Joss Whedon respects, the show had an average of 4.7 million viewers at the time and was ranked 98th in Nielsen ratings, which led to the series' cancelation by Fox. Whedon took to Universal Pictures as a means of achieving a continuation of the story. Following "Firefly" was "Serenity", a follow-up film taking place after the events of the final episode. This developed into a franchise that led to graphic novels, books and other media. New Scientist magazine held a poll in 2005 to find "The World's Best Space Sci-Fi Ever", in which "Firefly" and "Serenity" took first and second place, respectively.
Joss Whedon private detective in order to "help the helpless". Though praised for presenting a unique and progressive version of the archetypal noir hero as a sympathetic vampire detective, it was criticized as being lesser than its parent show, in context of having been derived from a more popular original work. Despite this, it won a Saturn Award for Best Network TV Series and the three episodes "Waiting in the Wings", "Smile Time" and "Not Fade Away" were nominated for Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in 2003 and 2005. The WB Network announced on February 13, 2004 that "Angel"