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.
Warren Ellis would be writing every episode. In 2006, Ellis was hired to develop a science-fiction television series for AMC titled "Dead Channel", but the project was put on hiatus. The series followed a television network executive who discovers the existence of aliens and decides to turn the discovery into a reality show. "Listener", a near-future science fiction novel, was planned as Ellis' next book after "Crooked Little Vein." The novel has since been lost and cancelled. "Wastelanders", a web-based "end-of-the-world" collaboration with director Joss Whedon, was postponed due to Whedon's work on "The Avengers". Ellis and British producer Vivek Tiwary developed