What Do I Want From the 'Buffy' Reboot?
Besides, of course, slaying.
When news first broke that a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot starring Sarah Michelle Gellar was on the fast-track to production, I jumped.
It’s been 23 years since we last checked in with our Slayer. In our final moments with her, we watched as a smile began to form on her face after she witnessed her home, her entire town and her lover being sucked into hell, but had ultimately survived yet another apocalypse with the very real possibility that she could retire and live the “normal life” she’d always yearned for. Maybe she’ll finally pursue figure skating or finish her college degree or date someone with a heartbeat. The possibilities really seemed endless. I never held out any hope we’d realize any of these possible outcomes both because the show was over and because (and you can read about this in my book) I don’t think many of those involved in the original series were keen for more. Add to that creator Joss Whedon becoming a Hollywood pariah and Buffy, long regarded as one of the best television series of all time, seemed best positioned as a fond memory.
But this is 2025, and the industry is increasingly risk averse, and thus what is old is often, exhaustively, new again. And thus a new Buffy, this one with the promise of Academy Award-winner Chloe Zhao set to direct the pilot and Poker Face scribes Nora and Lilla Zuckerman penning the script. I’ll admit, I’m not up out of my chair in anticipation of a Buffy reboot on paper. I’ve seen And Just Like That, Gossip Girl (2021) and Mad About You (2018) and know how this story ends. On the other hand, if we have Sarah Michelle Gellar available, and she’s looking this good, it feels like a missed opportunity to not at least try.
So if we’re getting a Buffy reboot, here’s what I want to see.