As A Hardcore Buffy Fan, I've Got A Rant About Hulu Bailing On New Sunnydale

Buffy speaking to Dawn before jumping in The Gift — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a cult classic TV show, and one of the best supernatural teen dramas ever. The original series is streaming with a Hulu subscription, which was also set to be the home for its revival series New Sunnydale. Fans were hyped when Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed she was back as Buffy, and even more thrilled when New Sunnydale was give a full season order. But now that show has been scrapped, and I've got a bone to pick with Hulu.

SMG broke the news about Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale being scrapped by Hulu, despite the pilot being filmed and a full season being ordered. She claimed a Hulu exec wasn't a fan of Buffy, and didn't understand the relevance of the series. While these types of disappointments happen in Hollywood, as a hardcore fan I'm miffed about how things were handled with the cancelled revival series.

Why Would They Announce A Full Season Of New Sunnydale If It Wasn't Ready?

Since Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favorite show of all time, I'd do anything to see the New Sunnydale pilot. News of the pilot presentation was thrilling enough, but when Hulu announced that a full season was greenlit, I felt like I had the power of The Chosen One myself. But after a year of waiting for news and Chloé Zhao's exciting updates, Hulu ended up officially scrapping the new Buffy series this week.

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Since then fans have been making their voices known, especially after Zhao was nominated for Oscars for Hamnet and the new Slayer shared what she would have looked like if the show moved forward. And I truly don't understand why Hulu had to make the announcement of a full series if there were issues happening behind the scenes.

The majority of TV pilots end up going nowhere, even if there are major IPs involved. Sarah Michelle Gellar knows this all too well; she returned to her Cruel Intentions role as Kathryn in a pilot that ended up being dropped. The difference here is that Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale was announced to get a full season before the streaming service ended up changing its mind.

I wouldn't have been as mad if Hulu simply bailed on the new Buffy following a less than stellar pilot presentation. But the fact that the streamer got generations of fans (myself included) excited about seeing Duchess of Buffonia back on the screen for new episodes hurts. The show has a cult following, so fans are dedicated to the series even nearly two decades later. And I'm sure I'm not the only one suffering from emotional whiplash.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming its original seven-season run over on Hulu. Unfortunately New Sunnydale isn't going to arrive as part of the 2026 TV schedule, or seemingly ever. I guess I'll have to give the original a re-watch for the 10th time.

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Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.

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