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.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant Cafe shows entire short films. In 2014, NBCUniversal opened a new Universal Orlando hotel called Cabana Bay Beach Resort, which houses the Bayliner Diner, a restaurant that borrows its premise from the Sci-Fi Dine-In. Both restaurants play old film footage on a loop. The Sci-Fi Dine-In has received mixed reviews. Jack Hayes of "Nation's Restaurant News" calls the Sci-Fi Dine-In "wacky" and "on the cutting edge of sheer dining fun". In "USA Today"'s list of the sixteen best restaurants in American amusement parks, the Sci-Fi Dine-In ranks fifteenth. Samuel Muston of "The Independent" writes that the Sci-Fi Dine-In is "memorable