A shake-up of the Force seems to be in the pipeline. At least, when it comes to the science fiction genre. This is because everything points to the world’s most popular sci-fi series getting a new season. The official announcement will follow in just a few days.
The most popular sci-fi series in TV history is always up for debate. Which is it? Star Trek? Stargate? How about something more modern like “The Expanse”? Nope! Stargate and Starship Enterprise are both hovering around at 8.4 out of 10 stars on IMDB, while “The Expanse” comes in at 8.5 stars, and “The Next Century” scored 8.7 stars. These are good numbers, no doubt about it. However, the best sci-fi series scored a whopping 8.9 stars.
A Great Comeback For the Most Popular Sci-Fi Series?
Fans of the genre will have already guessed it: The most popular series in science fiction is, of course, the fan favorite “Firefly”. Of course, you must ignore some of the questionable candidates in IMDB’s list of the Top 250 TV shows – such as “Batman: The Animated Series”. This rating is hardly surprising, because the series concept is as simple as it is ingenious.
“Firefly” skillfully combines science fiction with a rustic Wild West flair. While “Star Wars” is a space opera, “Firefly” is a so-called space western. The plot follows the crew of the transport spaceship Serenity as they operate on the borders of settled space, which also borders on legal ambiguity. Who is in the leading role? Nathan Fillion (“The Rookie”, “Castle”) will play Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds. Unsurprisingly, it was also he who got the rumor mill churning.
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On his podcast’s Instagram account (“oncewewerespacemen”), the actor published clips in which he paid a visit to almost all of the other “Firefly” actors – each followed by a question along the lines of: “Are we doing it?”, “Has the day come?” “Is it happening?”
Basically, everything points to another season or a new movie. Nevertheless, fans initially remained skeptical and discussed alternative possibilities. For example, a podcast episode with the entire crew. But Nathan quickly put a stop to such speculation by commenting, “Some of you were guessing convention, podcast, or crossover. You’re wrong.” We’ll find out what’s really behind it on March 15.
“Firefly” Was Canceled After Just One Season
It seems paradoxical, but today’s most popular sci-fi series was canceled after just one season and 14 episodes. One reason for this could be that US broadcaster Fox skipped the first episode when the series premiered and went straight into episode 2. The pilot episode, on the other hand, was broadcast at the end of the series. And episodes 11, 12, and 13 were only broadcast a year later. Hence, it is not surprising that the ratings didn’t exactly go through the roof.
On the plus side? Unlike “The X-Files” or “Scrubs”, the story is far from over. Consequently, a second season would have plenty of room for expansion. To date, science fiction fans can watch the entire first season on Disney+ for free. In contrast, the accompanying film (yes, there is one – from the year 2025) is currently only available to rent and buy.
