Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of the most celebrated shows in television history, and it was very close to making a comeback.
In February last year, Hulu ordered a pilot for a sequel series led by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, with original star Sarah Michelle Gellar set to return as Buffy in a recurring role.
A pilot for the reboot, titled Buffy The Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, was directed by Chloé Zhao (Hamnet, Nomadland). Other cast members included Faly Rakotohavana, Ava Jean, Sarah Bock, Daniel Di Tomasso and Jack Cutmore-Scott.
The original Buffy The Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2002. It spawned the spin-off series Angel in 1999.
Why was Buffy The Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale cancelled?
In March 2026, Sarah Michelle Gellar announced on Instagram that Hulu had decided to scrap the Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot.
While she didn’t provide a reason why in the video, Gellar later claimed in an interview that the show’s cancellation was down to one unnamed Hulu executive (believed to be Hulu’s head of originals, Craig Erwich).
Speaking to People, Gellar said: “We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for him.
“That’s very hard when you’re taking a property that is as beloved as Buffy, not just to the world, but to me and Chloé [Zhao]. So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since day one, when your executive is literally proud to tell you that he didn’t watch it.”
However, sources have also blamed the quality of the pilot for the show’s cancellation. According to Variety, Chloé Zhao’s take on Buffy “ultimately proved to be unsalvageable”, with concerns it wasn’t mainstream enough, that it didn’t have enough Buffy, and would require costly reshoots.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, there was a rewrite on the pilot in an attempt to salvage things, but it “simply wasn’t very strong”.
While blame has been aimed at the quality of the pilot, Gellar thanked Zhao in her announcement video. “I want to thank Chloé, because I never thought I’d find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots, and thanks to Chloé I was reminded how much I love her, and how much she means, not only to me, but to all of you.”