Who Slayed the ‘Buffy’ Reboot — and Why
I reveal the doomed pilot’s budget, its ‘failure to launch’ and the internal Hulu drama that sank it
I interviewed creator Bill Lawrence, wrote about Jeff Shell’s absence at Paramount and mapped the org chart from hell looming at Paramount-Warners, plus the 10 burning questions the merger raises. Email me at lesley.goldberg@theankler.com
When Hulu officially passed on its Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot Friday night, Craig Erwich was the exec overseeing the streamer, and it was he who ultimately made the decision after months of internal deliberations, a pilot shoot and changes to the pilot script. Fast forward just a few days and Erwich, following Disney’s Monday reorg, now also oversees 20th Television — the studio behind the reboot — meaning it’s up to him to decide if Buffy: New Sunnydale could live on elsewhere after Hulu’s pass.
It’s awkward then that OG Buffy Sarah Michelle Gellar — who was to reprise her star-making role in the update alongside Ryan Kiera Armstrong (The Lowdown) — appears to have singled out Erwich in an interview with People as “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.”
Reps for Hulu declined comment when asked if Erwich is the executive Gellar referenced in her scorched earth interview, but multiple sources familiar with the situation suggested it was indeed the head of the streamer.
Regardless of who made Gellar want to reach for Mr. Pointy, the wait for a new incarnation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer continues as sources say the Hulu pilot — it was never a lock to be picked up to series despite beloved IP — never came together the way everyone wanted. Siblings Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face) wrote the script for New Sunnydale on spec and Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) helped recruit Gellar back to Buffy’s sensible boots, following which Hulu handed out a pilot order for the drama in February 2025. The Zuckermans then opened a writers’ room to rework the script, which was to be directed by Zhao.
“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. 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,” a spokesperson for Disney Entertainment Television said in a statement to The Ankler.
I spoke with a number of sources — many of whom have seen the pilot — about why a reboot of the beloved Joss Whedon-created series, which ran from 1997-2003, has now twice failed to clear the hurdles needed for a series greenlight.
Today, I’ll tell you:
The ginormous price tag for the pilot, and where it fit in today’s stricter new budget buckets
What actually went wrong, from script to casting to execution
Why even massive nostalgia and fan goodwill couldn’t save it
Hulu’s “cardinal sin” — and the brutal timing of the decision
How New Sunnydale reflects the return of pilots as Hulu and other streamers rethink risk