24 Years Later, the Greatest Sci-Fi Western Series Ever Made Surges on Streaming Charts

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Morrena Baccarin's Inara in a Firefly promo shot

Published 18 minutes ago

Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him).

Just like theatrical films, which can be booted (or pulled) from cinemas if they don't perform well enough, television shows must always contend with the risk of being canceled if they fail to generate sufficient viewership right out of the gate. Things have changed since the emergence of streaming, but you only need to look at David Fincher's Mindhunter to realize that record-breaking viewership doesn't always equal cultural impact. However, before the streaming era, television producers were always under pressure to deliver instant results, and because the show Firefly didn't take off immediately after its debut in 2002, it was canceled even before it could conclude its first season. The fact that the space western found itself back on the domestic PVOD charts this week, nearly 25 years after its initial run, proves how ahead of its time it actually was.

According to FlixPatrol, Firefly was among the most-watched shows on the domestic Amazon charts this week, when the leaderboard was topped by Taylor Sheridan's Landman. Created by Joss Whedon, Firefly followed the adventures of a ragtag spaceship crew in the distant future, and was heavily inspired by George Lucas' Star Wars movies and the anime show Cowboy Bebop. Firefly was headlined by Nathan Fillion, with Morena Baccarin and Alan Tudyk appearing in supporting roles. It ran for only a single 14-episode season, from September to December 2002. The show has a 77% critics' score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Firefly earns its audience's adoration with the help of Nathan Fillion's dry delivery, a detailed fantasy world, and compelling storylines -- even if it doesn't stand with creator Joss Whedon's most consistent work." However, Firefly's 96% audience score on RT shows how devoted its cult following really is.

'Firefly' Inspired a Theatrical Movie

Sensing an increasing wave of support following its cancellation, Fox was encouraged to produce a follow-up theatrical film titled Serenity. Written and directed by Whedon, the film flopped at the box office, barely recovering its reported $40 million budget. Whedon went on to direct Marvel's The Avengers and its sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron, which earned positive reviews and grossed a combined total of almost $3 billion worldwide. He was accused of toxic behavior during the #MeToo movement, and his last major project was the HBO series The Nevers, which was canceled early in its run. However, Firefly and Whedon's other masterpiece, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, remain just as influential as they ever were. You can watch the shows at home on VOD platforms. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.