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Buffy vs. Hulu, and well...my union vs. Crazy Org
So...two groups are fighting at the moment in the media.
My insane Union vs. Crazy Org and well the Feds in the middle of it. The Feds took the unions side, which is interesting although doesn't mean all that much, since the Feds on the Board of Review were pre-existing the current administration (of which we shall not name - spits).
That's just anxiety inducing.
Breaking Bad: pay them no attention it's just posturing. They've been doing it for three years now. It's kobuchi theater - they like to scream at each other in the newspapers.
It's just the local Long Island newspapers such as Newsday, and the radio station, so kind of below everyone else's radar. Still wish it wasn't in the papers at all?
Also. Sigh. I wish they'd fight over something other than my potential raise and medical benefits...I want to retire at 62.
The other group is far more entertaining and much less anxiety inducing, mainly because I don't have a stake in any of it, and am mostly ambivalent.
Buffy vs. Hulu, (with well, a Zen Like Chloe Zhao somewhere in the middle?)
SMG (Buffy) announces Hulu axed the Buffy reboot with no warning, and it was because of one exec who hates Buffy and never liked the original show.
(So of course the journalists do some digging to find out who the executive in question is, because really, who in their right mind hates Buffy? - Some random executive isn't exactly helpful?)
Deadline outted the Executive...because of course... (honestly the journalists in our media have way too much time on their hands? There's either too many of them or...they just can't figure out what to do with the abundance of news already out there? Granted this is less anxiety inducing than the rest of it.)
Here's Deadline Article.
"Here is how Buffy: New Sunnydale went from a dream reboot two decades in the making, with Gellar starring and Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directing, to a discarded pilot. There were issues — as Deadline reported on Saturday, the original pilot was “not perfect”; some called it “not great.” Yet, after a well-received rewrite with a lot more Buffy Summers in it, no one expected the pass. Written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, whose previous credits include Poker Face and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the pilot would have turned the attention to a new young slayer, commonly referred to as Nova. She was played by Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and The Lowdown star Ryan Kiera Armstrong. It's said that the premise, initially seen as promising, gradually fell apart.
The report mentions that issues became apparent after the pilot was completed. Sources say Hulu felt it skewed too young, with some also describing it as too small in scope. The lead, Armstrong, was around 15 when cast, while Gellar was about 18 when she originally landed the iconic role of Buffy Summers.
It seems as though the notes from executives were also contradictory. At first, the goal was to preserve the spirit of the original series, a defining teen drama for The WB that had a modest budget. But there were also notes that the pilot did not take enough “big swings.” That led to rewrites, which resulted in a new 90-minute version that featured significantly more of Gellar as Buffy and seemed closer to a modern streaming show than a network one."
20th Television and Searchlight TV, the two studios behind Buffy: New Sunnydale, felt very positive about the new version. However, Erwich ultimately decided to pass on the new project altogether. Some sources say that the new version was too expensive to film. Others claim that it still fell short of the legacy set by the original. Still, others say the reboot had fundamental issues that went beyond a rewrite. "
***
On her classic show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s Buffy Summers fought the undead. In real life, the actress faced the death of her Buffy reboot at Hulu — and she is having a hard time with it.
Here is how Buffy: New Sunnydale went from a dream reboot two decades in the making, with Gellar starring and Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directing, to a discarded pilot. There were issues — as Deadline reported on Saturday, the original pilot was “not perfect”; some called it “not great.” Yet, after a well-received rewrite with a lot more Buffy Summers in it, no one expected the pass.
I hear virtually every day last week, the two studios on the Buffy reboot, 20th Television and Searchlight Television, touched base with the project’s producers and creative team, indicating that a pickup for the pilot starring Gellar and Ryan Kiera Armstrong seemed imminent after its writers, Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, had done a rewrite. (Hulu, 20th TV and Searchlight are all part of Disney.)
Then, at 6 p.m. on Friday, Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who oversees Hulu Originals, called auspices to inform them that the project was not moving forward, sources said.
“I was in shock,” one person said of their reaction when they got the news, the timing of which could not have been worse — with Gellar at SXSW for the premiere of her new movie, Ready or Not 2, produced by Searchlight, and Zhao attending Oscar weekend events leading to Sunday’s Academy Awards, where her latest movie Hamnet had eight nominations including for her as a director.
Worst-case scenario, those involved in Buffy thought Hulu would ask to continue to work on the pilot and do more retooling.
“No one saw this coming, including the head of Searchlight. And I got the call as we were stepping onto stage for the premiere of their own movie,” Gellar said in a strongly worded interview with People, in which she also called out an executive over the reboot’s axing. (More on that and the executive’s identity later.)
It is unclear why Hulu opted to make the calls on Friday night, with sources labeling the timing “misguided” and “terrible.” From what I hear, there wasn’t a hard deadline or options expiring, but it is true that those involved in the pilot had been waiting for a while and wanted an answer.
It was just not the answer anyone expected."
***
It was a year ago that Hulu gave a pilot order to Buffy: New Sunnydale, with Zhao, a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, directing from a script written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face). The green light capped years of development; in her People interview, Gellar said that Zhao had approached her with the idea four years ago, convincing her to finally say “yes” to revisiting her signature character, something she had resisted for years.
Armstrong was cast as the new slayer with Gellar’s Buffy Summers by her side, and the pilot went into production in late July.
“I loved the duality that we had with this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now,” Gellar told People about the setup.
Making the pilot had its challenges, I hear, some of them related to a feature director like Zhao doing an episode of television, a transition that is often bumpy.
After the pilot was completed and delivered, according to multiple sources, Hulu’s main note was that it played too young, with some indicating that the streamer also felt the show was too “small.”
It is unclear how exactly the pilot went through development, green light, casting and production without such concerns being addressed. Armstrong is young; she was about 15 when she was cast. Geller was young in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer too; she was about 18 when she landed the pilot.
As for the scope of the show, I hear the initial business mandate was to keep the spirit of the original, which was done for the WB (and subsequently for UPN) on a modest budget.
After feedback from the streamer that the pilot did not take big enough swings, the Zuckermans set out to do a rewrite to address the notes, sources said.
I hear the new script was 90 minutes. It was more adult, featuring a lot more of Gellar’s Buffy, and was described as a more of a streaming show than a network one.
According to sources, the rewrite was well received at both studios, 20th TV and Searchlight TV, triggering the internal talk of a pending pickup, with at least one executive in charge “putting everything on the line” for it, as one person put it.
In her People interview, Gellar singled out one executive. “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,” she said. “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. 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.”
Gellar did not name the person; according to multiple sources, the executive Gellar was referring to is Erwich.
It is unclear what exactly Erwich meant by his comments, with some suggesting he was referring to the fact that he wasn’t the demo for the series when he said that it “wasn’t for him.” (Still, those involved in the reboot agreed with Gellar’s general assessment of his take on the show.)
What is known is that Erwich made the decision not to proceed with the pilot. The reasons for the pass are fuzzy. Some say Hulu suggested that the rewritten version of the project was too expensive to shoot. Others indicate that it still fell short of the high bar set by the original series.
One source close to the project compared the situation to completing a $3 million renovation only to find out that the house has foundation issues.
“Instead of fixing the foundation, you just walk away,” the person said about Hulu’s decision to not proceed with the reboot.
As Deadline reported, the hope is to get another take on the Buffy IP up and running within the next couple of years.
“We have had a long and very successful relationship with Chloé, Sarah and [EP] Gail [Berman] — their track records speak for themselves and they are incredible partners,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said. “Our decision not to move forward with a series order is not a reflection of our respect and admiration for the creative team, including Lilla and Nora.”
Under a restructuring announced today, Erwich, who oversees Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment, also added oversight of 20th Television, run by Karey Burke. That is the studio which owns the Buffy IP, produced the original series and would be developing any future incarnations, likely for Hulu again."
And Here's Hollywood Reporter's Article on it via People Magazine -
" Gellar says one executive who made a point of saying he never liked Buffy scrapped the show.
“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,” she said. “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. 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.”
While Gellar declined to name the executive, Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich was the ultimate decision-maker, sources confirm.
Gellar says she spoke to Zhao about the decision. “Chloé and I are feeling the same things. Disappointment. We don’t want to let the fans down. That hurts. Saddened at how it was handled and when it was handled. But I just said to Chloé, and I was very specific, I said, ‘Sunday night, you put that crown on and you walk that red carpet and you take in all that love for what you worked for and forget the other stuff.’ It’s important to me that this doesn’t take away from what we achieved and what she’s achieved. And there’s always so [much] more to do.”
The actress added that when she was on the set, she thought the new version was really working, including a new Slayer played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
“Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming,” she said. “The dialogue flew off the tongue. When I was on set, it was craziness. It was like, ‘Oh, we’re here. We’re doing this.’ I loved the duality that we had this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now … And I’d like to use this moment also to say that Ryan Kiera Armstrong is a superstar. I’m gutted that no one will see her as a slayer.”
But sources counter that the pilot (which was written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman) simply wasn’t very strong. There was a rewrite in an attempt to salvage things, but ultimately Disney/Hulu decided not to reshoot the pilot or order Buffy to series. Sources say producers wanted a decision by the end of last week and, when it was made, Gellar took to social media to announce the news. But Disney would have preferred to hold off on the revelation until after the Oscars to handle the situation more delicately.
“We have had a long and very successful relationship with Chloé, Sarah and [executive producer] Gail [Berman] — their track records speak for themselves and they are incredible partners,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson told THR. “Our decision not to move forward with a series order is not a reflection of our respect and admiration for the creative team, including Lilla and Nora.”
Buffy was a beloved 1990s cult classic created by Joss Whedon that ran for seven seasons. There have been previous efforts to revive the series, though they haven’t had original series star Gellar on board.
"A statement obtained by People noted that because Disney owns the Buffy IP, the project cannot be shopped elsewhere."
***
What did Craig Erwich green light - or what programs did he champion?
Erwich Interview with Hollywood Reporter on Future shows
Erwich shows
"Craig Erwich will now oversee 20th Television and 20th Television Animation, with Karey Burke and Marci Proietto reporting to him. Craig will continue to lead ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals."
https://deadline.com/2026/03/debra-oconnell-disney-craig-erwich-20th-television-1236757197/
In retribution? Someone leaked the alleged 2024 Buffy Pilot Script. Note - this was written in 2024, and has since been rewritten and tweaked. Also, I know Marsters (per interviews) was contacted in late 2025 - they'd shown interest in his return. And rumor has it that - they made the new script more adult, it was a 90 minute pilot, and more like a streaming show with a bigger budget, and everyone had liked it per the above.
***
I've not read the leaked script. There's no evidence it's actual? And we all know by now how much scripts change from paper to screen while shooting, often to the point in which very little on the draft makes it to screen.
I can't say I'm surprised it got axed. I was surprised it made it as far as it did. And had begun to get excited - until I discovered they had hired a huge cast of new characters. And realized Buffy was recurring. That didn't bode well for a pick-up.
Also, the original cast is in their fifties and sixities, Head is in his 70s, and some are retired. They may have waited too long. Add to that? It's not like Whedon didn't try to do the same thing with a whole new cast? He tried to do something around 2020 or thereabouts. Fox tried with someone else prior. This was before Disney got the rights from Fox.
The online fandom, being contentious and fractious as ever - is fighting over it on various social media platforms - FB, Reddit, and X. I've seen the Reddit and FB fights, also one on X. There's several factions?
1) Is very disappointed, not to mention royally pissed off. Wants the pilot to air, and wants Hulu to go ahead, and is signing a petition to push Hulu to change their mind. They are pulling out all the stops - and support Gellar - 100%, they just want their Buffy and their Buffy's vision, damn it! (It won't happen people aren't united enough. Firefly has a far more united fandom and cast for that matter.),
2)Thinks we dodged a bullet, and let it die, since it would most likely be awful, and maybe we should just all read fanfic. (which is a good way of alienating potential fanfic readers from group 1 - so maybe not say that?),
3)Try an animated series instead. (To which folks replied didn't we already do that - and if so, let's not use AI.)
4) Maybe shop it elsewhere - and GoFund it. (You can't Disney hasn't released it, and owns the IP. Disney is also pissing the fandom off at the moment - which, Disney, don't do that? Have you learned nothing from the Jimmie Kimmel scenario? They actually have and are trying to contain the situation but a pissed off SMG isn't helping them.)
5.) Wait and see if Hulu actually does a better reboot later.
6.) Focus on Firefly instead (which actually pisses off 1, 3, 4, and 5 - so keep that to yourself.)
They are also fighting over the leaked script. A lot of folks don't see what's wrong with it. Other's do. Not everyone has issues with Buffy being only in the last scene as a teaser. And others are pointing out that the script had completely changed.
This all rather entertaining, but not all that surprising? Fandom. Sigh. Fandom.
It is a nice distraction though from other...less entertaining and more worrisome problems, of which we shall not speak.
The leaked script sparks fanfiction ideas in my head. I'm tempted to write fanfic based on that synopsis. It's interesting. I can see all sorts of interesting things they could have done with the show and the general concept.
Stupid network/studio/streaming service executives with no imagination.
This is why I'm glad I'm not a television writer or television actor or working in television. As nutty and frustrating as my work in transportation and construction is? It's relatively sane and stable in comparison. The frustration alone would kill me - if I worked in television. Damn, that's a hard business.
So, just in case someone out there wants to get a book, novel, idea, what have you - produced and developed as a television series? Read the Buffy vs. Hulu fight, and find another career to invest yourself in. Trust me, the pain and suffering isn't worth it.
For every show, Whedon got produced - he had twenty others that never made it, and then he got cancelled - by the actors from his first successful (and possibly only really successful) television series.
My insane Union vs. Crazy Org and well the Feds in the middle of it. The Feds took the unions side, which is interesting although doesn't mean all that much, since the Feds on the Board of Review were pre-existing the current administration (of which we shall not name - spits).
That's just anxiety inducing.
Breaking Bad: pay them no attention it's just posturing. They've been doing it for three years now. It's kobuchi theater - they like to scream at each other in the newspapers.
It's just the local Long Island newspapers such as Newsday, and the radio station, so kind of below everyone else's radar. Still wish it wasn't in the papers at all?
Also. Sigh. I wish they'd fight over something other than my potential raise and medical benefits...I want to retire at 62.
The other group is far more entertaining and much less anxiety inducing, mainly because I don't have a stake in any of it, and am mostly ambivalent.
Buffy vs. Hulu, (with well, a Zen Like Chloe Zhao somewhere in the middle?)
SMG (Buffy) announces Hulu axed the Buffy reboot with no warning, and it was because of one exec who hates Buffy and never liked the original show.
(So of course the journalists do some digging to find out who the executive in question is, because really, who in their right mind hates Buffy? - Some random executive isn't exactly helpful?)
Deadline outted the Executive...because of course... (honestly the journalists in our media have way too much time on their hands? There's either too many of them or...they just can't figure out what to do with the abundance of news already out there? Granted this is less anxiety inducing than the rest of it.)
Here's Deadline Article.
"Here is how Buffy: New Sunnydale went from a dream reboot two decades in the making, with Gellar starring and Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directing, to a discarded pilot. There were issues — as Deadline reported on Saturday, the original pilot was “not perfect”; some called it “not great.” Yet, after a well-received rewrite with a lot more Buffy Summers in it, no one expected the pass. Written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, whose previous credits include Poker Face and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the pilot would have turned the attention to a new young slayer, commonly referred to as Nova. She was played by Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and The Lowdown star Ryan Kiera Armstrong. It's said that the premise, initially seen as promising, gradually fell apart.
The report mentions that issues became apparent after the pilot was completed. Sources say Hulu felt it skewed too young, with some also describing it as too small in scope. The lead, Armstrong, was around 15 when cast, while Gellar was about 18 when she originally landed the iconic role of Buffy Summers.
It seems as though the notes from executives were also contradictory. At first, the goal was to preserve the spirit of the original series, a defining teen drama for The WB that had a modest budget. But there were also notes that the pilot did not take enough “big swings.” That led to rewrites, which resulted in a new 90-minute version that featured significantly more of Gellar as Buffy and seemed closer to a modern streaming show than a network one."
20th Television and Searchlight TV, the two studios behind Buffy: New Sunnydale, felt very positive about the new version. However, Erwich ultimately decided to pass on the new project altogether. Some sources say that the new version was too expensive to film. Others claim that it still fell short of the legacy set by the original. Still, others say the reboot had fundamental issues that went beyond a rewrite. "
***
On her classic show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s Buffy Summers fought the undead. In real life, the actress faced the death of her Buffy reboot at Hulu — and she is having a hard time with it.
Here is how Buffy: New Sunnydale went from a dream reboot two decades in the making, with Gellar starring and Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directing, to a discarded pilot. There were issues — as Deadline reported on Saturday, the original pilot was “not perfect”; some called it “not great.” Yet, after a well-received rewrite with a lot more Buffy Summers in it, no one expected the pass.
I hear virtually every day last week, the two studios on the Buffy reboot, 20th Television and Searchlight Television, touched base with the project’s producers and creative team, indicating that a pickup for the pilot starring Gellar and Ryan Kiera Armstrong seemed imminent after its writers, Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, had done a rewrite. (Hulu, 20th TV and Searchlight are all part of Disney.)
Then, at 6 p.m. on Friday, Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who oversees Hulu Originals, called auspices to inform them that the project was not moving forward, sources said.
“I was in shock,” one person said of their reaction when they got the news, the timing of which could not have been worse — with Gellar at SXSW for the premiere of her new movie, Ready or Not 2, produced by Searchlight, and Zhao attending Oscar weekend events leading to Sunday’s Academy Awards, where her latest movie Hamnet had eight nominations including for her as a director.
Worst-case scenario, those involved in Buffy thought Hulu would ask to continue to work on the pilot and do more retooling.
“No one saw this coming, including the head of Searchlight. And I got the call as we were stepping onto stage for the premiere of their own movie,” Gellar said in a strongly worded interview with People, in which she also called out an executive over the reboot’s axing. (More on that and the executive’s identity later.)
It is unclear why Hulu opted to make the calls on Friday night, with sources labeling the timing “misguided” and “terrible.” From what I hear, there wasn’t a hard deadline or options expiring, but it is true that those involved in the pilot had been waiting for a while and wanted an answer.
It was just not the answer anyone expected."
***
It was a year ago that Hulu gave a pilot order to Buffy: New Sunnydale, with Zhao, a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, directing from a script written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face). The green light capped years of development; in her People interview, Gellar said that Zhao had approached her with the idea four years ago, convincing her to finally say “yes” to revisiting her signature character, something she had resisted for years.
Armstrong was cast as the new slayer with Gellar’s Buffy Summers by her side, and the pilot went into production in late July.
“I loved the duality that we had with this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now,” Gellar told People about the setup.
Making the pilot had its challenges, I hear, some of them related to a feature director like Zhao doing an episode of television, a transition that is often bumpy.
After the pilot was completed and delivered, according to multiple sources, Hulu’s main note was that it played too young, with some indicating that the streamer also felt the show was too “small.”
It is unclear how exactly the pilot went through development, green light, casting and production without such concerns being addressed. Armstrong is young; she was about 15 when she was cast. Geller was young in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer too; she was about 18 when she landed the pilot.
As for the scope of the show, I hear the initial business mandate was to keep the spirit of the original, which was done for the WB (and subsequently for UPN) on a modest budget.
After feedback from the streamer that the pilot did not take big enough swings, the Zuckermans set out to do a rewrite to address the notes, sources said.
I hear the new script was 90 minutes. It was more adult, featuring a lot more of Gellar’s Buffy, and was described as a more of a streaming show than a network one.
According to sources, the rewrite was well received at both studios, 20th TV and Searchlight TV, triggering the internal talk of a pending pickup, with at least one executive in charge “putting everything on the line” for it, as one person put it.
In her People interview, Gellar singled out one executive. “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,” she said. “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. 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.”
Gellar did not name the person; according to multiple sources, the executive Gellar was referring to is Erwich.
It is unclear what exactly Erwich meant by his comments, with some suggesting he was referring to the fact that he wasn’t the demo for the series when he said that it “wasn’t for him.” (Still, those involved in the reboot agreed with Gellar’s general assessment of his take on the show.)
What is known is that Erwich made the decision not to proceed with the pilot. The reasons for the pass are fuzzy. Some say Hulu suggested that the rewritten version of the project was too expensive to shoot. Others indicate that it still fell short of the high bar set by the original series.
One source close to the project compared the situation to completing a $3 million renovation only to find out that the house has foundation issues.
“Instead of fixing the foundation, you just walk away,” the person said about Hulu’s decision to not proceed with the reboot.
As Deadline reported, the hope is to get another take on the Buffy IP up and running within the next couple of years.
“We have had a long and very successful relationship with Chloé, Sarah and [EP] Gail [Berman] — their track records speak for themselves and they are incredible partners,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said. “Our decision not to move forward with a series order is not a reflection of our respect and admiration for the creative team, including Lilla and Nora.”
Under a restructuring announced today, Erwich, who oversees Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment, also added oversight of 20th Television, run by Karey Burke. That is the studio which owns the Buffy IP, produced the original series and would be developing any future incarnations, likely for Hulu again."
And Here's Hollywood Reporter's Article on it via People Magazine -
" Gellar says one executive who made a point of saying he never liked Buffy scrapped the show.
“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,” she said. “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. 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.”
While Gellar declined to name the executive, Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich was the ultimate decision-maker, sources confirm.
Gellar says she spoke to Zhao about the decision. “Chloé and I are feeling the same things. Disappointment. We don’t want to let the fans down. That hurts. Saddened at how it was handled and when it was handled. But I just said to Chloé, and I was very specific, I said, ‘Sunday night, you put that crown on and you walk that red carpet and you take in all that love for what you worked for and forget the other stuff.’ It’s important to me that this doesn’t take away from what we achieved and what she’s achieved. And there’s always so [much] more to do.”
The actress added that when she was on the set, she thought the new version was really working, including a new Slayer played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
“Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming,” she said. “The dialogue flew off the tongue. When I was on set, it was craziness. It was like, ‘Oh, we’re here. We’re doing this.’ I loved the duality that we had this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now … And I’d like to use this moment also to say that Ryan Kiera Armstrong is a superstar. I’m gutted that no one will see her as a slayer.”
But sources counter that the pilot (which was written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman) simply wasn’t very strong. There was a rewrite in an attempt to salvage things, but ultimately Disney/Hulu decided not to reshoot the pilot or order Buffy to series. Sources say producers wanted a decision by the end of last week and, when it was made, Gellar took to social media to announce the news. But Disney would have preferred to hold off on the revelation until after the Oscars to handle the situation more delicately.
“We have had a long and very successful relationship with Chloé, Sarah and [executive producer] Gail [Berman] — their track records speak for themselves and they are incredible partners,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson told THR. “Our decision not to move forward with a series order is not a reflection of our respect and admiration for the creative team, including Lilla and Nora.”
Buffy was a beloved 1990s cult classic created by Joss Whedon that ran for seven seasons. There have been previous efforts to revive the series, though they haven’t had original series star Gellar on board.
"A statement obtained by People noted that because Disney owns the Buffy IP, the project cannot be shopped elsewhere."
***
What did Craig Erwich green light - or what programs did he champion?
Erwich Interview with Hollywood Reporter on Future shows
Erwich shows
"Craig Erwich will now oversee 20th Television and 20th Television Animation, with Karey Burke and Marci Proietto reporting to him. Craig will continue to lead ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals."
https://deadline.com/2026/03/debra-oconnell-disney-craig-erwich-20th-television-1236757197/
In retribution? Someone leaked the alleged 2024 Buffy Pilot Script. Note - this was written in 2024, and has since been rewritten and tweaked. Also, I know Marsters (per interviews) was contacted in late 2025 - they'd shown interest in his return. And rumor has it that - they made the new script more adult, it was a 90 minute pilot, and more like a streaming show with a bigger budget, and everyone had liked it per the above.
***
I've not read the leaked script. There's no evidence it's actual? And we all know by now how much scripts change from paper to screen while shooting, often to the point in which very little on the draft makes it to screen.
I can't say I'm surprised it got axed. I was surprised it made it as far as it did. And had begun to get excited - until I discovered they had hired a huge cast of new characters. And realized Buffy was recurring. That didn't bode well for a pick-up.
Also, the original cast is in their fifties and sixities, Head is in his 70s, and some are retired. They may have waited too long. Add to that? It's not like Whedon didn't try to do the same thing with a whole new cast? He tried to do something around 2020 or thereabouts. Fox tried with someone else prior. This was before Disney got the rights from Fox.
The online fandom, being contentious and fractious as ever - is fighting over it on various social media platforms - FB, Reddit, and X. I've seen the Reddit and FB fights, also one on X. There's several factions?
1) Is very disappointed, not to mention royally pissed off. Wants the pilot to air, and wants Hulu to go ahead, and is signing a petition to push Hulu to change their mind. They are pulling out all the stops - and support Gellar - 100%, they just want their Buffy and their Buffy's vision, damn it! (It won't happen people aren't united enough. Firefly has a far more united fandom and cast for that matter.),
2)Thinks we dodged a bullet, and let it die, since it would most likely be awful, and maybe we should just all read fanfic. (which is a good way of alienating potential fanfic readers from group 1 - so maybe not say that?),
3)Try an animated series instead. (To which folks replied didn't we already do that - and if so, let's not use AI.)
4) Maybe shop it elsewhere - and GoFund it. (You can't Disney hasn't released it, and owns the IP. Disney is also pissing the fandom off at the moment - which, Disney, don't do that? Have you learned nothing from the Jimmie Kimmel scenario? They actually have and are trying to contain the situation but a pissed off SMG isn't helping them.)
5.) Wait and see if Hulu actually does a better reboot later.
6.) Focus on Firefly instead (which actually pisses off 1, 3, 4, and 5 - so keep that to yourself.)
They are also fighting over the leaked script. A lot of folks don't see what's wrong with it. Other's do. Not everyone has issues with Buffy being only in the last scene as a teaser. And others are pointing out that the script had completely changed.
This all rather entertaining, but not all that surprising? Fandom. Sigh. Fandom.
It is a nice distraction though from other...less entertaining and more worrisome problems, of which we shall not speak.
The leaked script sparks fanfiction ideas in my head. I'm tempted to write fanfic based on that synopsis. It's interesting. I can see all sorts of interesting things they could have done with the show and the general concept.
Stupid network/studio/streaming service executives with no imagination.
This is why I'm glad I'm not a television writer or television actor or working in television. As nutty and frustrating as my work in transportation and construction is? It's relatively sane and stable in comparison. The frustration alone would kill me - if I worked in television. Damn, that's a hard business.
So, just in case someone out there wants to get a book, novel, idea, what have you - produced and developed as a television series? Read the Buffy vs. Hulu fight, and find another career to invest yourself in. Trust me, the pain and suffering isn't worth it.
For every show, Whedon got produced - he had twenty others that never made it, and then he got cancelled - by the actors from his first successful (and possibly only really successful) television series.