Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a cult classic TV show, and (by my estimation) one of the best teen dramas ever. The series (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription) is a truly iconic part of ’90s culture, and remains to be actress Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s most ionic role. And the Cruel Intentions star recently explained the moment she realized Buffy was a hit.
Gellar led the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayerfor a whopping seven seasons on the air, balancing the show’s heart and action to perfection. SMG is working on a Buffy reboot for Hulu, and spoke to People about the show’s early days. She revealed how the show’s notoriety was a slow burn at first, sharing:
Right after the show premiered, I left town. I went to North Carolina and I was doing I Know What You Did [Last Summer] . And they didn’t even have the WB there, so I didn’t even know.
Funny enough, that slasher flick is also getting new life. The trailer for I Know What You Did Last Summer featured a reference to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Helen who is still very much dead in the franchise. And while filming one of the best horror movies of the ’90s, she had yet to see the staying power of her work on Buffy.
So what changed? Funny enough, she saw how the public embraced Buffy the Vampire Slayer while filming another beloved horror movie. Namely Wes Craven‘s Scream 2, which she signed onto without even seeing a script. In the same interview, SMG went on to share:
Then I went to Atlanta to do Scream and I was with Neve [Campbell] and Courteney [Cox] and everyone and people kept recognizing me.
Little did she know that she’s be recognized for playing Buffy Summers for the rest of her career. The series was a bit of a dark horse, thanks to its ambitious story, emphasis on action and visual effects, and placement in a still-unknown network. But in the end it would have a long run on TV, and Sarah Michelle Gellar earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work on the heartbreaking Season 5 episode “The Body.”
Of course, all Buffy fans like myself are really thinking is about what’s going on with the developing reboot pilot, and whether or not Hulu will actually give it a full season order. News about that project is slowly trickling out, and SMG recently told the pilot’s new Slayer that she got the job. We’ve seen her mentor other Slayers in Season 7, so I’m eager to see this relationship play out on the screen.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming in its entirety over on Hulu. While the reboot isn’t part of the 2025 TV premiere list, hopefully it continues moving forward and a full season is orders. Fingers (and stakes) crossed.
