The Expanse

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One of my Den editors, Kayti, covered it. 

The Expanse’s Cas Anvar Won’t Be in Season 6

Following a third party investigation of sexual harassment and assault allegations, Cas Anvar will not be in The Expanse's final season.

By Kayti Burt

|November 24, 2020
[i]Photo: Alcon Studios[/i]
Buried in the Deadline announcement that [b][i]The Expanse[/i][/b] has been renewed for a sixth (yay!) and final (oh) season, was another very important news item: Cas Anvar, who has played Martian pilot Alex Kamal in the first five seasons of the show, will not be returning for the final season. This announcement comes after an official investigation by a third party on behalf of Alcon Studios due to the many allegations of abuse and harassment made against Anvar by both coworkers and fans, some of whom were under the age of 18. (You can read more about this on [b][i]The Expanse[/i][/b] subreddit, where statements from the accusers, the cast and crew, and Anvar have been compiled.)
Anvar will be in Season 5, set to premiere on December 16th. Filming on the fifth season finished before the allegations against Anvar came to light. While it’s unclear what Anvar’s presence in Season 5 might look like, the actor/character has appeared in promotional content for the upcoming season.
For many [b][i]The Expanse[/i][/b] fans, Anvar’s presence in the upcoming season complicates the viewing experience. Personally, while I am looking forward to Season 5, I, like many other [b][i]Expanse[/i][/b] fans, am anticipating that the behind-the-scenes allegations against Anvar, many of which allegedly occurred at conventions, will affect how I watch any plot involving Alex. I am not yet sure how the knowledge that Anvar will not be returning for Season 6 will further impact that experience. On the one hand, it’s heartening to know that Alcon Studios has taken these allegations seriously and has seemingly acted on the results of their investigation. On the other hand, as of right now, the connection between Anvar’s alleged behavior, the investigation, and his departure has not been made explicit, which is disappointing.
This [b][i]Expanse[/i][/b] news comes a few weeks after the announcement that Johnny Depp will not be returning for the third movie in the [b][i]Fantastic Beasts[/i][/b] franchise, which came only days after a U.K. court’s ruling that British tabloid The Sun was not committing libel when they described Depp as “a wife-beater” in 2018. In both cases, the reason for the actors’ departures have been left for fans to interpret rather than made explicit by The Powers That Be. Presumably, the decision to stay mum on the details of someone being asked to resign or not being rehired (or whatever other euphemism we’re using these days) is at least partially informed by a studio not wanting to invite legal trouble. It’s also just one more way our institutions are constructed to protect abusers and/or a company’s bottom line.
That being said, Anvar’s Season 6 departure does appear to be [i]some [/i]level of accountability, and is seemingly a rare example of a TV or film production addressing allegations of abuse.
Written by
Kayti Burt | @kaytiburt
Kayti Burt is a full-time pop culture writer who serves as a staff editor at Den of Geek. A long-term lover of all things science fiction…