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.
U.S. television science fiction completely new story would be presented in each episode, with new actors, settings, and situations. The only continuing link was the producers, the genre, and the series title. The first series of this kind was "Tales of Tomorrow" running for 85 episodes, between 1951–53, it was meant to be the first science fiction show for adults. The next popular series was "Science Fiction Theatre", a syndicated series that ran for 78 episodes between 1955–57. Two years after its run finished, a much more popular and influential program in the same vein debuted on the CBS Network: "The Twilight Zone", hosted