Firefly: Where Are They Now 

In addition to the 25th of December being a national holiday – and many would argue the birth of Christ (although not Bones’ Dr. Temperance Brennan), a magical and wonderful thing happens on this day and the few surrounding it: television marathons galore. As any diehard Joss Whedon or Nathan Fillion fan should know, Science is marathoning Firefly starting at 6am PT / 9am PT on Christmas. Even if you’re not a fangirl or guy, you might want to know what’s happened to some of your favorite characters since the show went off the air in 2003. Let’s hit the highlights.

After playing Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds – also known as Captain Tightpants – Nathan Fillion went on to star in the short-lived Fox series Drive in 2007. He spent some time on Wisteria Lane as Dana Delaney’s younger husband Dr. Adam Mayfair on Desperate Housewives and terrorized Neal Patrick Harris (and a lot of other people) as Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog in 2008. He currently stars in Castle as the title character. His friendship with the mayor has allowed Castle to shadow NYPD detective Kate Beckett (played by the excellent Stana Katic profiled here by my TV Goodness partner Tina Charles) as research for his book but their partnership has turned into so much more. On the show we’ve seen Castle dressed briefly as Mal (such a fun moment) during Halloween. He’s also worked alongside Dana Delaney in a two-part episode. His Drive co-star Kristin Lehman made a guest appearance in 2011 as did his One Live to Life cohort Jessica Tuck.

Gina Torres played Mal’s second-in-command Zoe Washburne, a fierce fighter, loyal friend and ally, and wife to Alan Tudyk’s Wash. She’s been in high demand since the end of the show, appearing as Julia Milliken on 24, Sydney Bristow’s nemesis Anna Espinosa on Alias, and stern camp director and OA member Dorothy Rand on Huge. She’s also had more than a dozen guest starring roles over the years. She currently co-stars on Suits as managing partner Jessica Pearson at Pearson Hardman. Harvey Spector (played by the impressive Gabriel Macht, also profiled here by Tina Charles) is someone we love to see Jessica spar with. But even he knows when to back down from challenging this strong woman who’s always got his back.

Pilot Hoban “Wash” Washburne is played amusingly and winningly by Alan Tudyk. Also in high demand after the show, Alan Tudyk guested on shows such as Arrested Development, CSI, and V. He played rogue Active Alpha on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse before landing in Suburgatory as Noah Werner, dentist extraordinaire. In the pilot episode we see Tudyk rocking a speedo that shows off the orange tan he’s cultivated in the burbs.

Adam Baldwin‘s mercenary Jayne Cobb was always challenging Mal’s authority (but not his loyalty). Baldwin had an arc on Angel as creature Marcus Hamilton shortly after the series ended before staring as Special Agent ex-marine Danny Love on The Inside and later as Chad Shelten in Day Break with Taye Diggs as his former partner. He’s played John Casey on Chuck since 2007.

Morena Baccarin‘s Inara Serra rents one of Serenity’s shuttles for her work as a Companion and her presence gives the ship an air of respectability, although her relationship with Mal is very prickly. Baccarin had arcs on The O.C. and Stargate SG-1 before starring in the remake of V on ABC as Anna, Visitor Queen and High Commander who could control her subjects telepathically. She currently plays Jessica Brody, conflicted wife of a Nicholas Brody, a POW missing for eight years on the outstanding Homeland.

Summer Glau‘s River Tam, smuggled onto the ship by her brother, was a child prodigy before she was experimented on by the Alliance. Glau had arcs on The Unit, The 4400, and Dollhouse. She co-stared in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as Cameron, a terminator John Connor sent back to protect him, before co-starring in NBC’s The Cape. Recently cast in TNT’s Scent of the Missing, a drama about a K-9 Search and Rescue squad, Glau will play a new team member who’s sexy and rich.

Sean Maher‘s Surgeon and medical researcher Dr. Simon Tam gave up his career to rescue River. He guested on a number of shows like The Mentalist, Human Target, and Warehouse 13 before landing arcs on Make It or Break It as Marcus and The Playboy Club as Sean Beasley, a closeted man married to one of the bunnies, who was also gay.

Jewel Staite played Kaywinnit Lee “Kaylee” Frye, the ship’s mechanic. She fixed things more by feel and gut than from actual training and knowledge. She guested on Dead Like Me and Huff before landing an arc on Wonderfalls as Heidi Gotts, the manipulative wife of Jayne’s love interest Eric. She appeared as Dr. Jennifer Keller / Ellia on Stargate:Atlantis from 2005 until 2009. In 2011 she guest starred on Supernatural as a childhood friend and crush of Sam’s who Dean killed in the present and is currently filming Canadian series Highland Gardens, which is scheduled to premiere in 2012.

Spiritual leader Derrial Book was played by Ron Glass. He was a devout man who could be counted on in a fight and didn’t believe the bible had a specific stance on fight manuevers. Since the show ended Glass has guested on The Division, as a judge onShark, Dirty Sexy Money, and CSI: NY. He’s also done voiceover work as Randy Carmichael in All Grown Up.

Joss Whedon is best known for his groundbreaking TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also created Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and Dollhouse. He’s directed episodes of television as well as the feature film Serenity and the forthcoming Marvel film The Avengers. Alll I have to say is: If he makes it, I will watch it.

Firefly and Serenity are available on DVD, Amazon Prime, or iTunes.