The show is called “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale,” but Buffy Ann Summers barely makes an appearance. Rather than revolve around Buffy, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, the filming draft of the show’s pilot episode, written by sisters Nora and Lila Zuckerman and obtained by Variety, introduces an entirely new character and, importantly, a new Slayer, a 16-year-old high school student named Nova (Ryan Keira Armstrong). In the Zuckermans’ original draft of the pilot, Buffy appears only at the end, teaming up.
A closer look at director Chloé Zhao’s script may provide a hint as to why Hulu passed on the show. The show has caused an ongoing uproar online from “Buffy” fans eager to see their favorite characters return to television. Director Zhao, who won an Oscar for “Nomadland,” returned to the arthouse world with last year’s “Hamnet,” after receiving mixed reviews for 2021’s “Eternals.” Sources told Variety that her take on Buffy may not have been mainstream enough for Hulu, but Geller disputes this, saying it’s because the streamer’s executives weren’t familiar with the source material.
But back to the pilot. During the writing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, Nova, described as a “smart introvert,” discovers that she is the Slayer. And the people of Sunnydale know the myth of what the Slayer is thanks to events that happened to the town during Buffy’s time. Set during a Renaissance Faire-like “Vampire Weekend” celebrating the town’s questionable history, Nova defeats two real vampires after being given powers. By the end of the episode, the previously friendless Nova has the new Scooby gang on her side, using “Buffy” terminology. The script contains hints about what’s to come. Her father, a photojournalist, is overprotective and has moved the family frequently since Nova was kidnapped when she was a child. And when the Hellmouth collapsed in the 2003 series finale, taking Sunnydale with it, all the vampires Buffy had buried were awakened. Nova will do the job perfectly for her.
The original script for Buffy only has one line. After the Sunnydale story ends, the story shifts to a “beautiful fall day” in New York City, where a “woman in a pantsuit” enters the office building of a multinational insurance company. “She looks smart, professional, and happy to be one of the many in the cubicle field,” the stage directions say, and her nameplate reads “Ann Summers.” When one of her co-workers chides her for not wanting to be late for a morning meeting, Buffy says, “No…I don’t want that.” (“Buffy” fans can imagine how Geller would say this line.)
Luckily, Buffy is just an anonymous drone locked in a cubicle, living a normal human life. This life choice makes some kind of sense, considering how conflicted she was about being chosen by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, as the show says, carrying the burden of saving the world in a big way. But Buffy’s peace didn’t last long. During her morning meeting on her work computer, her e-mail inbox begins to flood with insurance claims from Sunnydale, California.
On paper, there’s nothing quite as slam-dunk as Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale. Hulu was reviving Joss Whedon’s iconic “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which aired for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003 and is considered one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Somehow, those involved figured out how to do it without Whedon, who was considered too toxic to hire after his career was hampered by abuse allegations. And most importantly, Geller is finally – finally! — She agreed to reprise her role as Buffy after being persuaded by Oscar-winning director Chao, who directed the pilot. What’s the problem with Geller and Zhao, who professes a love for Buffy and says he “watches it religiously,” serving as stewards?
But on Saturday morning, Geller announced a shocking update: She posted on Instagram that the project had been canceled, saying in a video: “I’m really sad to have to share this, but I want to tell everyone that I… Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with Buffy: The New Sunnydale.” Geller has since become more direct, praising Chao and criticizing Hulu. “We had an executive on our show who took pride in not only not being a fan of the original, but never watching the entire series and constantly reminding us how much it didn’t work for him,” she told People magazine on Monday. “It’s very hard to come by something as beloved as ‘Buffy,’ not only around the world, but also for me and Chloe. I mean, for a company executive to literally be so proud to tell you he didn’t see it speaks to the uphill battle that we’ve been fighting since day one.”
Variety has confirmed that the executive Geller lashed out at is Craig Erwich, the head of Hulu Originals and, at the time of his promotion Monday, also the director of 20th Television, which produced the show with Searchlight Television.
On Wednesday, a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson issued a statement expressing support for Geller, Chao, and Gail Berman, one of the architects of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer and executive producer of the revival. “We have had a long and very successful relationship with Chloe, Sarah and Gail. Their track record speaks for itself and they are great partners,” the statement said. “Our decision not to proceed with a series order does not reflect our respect and admiration for the creative team, including Lila and Nora.”
A source close to the show tells Variety that the pilot ultimately proved irredeemable. A recent rewrite of The Zuckerman Family (with notes to feature more Buffy and make the show more mature) wasn’t enough to turn things around, in Hulu’s estimation. Given the high bar fans have set for such a revered series, Hulu executives felt it wasn’t worth throwing good money at bad results and pulled the plug on the service.
Buffy fans have been clamoring for updates since the pilot was filmed last summer, but with a deadline set to make a decision by the end of last week, Geller told People she had the unfortunate experience of getting the bad news just as she was about to take the stage at the SXSW premiere of “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.”
Pilot problems seem to be wide-ranging. A source close to the pair told Variety that despite her love for the original series, Chao proved to be a bad fit for Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The New Sunnydale. Chao won two Oscars as director and producer for 2020’s “Nomadland” and is known for her gorgeous, almost journalistic filmmaking. After directing the Marvel movie “The Eternals,” Zhao was nominated for two Academy Awards this year for directing “Hamnet” and co-writing the screenplay with Maggie O’Farrell.
Sources said Mr. Zhao’s incredible skills as a director were not suited to a TV pilot that required a lot of exposition. Sources say the pilot would have had to be reshot anyway due to lack of filming and no interviews. According to sources, the actors who play the new characters, who need to make a strong impression when they appear, did not perform well. Armstrong, the new Slayer, has a very young appearance (she turned 16 on March 10), which contributed to the company as a whole being too young for the role.
But for her part, both in her original post and in her interview with People magazine, Geller identified herself with Zhao and expressed her gratitude, adding that she had gained new insight into Buffy thanks to him. “Chloe has reminded me how much I love her and how much she means to you, not just me,” Geller told People magazine. “Chloe and I feel the same way. We’re disappointed. We don’t want to disappoint our fans.”
That respect is clearly mutual. In an interview with Variety’s Ramin Setoude on Sunday’s Oscars red carpet, Chao said he wasn’t surprised by Hulu’s acceptance, but added, “The entire cast and crew worked together and had an incredible time with Sarah. And most of all, we consider ourselves the guardians of original programming.” In the interview, Zhao also dodged a question about how much screen time Gellar had in the pilot.
A spokesperson for Mr. Zhao declined to comment. A representative for Mr. Geller did not respond to a request for comment.
It’s a mystery why Buffy’s absence from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot wasn’t flagged as a potential problem in the first place. But sources say Hulu is still hopeful that a new creative team can bring the show back in the future. However, one well-placed source close to the show said that while the pilot process wasn’t any more difficult than other TV show launches, it was ultimately made “even more difficult” by Hulu, who “didn’t really know what they wanted.”
The source told Variety that other distributors are also interested in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.” However, the IP is owned by 20th, and Hulu has shown no intention of letting go of the show.
Whether Geller will rejoin without Zao is another question — especially since she’s been scorched earth with Erwich and Hulu, and a spokesperson for Geller didn’t respond to a direct email with that question. At this time, there is no conversation about what will happen next. Every generation has a chosen one who stands up against the forces of darkness, but so far that chosen one has been sent back to development hell.
Matt Donnelly contributed to this report.
