Few shows define the term “cult TV favorite” as perfectly as creator Joss Whedon’s Firefly, which follows a group of outlaws traveling through the stars in a colonized solar system. The series is heralded today as one of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time – despite being cancelled in 2003 after airing 11 of its 14 produced episodes – for its unique incorporation of traditional Western elements into a space odyssey.
Luckily, fans would receive some closure in the form of the space movie favorite, Serenity – a feature-length continuation released in theaters in 2005. So, what has the Firefly cast been up to since then? Buckle up and read on to find out.
Nathan Fillion (Capt. Malcolm Reynolds)
To many, Firefly is still the best TV show starring Nathan Fillion – whose performance as Serenity’s no-nonsense captain, “Mal” Reynolds, made him a “Geek God.” He would maintain that reputation by voicing Green Lantern in many animated DC titles and stealing the show as morally corrupt superhero Captain Hammer in Joss Whedon’s musical web series, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, to name a few.
He would expand his audience as the lead of popular crime series Castle, which ran for eight seasons, and The Rookie, which has its seventh season on the way, as well as memorable recurring roles on Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet and Big Mouth (the latter of which he voices himself in). He is about to make his live-action debut as Green Lantern (the Guy Gardner version) in James Gunn’s Superman cast, which marks his latest of many collaborations with the filmmaker – including 2006’s horror-comedy movie favorite, Slither, and his two MCU roles in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Gina Torres (Zoë Washburne)
Even before playing Serenity’s first mate, Zoë, Gina Torres was already living the cult sci-fi hero lifestyle. She had recurring appearances on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and a main role on the obscure, short-lived dystopian series, Cleopatra 2525, in addition to playing Cas in The Matrix franchise the same year Firefly was cancelled.
Her career has since been blessed with an intriguing variety of projects – from voicing Wonder Woman in some animated DC ventures, to playing Jessica Pearson in USA’s Suits cast (and later leading her own spin-off in the role), and playing Arnold Weber’s wife, Lauren, on Westworld. Torres would return to network television with a main role on Fox’s 9-1-1: Lone Star, starred in a Netflix rom-com in 2023 called The Perfect Find, and her latest film, The Everything Pot, recently premiered at 2024’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Alan Tudyk (Hoban Washburne)
Another one of Firefly’s undisputed “Geek Gods” is Alan Tudyk, who broke through on the series as “Wash” – Serenity’s pilot and Zoë’s husband. This would lead to a wonderfully eclectic career of voice acting (including many Disney animated movies like the Frozen films), playing numerous DC characters in live-action and animation, and reuniting with almost all of his Firefly co-stars on Con Man – an Emmy-nominated satirical web series he also created.
The Resident Alien star is coming back as Hei Hei for 2024’s upcoming sequel, Moana 2 and is also lending his voice to the upcoming DC TV show, Creature Commandos, as Doctor Phosphorus. Also, based on Tony Gilroy’s comments to Collider, we might be able to expect to see him reprise his role from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, reprogrammed imperial droid K-2SO, in Andor Season 2 for Disney+.
Morena Baccarin (Inara Serra)
Another Firefly alum with extensive experience in things nerds love is Morena Baccarin, whose sex worker role, Inara, had a “will they, won’t they” dynamic with Mal. She would go on to play the love interest to more iconic heroes, such as Talia Al Ghul in several animated Batman movies and Wade Wilson’s beloved Vanessa, whom she is reprising in the MCU’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
The Brazilian actor has also played her fair share of heroes and villains, such as the voice of Gideon (an A.I. character from The Flash) and her leading role in NBC’s The Endgame cast as expert thief Elena Fedorova. Baccarin has another upcoming 2024 movie called Elevation on its way, as well as Greenland: Migration – a sequel to her 2020 disaster movie hit.
Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb)
Before playing Serenity’s trigger-happy mercenary Jayne Cobb, Adam Baldwin was best known for classic ‘80s movies like Full Metal Jacket and ‘90s movie favorites like Independence Day. After Firefly, he found more regular roles on series like Chuck as CIA Agent John Casey and TNT’s The Last Ship, and lent his voice to many video games – including Injustice: Gods Among Us, for which he got to play Green Lantern.
Baldwin starred in the 2021 Kurt Warner biopic, American Underdog, as Coach Allen and has reunited with some of his Firefly co-stars on the likes of Castle and 9-1-1: Lone Star. He also recently starred in the 2024 war history drama, Love, Courage, and the Battle of Bushy Run.
Jewel Staite (Kaylee Frye)
Before playing Serenity’s young mechanic, Kaylee Frye, Jewel Staite unwittingly found the perfect way to practice for Firefly’s interplanetary environment on Nickelodeon’s teen sci-fi adventure series Space Cases in the late 1990s. Sci-fi television would continue to be her bread and butter in most cases – having been cast in Stargate: Atlantis, guest starring on Legends of Tomorrow, and landing a recurring role on SyFy’s The Magicians in 2019.
Staite, more recently, found a regular role on a more grounded type of series as a member of a dysfunctional family of lawyers on the Canadian drama, Family Law. She is also starring opposite Bryan Austin Green in an upcoming feature-length thriller called Chasing Midnight.
Sean Maher (Dr. Simon Tam)
After playing Serenity’s resident doctor, Simon Tam, Sean Maher led a career path similar to his co-stars, in the sense that Firefly would remain one of his better known credits while finding more roles of a nerdy variety. For instance, he has voiced Dick Grayson (a.k.a., Nightwing) in multiple animated DC movies and starred in a couple episodes of Arrow as Shrapnel.
In 2011, Maher came out as gay (via CNN) after playing a closeted man on the short-lived series, The Playboy Club in 2011, reunited with Joss Whedon for the director’s modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing the following year, and has also reunited with the likes of Fillion on The Rookie and Tudyk on Con Man. His most recent acting credit is a scripted Stranger Things podcast spin-off called Rebel Robin: Surviving Hawkins, from 2021.
Summer Glau (River Tam)
Being a lifelong ballet dancer helped Summer Glau earn her first job as a dancer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s acclaimed spin-off, Angel. She would be able to use those skills in a different way when Whedon cast her on Firefly as Simon’s intellectually gifted, but socially challenged sister, River.
The fan-favorite role led her to play more ass-kicking characters – including a cyborg named Cameron on another short-lived, but much-loved TV show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a supervillain on Arrow, and a larper who must fight an actual demon in the 2013 fantasy comedy, Knights of Badassdom. Glau’s most recent acting credit is Netflix’s Wu Assassins from 2019, but as she insinuated in a video shared on YouTube by a paparazzi, the mother of two is putting most of her attention into family these days.
Ron Glass (Shepherd Derrial Book)
When Ron Glass got his first acting job as a guest on All In the Family in 1973, some of his Firefly co-stars had not even been born yet. Prior to playing Shepherd Derrial Book – whom you could call Serenity’s resident chaplain – the actor rose to prominence from 1975-1982 in his Emmy-nominated role on the funny, classic TV mystery series, Barney Miller.
Most modern audiences not familiar with Firefly may recognize his voice as Susie Carmichael’s father in Rugrats and All Grown Up or God’s cousin, Rod, on ABC’s short-lived Teen Angel. His more recent notable roles include the 2010 remake of Death at a Funeral (the original of which starred Tudyk) and a reunion with Whedon on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2014, but sadly, Glass has since passed away in 2016, at the age of 71, due to respiratory failure.
There has actually been much talk of a Firefly revival off and on for years, which may not be the same without Shepherd or Washburne (both of whom died in Serenity). However, for fans who wish to see more than the 14 episodes available to stream with a Hulu subscription and Serenity, it would be a dream come true.
