Yes, this hindsight data is confirming the already well-known: 1. firefly was a fan favourite, and 2. cult classics tend to be science-fiction or mysteries. It

Yes, this hindsight data is confirming the already well-known: 1. firefly was a fan favourite, and 2. cult classics tend to be science-fiction or mysteries. It doesn't illustrate how the decision-making was flawed at the time, and therefore does little to inform decision-making in the future. Much more interesting (and true to the title used here) would be finding the regressions between subsequent cult-classic status and data points that either were, or might've been, or would be (had it been produced today) available at the time. (I'd expect that Netflix is correlating vastly more data points about audience behaviour than we know about. Short- and long-term responses to plot elements & twists, pacing strategies, classifications of dialogue and modes of storytelling, presence of archetypes &c &c, should all be on their agenda.)