Update 02/26/25 – This article was written and scheduled before the announcement of the death of Michelle Trachtenberg. We at Couch Soup are devastated by the loss of Michelle at such a young age. Rest In Peace Michelle.
Buffy is back y’all!!!!!
That’s right, a revival, reboot, continuation, or remake is in the works at Hulu, according to Buffy Anne Summers herself (yes, that is her middle name), Sarah Michelle Gellar. Via Instagram, she confirmed that she is working with Chloe Zhao and Nora and Lilla Zuckerman on a follow-up to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, by extension, Angel.
This is HUGE F*CKING NEWS! SMG has never even suggested that this could be a thing before. She has had little to no interest in revisiting her iconic 90s character in any sort of way since the series ended in 2003. Hell, she didn’t even return the VERY NEXT YEAR for Angel’s final season, where they had to use a body double!
I’m not going to lie; I was (and still am) a huge Buffy fan. It’s one of the very first fandoms I became a part of. I even wrote for a Buffy fansite (my username was NerdyKnox after the dude from Angel Season 5… and I realise I’ve lost the little cool points I had scrounged together right now). So, believe me, I’m freaking hyped! And you should be, too!
Here’s why.
Her Buffyness, the Chosen One, the girl who died twice: Buffy. The show was called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for Glory’s sake. A revival wouldn’t be the same without the show’s lead, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Now she’s confirmed that she’s behind the project, I am exponentially more excited.
There have been spin-off continuations in the past, like the Buffy Season 8 graphic novel and the Slayers podcast which boasted a terrific cast including James Marsters, Juliet Landau, Amber Benson and Emma Caulfield. However, as big of a fan as I am, I didn’t return to the franchise for those installments. It wasn’t the same.
Now OG Buffy’s back, I’m all in!
The writer and director of Nomadland and Eternals, Chloe Zhao is fronting this revival. That’s OSCAR WINNING DIRECTOR, Chloe Zhao, helming the project. I’m not saying Academy Awards are the indicator of talent, but it’s a good sign, right?
You might point to Eternals as a blotch on her report card, but if you watch that movie with an open mind, there are definitely things to love about it. And let’s face it; there were so many characters to introduce and a massive timeline to cover in that film that any writer would have had a really tough job in bringing it all together. I think it was a serviceable introduction to the MCU, and I’m one of the few people who is itching to see the likes of Sersi (Gemma Chan) again.
I’m excited to see what Zhao can come up with for this reboot. It feels weird, though. Having an Oscar-winning director and Buffy in the same sentence is bizarro-world. But I’m here for it.
Now for the Zuckermans: Nora and Lilla. Rian Johnson’s show starring Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face, is freaking excellent. It’s sort of a mix between Columbo and The A-Team, where an on-the-run Lyonne finds herself embroiled in murder investigation after murder investigation, helping out folks in towns across the country while trying to stay beneath her pursuer’s radar. Nora and Lilla executive produced the show, and that’s a very good sign.
They also have a good pedigree in supernatural shows, too. Previous projects have included Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Haven, starring the wonderful (friend of the channel) Emily Rose. Look, I’m not 100% sure what an executive producer does, nor whether you can look at their previous projects to assess their caliber. I hope you can, though, because it’s a very good sign.
The finale is twenty years old, but here goes. SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!!
Ready?
OK. The final season of Buffy resulted in two things: 1) the hellmouth in Sunnydale (the source of all of the evil and kookiness in town) was destroyed, the whole town being swallowed with it, and 2) EVERY potential Vampire Slayer became one thanks to Willow being an absolute boss-b*tch. Goodbye Chosen One, and hello ARMY OF SLAYERS! Lore has been turned upside-down, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!
What’s exciting, therefore, is that this is uncharted territory. It’s likely that we won’t be anywhere near Sunnydale in a revival series (unless the town rebuilds itself somehow from out of the crater it became), and there are tons of opportunities to explore stories from different Slayers around the world. Buffy could even take up Giles’ role as mentor and confidante. You know, as long as she’s stopped hanging around with The Immortal in Italy.
Douche.
In the 90s and 2000s, vampire content was abundant and overdone. We had Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight and a bunch of other ones that I can’t quite recall. However, that vein has run a little dry in recent years, giving way to the zombie craze when The Walking Dead came around.
You might point to things like What We Do in the Shadows, but you know that’s not the same. I’m ready for a higher quality CW-like extremely attractive young person show about vampires, saving the world, and teen drama. I miss the fanged monsters with the silly foreheads and how Mr. Pointy pierces their hearts, exploding them into dust. I miss the potential of multi-episode arcs with the charismatic undead who have thought themselves untouchable.
But most of all, I’m ready to jump back into the world of the Slayers. Aren’t you?
