Into each generation, a Slayer is born. Sometimes, she looks a little familiar.
The news that Hulu is developing a sequel to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the iconic WB series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as a pint-sized blonde battler of the forces of darkness and one of the best TV shows of all time, was met with surprise earlier this month. Previous attempts to revisit or reboot the iconic series, based on a much less iconic 1992 movie of the same name, never got much traction. But with Gellar willing to return in a new project that would see Buffy Summers appear but likely take a backseat to a new Slayer, it feels like we’re closer than ever before to revisiting Sunnydale (metaphorically speaking, anyway, since the closing of the Hellmouth destroyed the town in the series finale).
It’s still early days; the project, which comes from writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman and Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao (embattled series creator Joss Whedon is not involved), hasn’t even been given a pilot order. Gellar herself has noted the development process is far from over and the series will only be made if “we know we can do it right.” None of this has stopped fans from breaking out their yummy sushi pajamas, of course. The pull of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” a significant feminist work, at a time when women’s rights and freedoms are being stripped and when the darkness of our current political climate feels suffocating, is strong. This would arguably be the best possible time to do it. And yet I can’t help but think about the last time Hulu revived a beloved UPN series (“Buffy’s” final two seasons aired on UPN after five years on The WB) about a petite blonde fighting the forces of evil in a seemingly idyllic Southern California town.
“Veronica Mars” was the little show that could, the cult property that beat the odds and kickstarted the now familiar Hollywood trend of TV revivals when passionate fans donated to fund a 2014 feature film that was followed five years later by an eight-episode fourth season. Much can be learned from that experiment; Marshmallows thought it would be epic, an adventure spanning years (though probably not continents), and in a sad way, they were right, as lives were ruined by bloodshed. Season 4 was a betrayal of trust so deep it killed any fan desire for another outing. So, as we anticipate a possible new chapter in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” history — the first canonical non-comic continuation since the series’ spin-off “Angel” ended in 2004 — it’s important to consider not only how to avoid making the same mistakes, but how to make a worthwhile follow-up to one of pop culture’s best and most beloved titles.
First up: Know your audience
Rob Thomas revealed he fundamentally misunderstood what kept Marshmallows coming back.
Initial reactions to “Veronica Mars” Season 4 were positive; stars Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, and Jason Dohring stepped back into their fan-favorite roles with ease, while a parade of Neptune’s finest were viewed as welcome additions rather than unnecessary distractions (they could never make me hate you, Dick Casablancas). The season’s overarching mystery ultimately fizzled out as the narrative approached its climax, but this was forgiven in light of the growth Veronica was making in her life and relationships, specifically her romance with the well-adjusted and reformed bad boy Logan Echolls (Dohring). And then it all came crashing down when series creator Rob Thomas killed Logan in a stunning act of violence, a misguided attempt to shock the audience, harden his eponymous sleuth, and force her out of her hometown and on the road.
Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring in "Veronica Mars" (Hulu)A bitter PI is a hallmark of noir, but by taking his heroine down this path Thomas revealed he fundamentally misunderstood what kept Marshmallows coming back. As a result, he lost his audience and thus his opportunity to tell the additional stories he had envisioned. For a series like “Buffy,” which remains one of the most influential shows ever made (“Veronica Mars” is a clear successor), knowing the values held dear by its core audience of late Gen X and elder millennials is the key to any new version’s success. While “Veronica Mars” fans valued Logan and what he came to represent for Veronica — the ability to overcome trauma and trust issues, to let go of anger and begin to grow — what matters to “Buffy” fans is less about the character’s romantic partners and what they mean to her journey (sorry to Angel and Spike), and more about what Buffy Summers represents.
On a micro level, the physical monsters Buffy and the Scooby Gang faced during the show’s seven-season run were clever metaphors for universally understood coming-of-age horrors. On a macro level, they represented the challenges of being a woman in a traditional patriarchal society. Buffy’s defiance of the Watchers’ Council in Season 3 and her later defeat of the incorporeal being known as the First Evil in the final season are perhaps the most obvious examples of rejection of the status quo, and there are countless examples of how an adult Buffy might continue this particular fight in the hellscape of 2025. But this new series isn’t meant to be just the next chapter of Buffy’s life, which brings us to our next point.
Understand the story you’re telling
Too many revivals attempt to merely recreate the beats of the original series, believing they can get by on goodwill and fan nostalgia, forgetting that growth and change are key to survival. Veronica herself had stagnated emotionally and was still struggling with long-standing trust issues. She remained jaded by the way the town of Neptune had turned on her and her father in the wake of her best friend’s murder when she was in high school. Thomas understood that he needed to move Veronica forward in Season 4, he just didn’t understand he didn’t need to tear down the series and his heroine to do it.
What matters to “Buffy” fans is less about the character’s romantic partners and what they mean to her journey (sorry to Angel and Spike).
The good news for the “Buffy” sequel is that it’s not a traditional revival. Based on what little information is available, the new series is seemingly meant to follow a new Slayer, with Gellar taking on a recurring role. The most obvious path forward would be for Buffy to step into a mentorship position à la Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). We saw glimmers of this in Season 7 when potential Slayers arrived in Sunnydale and bunked at the Summers house in the lead-up to the battle with the First. But although she had already died twice and had taken on the role of counselor at Sunnydale High, Buffy was still a young woman feeling her way through the world in Season 7. In her own words, she was “not done baking.” And while she reluctantly became a leader of an army of young Slayers, it wasn’t easy — hell, they staged a coup and put Faith (Eliza Dushku) in charge at one point — but they did eventually follow when they saw her persevere and lead the only way she knew how: by being herself and refusing to back down from a fight.
The new series could and probably should build on this idea. But it needs to remember it is also meant to be a new story – for while the core audience would include the same fans who came of age alongside Buffy, Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) and Anya (Emma Caulfield Ford) – any new series also needs to appeal to younger generations to survive in a competitive, non-linear viewing environment. There is likely no need to reinvent the wheel — the horrors of young adulthood are much the same as they always were — but the digital/social media age has certainly unlocked a new set of fears and insecurities (the Willow of “I, Robot . . . You, Jane” would be shocked by the torment today’s teens experience).
The cast of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer": Anthony Stewart Head, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green, Nicholas Brendon and Charisma Carpenter (Getty Images/ Warner Bros.)Of course, there is one major difference that would need to be addressed in any new “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” series, as the chosen one became many by the series’ end. By unlocking the latent power of all Slayers, Buffy and Willow changed the series’ mythology as well as the fabric of the world, one whose rules had been determined by men thousands of years prior without consent. This development also further underscored the show’s central tenet that anyone can be a hero. What made Buffy unique as a Slayer was always the found family of the Scoobies who proved time and again that one didn’t need super strength or magical powers to save the world (a theme that every supernatural teen drama that came after would also put to use), but this is an opportunity to see exactly how Buffy’s and Willow’s actions in the finale altered the landscape of humanity’s fight against darkness. This would give the show another reason to exist beyond simple nostalgia, but it’s hardly the only piece of the complicated “Buffy” puzzle the sequel ought to remember.
Don’t forget what came before
This seems obvious, but one of the more egregious flaws of “Veronica Mars” was the revival’s erasure of progress for supporting characters like Eli “Weevil” Navarro (Francis Capra), a gang member who, like Veronica, was an outcast in a town split along class lines. In high school, their common enemy made them not exactly friends, but friendly enough that Weevil helped Veronica when she asked and was around enough to become a fan favorite. While wealthy (and white) characters like Logan were allowed to evolve and atone for their mistakes, Weevil was not afforded such freedom. Though he had gotten his life on track by the events of the film, he had reverted to a life of crime by the time we caught up with him in the revival, resulting in hostility and disappointment from Veronica.
As Buffy once said, this is about power — who has it, and who doesn’t.
The novels released in the intervening years between the film and revival touch on Weevil’s story, but it made for a jarring watch for the fans who did not follow along on the page. Regardless, the animosity that underscored his relationship with Veronica in Season 4 was a disservice to the character (and thus the fans) even if one can also read Weevil returning to gang life as a commentary on the never-ending class and power struggles that defined life in Neptune, as well as the unequal expectations of people of color. While it seems unlikely many supporting and/or tertiary characters from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will appear in a new series (or appear all that often), remembering what came before — and honoring it — is imperative with a show as beloved as this one.
Of course, the one hiccup in this is that there have been multiple seasons of canonical comics since the show went off the air in 2003. It remains to be seen whether these adventures, which feature everything from Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) becoming a giant, then a centaur and then a living doll, to a spirit with Anya’s memories haunting Xander, will still be considered canon in the sequel. However, with a story focused on a new Slayer, it should not be as much of an issue as it would be if this were a straight revival, which finally brings us to our last point.
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Embrace the freedom afforded by a new creative team
The road to new episodes is long and winding, and it might eventually disappear into the proverbial darkness the way previous attempts to revisit “Buffy” did. But if the powers that be, including Gellar, the Zuckermans, Zhao and executive producer Gail Berman, are able to avoid the pitfalls of those that came before, everything should be five by five. That the main creative team is largely new to the Buffyverse and does not include Whedon is a powerful asset, not just because of the past abuse allegations but because it eliminates the possibility of a creator’s limited viewpoint.
It was ultimately Thomas’ inability to see beyond his own interpretation of the characters he created, to accept that what he envisioned and what the viewing public wanted did not align, that led to the collapse of “Veronica Mars.” As Buffy once said, this is about power — who has it, and who doesn’t. It’s a relatively harsh lesson to learn, but the success of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” paved the way for shows like “Veronica Mars” the first time around. It’s only right that the latter now return the favor.
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