Entertainment
Firefly Is Coming Back In The Best Way Possible
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
At the 2026 AwesomeCon in Washington D.C., history was made during the Once We Were Spacemen podcast panel. Nathan Fillion, co-host of the podcast alongside Alan Tudyk, announced to the assembled nerds that Firefly is coming back as an animated series.
While no one thought we’d ever actually get more Firefly outside of the comic books, the news was made even better: the original cast is returning. Yes, that includes Alan Tudyk, since the upcoming series between the end of the 2001 series and Serenity, the animated series, will include Wash.
Getting the Band Back Together
For the last few weeks leading up to the AwesomeCon panel, Nathan Fillion has been releasing teaser videos walking up to his old co-stars’ homes and saying, “It’s time.” Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, and, of course, Alan Tudyk, all appeared in the social media clips. Sadly, Ron Glass, who played Shepared Book, passed away in 2016. He’d be right there with the rest of the crew.
The only notable absence is series creator Joss Whedon, who has nothing to do with the upcoming project as his Hollywood exile is still in effect following multiple #MeToo accusations and the disastrous Justice League production. Instead, the upcoming Firefly animated series is being run by Marc Guggenheim, one of the masterminds behind Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, and Tara Butters, known for Marvel’s Agent Carter and the cult hit comedy series, Reaper. Given their pedigree, the show already appears to be in good hands, but then there’s the animated studio, Shadow Machine, which you might recognize from BoJack Horseman, Clone High, and Robot Chicken.
An Animated Series Avoids The Legacy Reboot Trap
Firefly’s return, 21 years after Serenity, is a huge surprise to the legion of fans, who refer to themselves as browncoats after the same rebel army Mal and Zoey fought for against the Alliance. After years of false starts, video games that never materialized, and the continued success of the cast keeping them too busy to ever make a reunion possible, all hope had been lost. An animated series may not be ideal to some, but it’s the best possible outcome for a revival series.
The death of Wash in Serenity would complicate a sequel series, and if it were a live-action series set 20 years later to explain why everyone looks older, that’s 20 years of off-screen story development. No series could satisfy fans by filling in decades of information that long after the fact. There’s no connection to any of it, no emotional stakes, and it would literally be a history lesson.
An animated Firefly gives us the young characters that the fans know and love from the short-lived series, and doesn’t have to explain why Wash is back in the pilot’s chair. The choice also allows River to move like the anime character she was already meant to be. It’s better this way than a live-action legacy series that never gets off the ground. There’s currently no release date for the new Firefly animated series.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for May 9, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
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If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
Bubbly.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
PERKY
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Hurdle Word 2 hint
To accumulate.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
AMASS
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Hurdle Word 3 hint
A kink.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
CRICK
Hurdle Word 4 hint
A beer.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
LAGER
Final Hurdle hint
Harmony.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
AMITY
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for May 9, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you have a green thumb.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Garden varieties
The words are related to plants.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe garden crops.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Spring Veggie.
NYT Strands word list for May 9
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Asparagus
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Artichoke
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Onion
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Lettuce
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Radish
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Spring Veggie
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 9, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you have great style.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
A soft fabric.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter S.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
SATIN
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
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