Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Firefly (TV series)
open-in-new
<p><i>Firefly</i> is an American <a href="/facts/Space_Western/aDzKoEqz">space Western</a> <a href="/facts/Drama_(film_and_television)/K3GjTczf">drama</a> television series, created by writer and director <a href="/facts/Joss_Whedon/JAeegFlT">Joss Whedon</a>, under his <a href="/facts/Mutant_Enemy_Productions/DE9w13Is">Mutant Enemy Productions</a> label. Whedon served as an <a href="/facts/Executive_producer/HYuzvKSI">executive producer</a>, along with <a href="/facts/Tim_Minear/URQegha6">Tim Minear</a>. The series is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system called The Verse, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of <i><a href="/facts/Serenity_(fictional_spacecraft)/hWnwyrEV">Serenity</a></i>, a "<i>Firefly</i>-class" <a href="/facts/Spacecraft/YQqQaUw0">spaceship</a>. The <a href="/facts/Ensemble_cast/2cJreBu1">ensemble cast</a> portrays the nine characters living aboard <i>Serenity</i>. Whedon pitched the show as "nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things." </p><p>The show explores the lives of a group of people, some of whom fought on the losing side of a <a href="/facts/Civil_war/bMhgxnxC">civil war</a>, who make a living on the fringes of society as part of their star system's <a href="/facts/Settler/SjBCIznY">pioneer</a> culture. The two surviving superpowers, the United States and China, united to form the central federal government, called the <a href="/facts/Alliance_(Firefly)/qtLYSd4a">Alliance</a>. According to Whedon's vision, "Nothing will change in the future: Technology will advance, but we will still have the same political, moral, and ethical problems as today." </p><p><i>Firefly</i> premiered in the United States on the <a href="/facts/Fox_Broadcasting_Company/yeFeCgGk">Fox</a> network on September 20, 2002. By mid-December, it had averaged 4.7 million viewers per episode and was 98th in <a href="/facts/Nielsen_ratings/PJ1HH4H8">Nielsen ratings</a>. It was <a href="/facts/Cancellation_(television)/606N76Xn">canceled</a> after 11 of the 14 produced episodes were aired. Despite its short run, it received strong sales when it was released on <a href="/facts/DVD/7fJsHJrN">DVD</a> and has large fan support campaigns. It won a <a href="/facts/Primetime_Emmy_Award/4eAaPW0F">Primetime Emmy Award</a> in 2003 for <a href="/facts/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Special_Visual_Effects/r7zJ116z">Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series</a>. <i><a href="/facts/TV_Guide/T29FpwBp">TV Guide</a></i> ranked it No. 5 on their 2013 list of 60 "shows that were canceled too soon". </p><p>The show's post-airing success led Whedon and <a href="/facts/Universal_Pictures/2xUCraUP">Universal Pictures</a> to produce <i><a href="/facts/Serenity_(2005_film)/XPC4uImM">Serenity</a></i>, a 2005 film that continues the story from the series. The <a href="/facts/Firefly_(franchise)/PQPyJKDA"><i>Firefly</i> franchise</a> expanded into other media, including <a href="/facts/Serenity_(comics)/8klN0ght">comics</a> and two <a href="/facts/Tabletop_role-playing_game/3qrTpEKy">tabletop role-playing games</a>. </p>