WhileFireflynotoriously lasted just one season before it was canceled, the cast of the cult show are sci-fi icons.Fireflyis set in the year 2517 and centers on the spaceship called Serenity, with a crew who fought on the losing side of a civil war and now make a living doing small jobs, often illegal. The series is essentially a Western, set in space, and includes popular tropes from both the Western and sci-fi genres.Fireflyfought an uphill battle from the start, but a large part of its legacy is due to the performances of its main and supporting actors.
Thecast ofFireflyis widely regarded as one of thebest ensemble sci-fi castsof all time. After the show became a cult classic,all nine of the main actors in the cast returned to film the spinoff movie,Serenity, which gave audiences an ending to the story.Most of the main actors then went on to star in other sci-fi genre TV shows and movies, and still appear at sci-fi conventions today. Many of Serenity’s crew regularly appear together when they make cameo appearances in each other’s shows, which often include Easter eggs referencingFirefly.
Nathan Fillion, known for playing the rebellious Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds inFirefly, portrays a very different kind of man inThe Rookie, in which he is John Nolan, the LAPD’s oldest new agent. The show is based on a true story and while Fillion is the main character, there are otherFireflyactors inThe Rookie. This includes Sean Maher, who plays the mild-mannered doctor Simon Tam inFirefly.Fans gaveThe Rookiean 8.0 rating on IMDb, and reviews praised Fillion’s performancein the crime procedural show. Nathan Fillion also went on to produce the spinoff series,The Rookie: Feds.
Of all theFireflyactors, Alan Tudyk has had one of the most prolific careers,including a role inStar Wars.YetResident Alienfeatures one ofAlan Tudyk’s all-time best characters. The sci-fi comedy-drama is about a shapeshifting alien, played by Tudyk, who crash lands into a small town and takes on the appearance of the local doctor.Resident Alienis hilarious, showcasing Tudyk’s talents as both a comedic and dramatic actor; it also features the action legend Linda Hamilton. Tudyk mostly takes on voice acting projects nowadays but appears onscreen inResident Alien, which is arguably his best TV show.
Gina Torres is excellent as the stoic Zoe Washburne inFirefly, but while many sci-fi actors are typecast, she has played a wide range of characters in her TV shows. Despite her relatively small role inHannibal, it is her best TV project.Hannibalis visually stunning and expands the world of the terrifying cannibal psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter, who is played here by Mads Mikkelsen. Torres, meanwhile, portrays the secretive and tense Phyllis “Bella” Crawford, who is Jack Crawford’s terminally ill wife. She has a major part in one of the most tragicHannibalscenes that made audiences cry.
Serenity’s mechanic, Kaylee, is one of the most popular characters fromFirefly,but the show did not give Jewel Staite much chance to show her dramatic range. On the other hand,The Killingis a compelling TV show, showcasing more of Staite’s acting skills. It is much darker thanFireflyand follows a detective as she solves a string of murders. Fans of police procedural shows may loveThe Killingas it breaks the usual genre format by having story arcs that last a season rather than an episode. Staite plays Caroline Swift, an understated character who is often the voice of reason.
Summer Glau plays similar characters in bothFireflyandTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. River and Cameron are both extremely dangerous and are being manipulated by outside forces. While River has been engineered byFirefly’s disturbing government entity, Cameron is a reprogrammed Terminator. Glau playsthe most advanced Terminator model in the franchisebut shows glimpses of her growing humanity throughout the series.While recent movies in theTerminatorfranchise have mostly received mediocre ratings,The Sarah Connor Chroniclesis a great TV show that was canceled before its timebut still has an audience rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sean Maher has been voicing Nightwing in theTeen Titansuniverse since 2014, but his best TV show only features him in one episode.Warehouse 13ran for five seasonsand focuses on a government warehouse housing dangerous artifacts. The show is an older sci-fi series with a similar format toThe X-Files, and mostly still holds up today.Warehouse 13is both funny and frightening, sometimes within one episode, and features some other major sci-fi actors.Maher stars in the episode “Mild Mannered,” which givesFireflyfans an Easter eggby teaming him up with Jewel Staite, hisFireflylove interest.
Barney Miller, a police drama show about the daily lives of detectives, was one of the defining police procedurals of the 1970s.In a similar way toBrooklyn 99,Barney Milleris character-driven, and both emotional and comedic. The show launched the careers of many of its actors, including Ron Glass, who starred in 164 episodes two decades beforeFireflywas made. Glass portrays the fiction writer and detective, Ron Harris, and appears throughout the series. ManyBarney Harriscast members have since died, and Ron Glass sadly passed away of respiratory failure in 2016, aged 71.
Mad Menis not just one ofChristina Hendricks' best TV shows, it is often regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Along with Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Christina Hendricks steals each scene she is in as the secretary and office manager, Joan Holloway. WhileHendricks' characters are extremely different inFireflyandMad Men, both are underestimated, and they use this to their advantage. Joan was Hendrick’s breakout role, as she only appeared in twoFireflyepisodes. AdditionallyMad Menhas a 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards.
Morena Baccarin’s first major role was as the companion Inara Serra inFirefly, and she has since become a major part of the Marvel universe as Deadpool’s fiancée Vanessa. That said,Morena Baccarin’s best TV showis stillHomeland. The show is a crime drama series full of suspense and revolves around the possibility of a conspiracy to enact terrorism in America. WhileHomelandis best known for Claire Danes' performance, Baccarin is also outstanding as Jessica Brody, whose husband appears to have returned from the dead. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role.
While Adam Baldwin’s most recent TV success isThe Last Ship, a better TV show featuring theFireflyactor is the action-comedy seriesChuck. Baldwin plays the tough and no-nonsense NSA agent John Casey, who is a much more loyal asset to his team than Jayne Cobb was inFirefly. That said, like Jayne, his character is both intense and funny, and the show gave Baldwin a greater range to work within than he had inFirefly.Chuckwas famous for its cameos, some of which involved sci-fi genre legends, and the show has a 92% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
