A little over ten years ago there was a TV show that changed the game for science fiction on television. The title Firefly can not even be written in this article without at least one sci-fi nerd shedding a single tear for a lost gem. Created by geek demigod Joss Whedon, Firefly was a highly character-driven trip into a mash-up world of both Space Opera and Western. It showed a dirtier and more realistic look into what a spacefaring society may be like and populated the main cast with a collection of lovable and relatable scoundrels. With scheduling issues, episodes aired out of order, and a network that had little faith in it, Firefly was cancelled after 13 episodes. The show was followed by a feature length film called Serenity, because you can’t keep the Browncoats down, but ultimately Firefly was the little engine that could, but never got a fair chance. The loss of the show was tough on everyone involved, including Whedon, the show’s cast, and all of us fans.

Comedy legend Steve Allen once said that tragedy plus time equals comedy, and it seems that holds true for two members of the Serenity crew. Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion, who respectively portrayed Hoban “Wash” Washburne and Captain Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly, have taken to Indiegogo to announce a new comedy series created by Tudyk called Con Man. The official synopsis of the series, from the Indiegogo page, reads as such:

Wray Nerely (Alan Tudyk) was a co-star on Spectrum, a sci-fi series which was canceled -Too Soon- yet became a cult classic. Wray’s good friend, Jack Moore (Nathan Fillion) starred in the series and has gone on to become a major movie star. While Jack enjoys the life of an A-lister, Wray tours the sci-fi circuit as a guest of conventions, comic book stores, and lots of pop culture events.  The show will feature all the weird and crazy things that happen to Wray along the way to these events.

Well if that isn’t the most meta-humorous plot, I don’t know what is. It may seem obvious, but the concept is meant to mirror exactly what happened to both Tudyk and Fillion’s careers after the cancellation of Firefly. While Fillion was able to bounce back with a lucrative career in films like Slither and his long-running telelvision show Castle, Tudyk’s career didn’t see as much success at first. He made the round with sci-fi conventions after Firefly and Serenity, and has subsequently built a foundation of television and voice acting roles, as well as films like Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, and Tucker and Dale vs. Evil.

The campaign has a set goal for $425,000 to fund the creation of the short series. As of this writing they have already accumulated just under $1.2 million–nearly triple their goal!–but are offering more episodes and perks the higher the funding grows. So head over to the campaign page to see their pitch video, which is quite hilarious, and includes an appearance by friend-of-the-site Felicia Day. Then head down to the comment section to let us know if you are looking forward to what will undoubtedly be the most gorram meta-humor seen in a show yet. Then you can hit me up on Twitter @MattDelhauer to talk about our favorite Firefly moments.

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Con Man images from Indiegogo