Buffy saved the world. A lot. And now, 20 years later, the eponymous Slayer has a unique opportunity to save TV too. But news that 澳洲𝕴幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Buffy the Vampi෴re Slayer is returning — with Sarah Michelle Gellar, no less — was always goinꦗg to be divisive.

The original series, which ran from 1997 to 2003,♚ was an era-defining show. It shaped genre TV throughout the decades that followed, influencing everything from Alias and Riverdale, to We🅷dnesday and Game of Thrones. In doing so, Buffy helped shape how fans see themselves too.

Every generation has that series which means the world to them, just as every generation has a Slayer — a Chosen One — to fight off vampires and the forces of evil too. In short, Buffy is more than just a show, and that's true whether you watched it weekly as 🐠it aired or stumbled across Sunnydale years later for the very first time.

But with sucꦚh devotion comes enough trepidation to fill an entire Hellmouth. Because how can a revival ever hope to capture that same magic all thes🅷e years later?

A fresh start

As ever, talent is key. It's heartening then that Oscar winning Nomadland director Chloé Zhao and Poker Face showrunners Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman are in talks to film and 🎶write the series. Centering female voices like these, especially ones who already know a thing or two about nostalgia, gives the franchise a chance to breathe and forge new ground away from the tainted legacy of original creator Joss Whedon.

As when the misconduct allegations first came to light, "I don’t want to be forever associated with the🍌 name Joss ♛Whedon." And now she doesn't have to be.

Gellar's involvement delivers an instant roundhouse kick to that initial wave of doubts, because she is Buffy in every way that counts. To bring the franchise back without her would have been unthinkable, more soulless than Angelus at hౠis worst.

Confirmation that Gellar's role will be important but n🔜ot central to the series gives us faith that there's intention here to bridge the gap between old and new. That's important, narratively speaking, because a continuation is far more appealing than a subpar reimagining. But it's also vital in a broader sense.

By making horror's 'Final Girl' a horror to the monsters that once plagued her, Buffy pushed an entire genre forward𒁃 and revolutionized TV beyond that as well. But centering a🍃 kick-ass heroine like Buffy is no longer groundbreaking like it once was. The key now lies in who this new Slayer, Buffy's protege, can be.

To argue that these ideas are forced or unnecessary would be missing the Mister Poi🐠nty of it all. Didn't the very last episode of Buffy's original run establish that anyone can🔜 be a Slayer now? That any woman of any background can harness that power and fight for what's right?

The very existence of this revival speaks to that notion, justifying it in a way that f🐭ew other reboots can hope to claim. To overlook the inherent potential of⛎ that and center another white cis straight protagonist would betray everything Buffy has always strived to be.

Some elements, such as Tara's fate — or Kendra's fate too, come to think of it — don't sit particularly well these days. And don't get me started on the Xander of it all. But Buffy was still incredibly progressive for the time in which it was made, especially when it came to depictions of queerness. It was as close to perfection as TV could get, and now there's an opportunity to ꦏimprove upon perfection, to modernize what's outdated in ways that could end up revitalizing TV all over again.

Slay another day

Is this too optimistic? Perhaps. Legacy shows are hit and miss at t🎉he best of times. Not even Angel could quite live up to ꦓBuffy's legacy, let alone a new Buffy. But even if cast favorites such as Alyson Hannigan and Anthony Stewart Head don't return, or writers like Marti Noxon, Drew Goddard, and Jane Espenson don't either, that's ok, because Buffy doesn't belong to any one person (and least of all Joss Whedon).

As director Jane Schoenbrun proved in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:I Saw The TV Glow, a recent homage to their own Buffy obsession, it's possible to channel Buffy without replicating it exactly. And that's what this revival needs to do. Any attempt to directly copy what came previously will inevitably explode in a cloud of dust faster t൩han you can say "grr, argh!" Although we wouldn't say no to bringing back the 22 episode seasons and 'Big Bad' arcs that Buffy popularized in the first place...

So yes, I have hope for t🌳he revival. After all, Buffy has ended before — "Hey, I died twice!" — and she always came back stronger. With the wo💜rld feeling more apocalyptic than ever, now's the perfect time to beep the Slayer and introduce a brand new Chosen One for a brand new generation. Because Lord knows we need saving.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming for free right now on Tubi. For more, check out our list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:new TV shows coming your way in 2025 and beyond.