Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Firefly has been sucked into the big black hole of cancellation.

The official word from the show's home, the Fox network, is that the series in on hiatus, but Executive Producer Tim Minear revealed on Friday that the break would be a permanent one.

"We did get word tonight, Fox won't be ordering any new episodes," revealed Tim on his web site. "That translates to 'cancelled.'

"Joss came down to the set to break the bad news to cast and crew - we wrapped early, but are back at it in the AM), we'll finish post on all episodes, and Fox says they're going to somehow air all episodes."

"Obviously we're very disappointed because we love the show and think it's one of the best TV shows on the air," added Chris Buchanan, president of Joss Whedon's company, Mutant Enemy. "We will be exploring every possible way to keep the show on the air, whether it's on Fox or another network."