3 Ways ‘Firefly’ Lived on After Its FOX Cancellation

More than two decades later, people are still mourning Firefly.

The FOX sci-fi Western series premiered in 2002, and was Emmy-nominated but little-watched and was canceled after one season.

The series revolves around a group of nine bounty hunters in space aboard the ship Serenity, who often find themselves in precarious situations akin to those from the American Wild West. The series starred Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and Alan Tudyk. It is often compared to Cowboy Bebop, and is also named one of the best shows that were canceled too soon.

Despite its cancellation, the series lived on in other ways. Read on for more.

Serenity (film)

This 2005 film takes place after the final episode of the series, and brings back the main cast to wrap up the television storylines while bringing in British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor to play the antagonist. In the film, the crew of the Serenity is being hunted down by the Alliance—the government that rules all of the planets in outer space. It was well-received and nominated for several major awards, but underperformed at the box office.

Serenity/Firefly (comics)

From 2005 to 2017, Dark Horse Comics ran a comic series of several Serenity comic books, which provided a continuation to the TV series and movie. In 2018, Boom! Studios acquired the rights, and changed the name of the comic series back to Firefly. They are still publishing new issues in the series to this day.

Firefly: The Game

A very successful series of tabletop games based on the Firefly universe was published in 2013 by gaming company Gale Force Nine; the company has released two full games and twelve expansions in the series.