Having only run for one season back in 2002, against all odds, best supernatural teen drama of all time.

Despite being beloved decades later, Firefly was prematurely cancelled, failing to even make it to the end of season 1 before Fox pulled the plug, leaving three episodes unaired until they were broadcast in the UK a year later. While Firefly charted its own path as a space western, it never really clicked with the general audience, and landed short of the massive expectations Whedon had for the series. In a lot of ways, it feels like the writing was on the wall for Firefly from the very beginning.

The Cast Of Firefly Had To Pay For Their Lunches – And That Wasn't A Good Sign

Firefly Had A Strange Production

Despite the talent involved, it seems like Fox was never fully on board with Firefly from the beginning, failing to generate a lot of interest with marketing that didn't match the tone of the show, and one specific thing that wasn't quite right during the production of the series. In a retrospective look at Firefly for its 15th anniversary in 2017, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with several cast about the series, and Hoban Washburne actor Alan Tudyk opened up about a random tidbit that separated the production from anything else he had done, stating:

This was a terrible sign right from the start: Fox made us pay for our lunches. We’d have to go to the commissary to buy it and that wasn’t worked into the schedule, so we had to make it over there and eat in costume sometimes. Which was very weird. I’ve never had that experience again on anything else I’ve done.

Catering is an integral part of a television or film production and the fact that the cast had to pay for their own lunches, as well as having to work eating into their already packed schedules, shows that Fox most likely didn't have a lot of faith in it from the start, if they were trying to cut budget corners with something such as important as food. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't the most drastic offense, but it was definitely a bad sign from the beginning, as Tudyk put it eloquently.

Firefly's Uphill Battle For Ratings Explained: Did The Show Ever Have A Chance?

Fox Never Seemed To Have Faith In Firefly

While the concept of Firefly in general could be a tough sell for the general audience, it really feels like the show never stood a chance, as Fox seemed primed to sabotage it every chance that they had. Perhaps the biggest reason that Firefly failed to reach a sizable audience is due to the bizarre decision to air the first three episodes out of order, as the network didn't think the two-hour pilot, "Serenity," was unsuitable as the opening episode. As a result, "The Train Job" was specifically created to act as the new pilot.

It's the classic case of a network wanting immediate success rather than hoping to build a sustained fanbase.

This made the plot of Firefly initially harder to follow than originally intended, which ended up pushing audiences away, and Fox cancelled the series due to low ratings, before the final three episodes were even released. It's the classic case of a network wanting immediate success rather than hoping to build a sustained fanbase, and the series ended up falling apart quickly because of it. Alan Tudyk's story about how Fox approached the production shows that the writing was on the wall from the beginning.

Firefly's Longstanding Legacy Proves The Show Deserved Much Better

Firefly Has Sustained A Cult Following

Despite its disastrous initial run, and falling short of the original seven-season plan Whedon had for it, Firefly has become a success story in its own special way, as it is a staple of cult television. It's carved out a legacy that also includes a follow-up 2005 sequel film titled Serenity, which was actually Whedon's feature directorial debut. The cast of Firefly are beloved and have all made a name for themselves outside the franchise.

Firefly has been referenced in a variety of projects over the years, including The Big Bang Theory and Community.

All this to say, the lasting legacy of Firefly shows that the series deserved so much better than being left out for dead from the very beginning. Sometimes a series needs a bit of time to find not only its footing, but also its audience, which is exactly what Firefly needed and never received. Despite everything working against it, though, Firefly has persevered for two decades, and is more beloved than ever.