Gellar says Hulu executive who hadn't watched Buffy killed reboot

Sarah Michelle Gellar announced on Instagram that Hulu has canceled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, and she blamed an executive 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." Gellar called the situation "very hard" given the show's legacy and the involvement of Oscar-winning Chloé Zhao.

She and Zhao learned of the cancellation at significant moments: Gellar during the premiere of her new movie Ready or Not 2: Here I Come at the SXSW Film & TV Festival, and Zhao just before the weekend when she attended the Oscars for Hamnet, where she was nominated for Best Director.

Zhao told Variety she was "not surprised" by Hulu's decision. The revival was revealed in February 2025 with a pilot order at Hulu and was to be handled by 20th Television and Searchlight Television. It would have introduced a new slayer, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, to star alongside Gellar, though the full plot had not been unveiled.

buffy, hulu, gellar, chloé zhao, armstrong, cancellation, revival, sxsw, hamnet, 20th television