Hulu Cancels ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Reboot Just Before Premiere
The Buffy reboot at Hulu has been well and truly slayed for good.
The revival series, titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New to Sunnydale, was set to premiere during the late 2026-early 2027 season. The show, a follow-up to the '90s-00s supernatural series, was planned to be directed by Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of Hamnet and Nomadland. Lead actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the titular character of Buffy Summers in the original show, agreed to return to the series after the planned expansion spent years in development hell.
Sarah Michelle Gellar Gave Fans the Disappointing Update on Instagram
In a video announcement on her Instagram account, Gellar told her followers and fans of the cult series she "wanted you to hear it from me."
"Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with Buffy: New Sunnydale," she said. "I want to thank Chloé Zhao, because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy's stylish, yet, affordable boots."
She continued, "and thanks to Chloé, I was reminded of how much I love her, and how much she means. not only to me, but to all of you."
"This doesn't change any of that," Sarah concluded, referring to the cancellation.
It is possible that the beloved show revival could be shopped around to other networks, which could adopt it from Hulu and air it on their own network — a choice many cancelled shows hope for. However, this is not by any means a straightforward task, with networks having their own pre-existing shows in production. Additionally, there is the issue of Buffy's existing intellectual property, where the copyrighted characters, story, and other trademarks would have to change hands.
Despite all this, the actress ended the video on an optimistic note. "And I promise, if the apocalypse still comes, you can still beep me."