I love Buffy but I’m glad it’s dead
A little over a year ago, millennials around the world were rejoicing: Buffy Summers was returning. Reboot of the hit TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer It was approved. Scream queen Sarah Michelle Gellar was reprising her iconic role, and Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao was also in the cast. Fans were optimistic that another coup might be on the horizon.
That was until the reboot last week – Buffy: New Sunnydale – suddenly canned.
With the news given shortly before Zhao’s victory lap hamnet At the Oscars and the world premiere of Gellar’s new movie Ready or Not 2: Here I ComeThe creative team was furious. In an interview with People This week, Gellar said the whole thing was “an uphill battle we’ve been fighting since day one” and placed the blame on an unnamed executive who she said “not only wasn’t a fan of the original, but also took pride in constantly reminding us that she’d never watched the entire series and it wasn’t her cup of tea.”
Meanwhile, Hollywood Reporter He quoted anonymous sources who claimed the pilot was clearly not well. Their sources claim that after the rewrite failed to improve the project, it was decided to scrap the project altogether.
buffy Fans around the world were understandably disappointed. The comments section of Gellar’s social media was aflame, with fans swearing at Hulu and talking about petitions to get other networks to acquire Hulu. But whatever the truth about the exact reasons they pulled the plug — a sub-par show or the executives who ruined it in the process — I think we dodged a bullet.
From where? Because the last thing we need is a crappy reboot of TV.
Reboots, remakes, and legacy sequels have dominated television in the streaming era. Increasingly struggling to capture viewer attention, studios know that series based on popular IP bring in existing audiences out of nostalgia, familiarity or curiosity. And as a result, we were attacked. A. Rugrats reboot it looked like it was made for PlayStation 1; a sad, Disney-related version. The 70’s Show determined twenty years later (The 90’s Showof course) and shameful Scrubs animation. There were also: Sex and the City continued And Just Like That…who nearly assassinated every beloved character in the original, groundbreaking series..
Don’t even get me started Fuller House. Nothing made me want to claw my eyes out more.
There is no end in sight. Only this year will we see revivals Malcolm in the Middle, Gulf Observer And escape from prison. Should we keep beating these dead horses?
History has shown how rare a reboot is. Of course there have been a few. Twin Peaks: The Return It comes to mind, but this came out almost ten years ago. Heartbreak High has been a more recent success, but that may be because it follows an entirely new cast. The themes of the show remain consistent, but we don’t have to watch an aging heartthrob desperately try to stay relevant all season long.
King of the Hill His return was also applaudedWhich makes me wonder if animations could make the job a little easier. Whether they need to recast certain characters is less clear, and nostalgia is likely based on how it looks or what it says rather than who is in it.
But beyond these rare gems, most reboots fail to launch. And if buffy had it moved forward, it would have faced the same challenges every TV revival faces: satisfying two different audiences. There are original fans eager for a nostalgia trip and newcomers who often want something a little more contemporary.
To take 2021 Gossip Girl revivalFor example, the series that was canceled after two seasons of low ratings. Its intense focus on ethical dilemmas surrounding wealth felt too much like TikTok’s social warrior commentary. There was a time when we weren’t watching Chuck Bass lie and cheat to understand the damage of his actions and privilege; We were watching because everything was so scandalous. While modernizing the show, the reboot completely missed the point.
Such reboots amount to nothing more than a money grab. They’re clumsily trying to port ’90s or early 2020s shows to the 2020s, assuming every millennial will be scrambling for the remote. But they forget one important thing: There’s a reason why these shows are so popular at a particular time. Full housefor example, it was one of the few shows at the time that celebrated the beauty of a non-traditional “chosen” family. Meanwhile, Gulf Observer It was ’90s glamour; The new versions of their high-cut neoprene swimsuits and voluminous hairstyles could only look like pastiche today.
when it comes buffyIt may not have been the first series to center a young woman, but it was one of the first series to do so by blending horror, melodrama and comedy. We’ve seen plenty of things like this since then with varying degrees of success, which would probably give a modern version less bite (pun intended).
As much as I admire Gellar and Zhao’s work, a modern Sunnydale would likely lack the sharp edge that gave the original. buffy very addictive. For now, it can continue to be remembered in its original form, intact and in peace.
It’s best to have a risk at the heart of this reboot.
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Nell Geraets is a Culture and Lifestyle reporter for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
