along, we have mostly followed the crew of the spaceship Rocinante, who have skirted the edges of the Earth/Mars aggressions so far, but they’ve also come across a burgeoning alien enemy that could bring the entire system to its knees. There’s a bit of Battlestar Galactica to the show, in that it’s a sci-fi series that never gets too far beyond humanoid politics and concerns. There are still the haves and have-nots in space; the conflicts between Earth and Mars feel very familiar and analogous to historical conflicts; and the characters feel like they could just as easily exist in our timeline as they do on the show.

One particularly juicy aspect of the show are the goings on at the United Nations on Earth, with conflicting machinations both pushing for and trying to avoid war with Mars. It’s here where we find deputy undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala, played by Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. While she’s appeared on shows like 24 and Will & Grace, Aghdashloo is still likely best known for her 2003 Best Supporting Actress nomination for the film House of Sand and Fog. She’s a world-class actress who, because of the disappointing distribution of roles in Hollywood, hasn’t gotten nearly the opportunities to show her stuff for American audiences as she should have. But she’s certainly making the most of The Expanse.

Avasarala is the diplomat we should all hope for and the politician we should all fear. Her objectives from day one have been to keep Earth and Mars from a war that could destroy them both. She’s on the side of keeping as many people alive as possible. And she’s facing some powerful opposition, from within the U.N., from the militaristic Martian command, and from unscrupulous millionaires looking to profit from the chaos. Stacked up against all that, one diplomat wouldn’t seem to have much chance. Or so you’d think! Until you see what Aghdashloo does with Avasarala, a woman as cunning as she is grand. She’s the perfect diplomat, using personal relationships to create a network of sources, loyalists, and co-conspirators. As a result, she just might be the post powerful person in the system. And Earth and Mars might stand a chance.

Even better, the performance Aghdashloo is delivering is a delicious blend of righteousness and no-bullshit directness. Once the mast of genteel diplomacy falls, watch the fuck out. More than any other character on The Expanse, Avasarala is the most fun to watch flirt with the Syfy content restrictions. Can you say “fuck” on basic cable? …Yeah, mostly? Even if every now and then it’s lazily bleeped out, the impact is still there. And to hear Shohreh Aghdashloo’s honey purr of a voice tell someone to get the fuck out of her way, it’s absolute bliss.

In season 3, Avasarala finds herself stuck in space, teamed up with the rebels of the Rocinante, as you figured she must. Seeing her out of her diplomatic element has been almost as fun as watching her run game down on Earth. From dealing with space boots to blasters to star-struck ensign soldiers, it’s been hell for the deputy undersecretary, and that’s been a joy to watch.

Now’s a great time to hop aboard The Expanse. War between Earth and Mars seems inevitable, so you figure Avasarala must have something big in store if she’s going to prevent it.

Where to stream The Expanse