The news that the planned Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot isn't moving forward at Hulu hit fans like a ton of bricks. It was a highly anticipated return for a popular show, one that included the return of star Sarah Michelle Gellar, and with Oscar-winning Chloe Zhao directing the pilot. Whether or not the pilot would get picked up wasn’t thought to be a concern for fans, and yet, here we are without a series order having surfaced.
The only thing more frustrating than Buffy's reboot not moving forward is the list of absolutely insane details that have come out over the last couple of days explaining why the series isn’t moving forward. That includes the fact that the exec who made the decision was apparently a proud anti-fan of the original series.
Sarah Michelle Gellar Calls Out Hulu Exec For Killing The Buffy Reboot
The first piece of perplexing news came yesterday in an interview that Sarah Michelle Gellar gave to People in which she revealed that an executive, whom she did not name, that was involved in the series, apparently wasn’t a fan of the original series. That would be fine on its own, but Gellar indicated the exec seemed to have no love for the reboot from the beginning. 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.
While Sarah Michelle Gellar didn’t name the executive, Deadline believes it was Craig Erwich, the President of Disney Television Group, who directly oversees all Hulu Originals. Erwich was also the person who informed all parties involved that the show was not moving forward with a phone call at 6 p.m. on a Friday evening, just as Sarah Michelle Gellar was appearing at SXSW for the premiere of her new movie Ready or Not 2. Zhao, meanwhile, was involved in Oscar weekend activities promoting her movie Hamnet, which had received multiple nominations including a Best Director nomination for Zhao.
Deadline indicates there was no reason that the decision had to be relayed on a Friday night. This certainly feels like a “We can talk about on Monday,” sort of thing. What’s perhaps more interesting, and more frustrating, however, are the alleged reasons that Hulu passed on the pilot in the first place.
What Was (Reportedly) Wrong With The Buffy Reboot Pilot
While the show being axed was a shock to fans, it seems that it was just as much a shock to many of the executives who were involved, as they believed any issues with the show had been dealt with. According to Deadline, the main note coming out of Hulu after the pilot was completed was that it was too small and appeared to be geared too young.
Ryan Kiera Armstrong, the show’s lead, was 15 at the time the pilot filmed, slightly younger than Gellar had been when Buffy first launched, she was 18, but obviously she had been cast for a reason. As far as the show seeming “small,” it seems the direction the creative team had been given was to keep it on par with the original WB/UPN series, which wasn’t exactly a massive show.
The notes were still taken in, and show writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman engaged in a significant rewrite that increased the size of Gellar’s part, skewed more adult, and was 90 minutes long. The rewrite was well-received, to the point that the series being picked up became much more likely.
It’s still unclear exactly why the new pilot script wasn’t deemed good enough. Some sources tell Deadline the show just wasn’t as good as the original series. It’s also suggested the new pilot may have been too expensive, though if the original pilot was seen as "too small," that’s reason doesn't sound as believable.
Whatever the reasons, barring an 11th-hour stay of execution, it appears that the Buffy reboot is dead. It’s unfortunate fans never even got a chance to judge the show. Maybe somebody can pull a Deadpool and get the pilot online so that the people who are fans of the show can judge its quality.
