Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Reboot Cancellation Should Mean Its Scrapped 1-Season Sequel Gets Saved

Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans were shocked earlier this year when Hulu decided to cancel its upcoming reboot, which had been in the works for the past couple of years. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale was the project that had finally convinced star Sarah Michelle Gellar to return to the iconic role after over 20 years away, and with her onboard, reboots all the rage, and a pilot episode helmed by Oscar-winning Chloé Zhao in the can, it had seemed like a sure-fire winner for the streaming service, which is why nobody had seen the cancellation coming.

This might be the most unexpected Buffy cancellation, but it isn’t the first time a Buffyverse series has been cancelled. Going back to the 2000s, there were initially plans for Angel Season 6, but the network decided it wasn’t going to go ahead with it, and things instead wrapped up with Season 5’s cliffhanger ending. Then, jumping back to the 2020s, even before New Sunnydale, several members of the original cast returned for a different sequel – Audible’s Slayers: A Buffyverse Story.

The audio drama picked up over a decade after Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s series finale, focusing on a new Slayer, Indira, who was trying to navigate the world and her newfound powers. She turned to Spike for help, but then an alternate universe version of Cordelia Chase arrived, informing them of a new Big Bad threatening her world, where she was the Slayer and Buffy Summers never existed – and that villain was none other than Drusilla. The series featured the likes of Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), who also co-wrote it, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, James Masters as Spike, Anthony Head as Rupert Giles, and Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins.

Slayers Deserves To Continue If Buffy The Vampire Slayer Isn’t Getting A New TV Show

Slayers was by no means perfect, with its story certainly feeling like fan fiction at times and a clear reliance on nostalgia. But at the same time, it was a fun, entertaining listen. After 20 years, it was wonderful to have so many members of the cast back together and reprising their original roles, with a few fun twists. In particular, having Carpenter back as Cordelia, after the way her time on Angel ended, was a great way for her to reclaim her legacy. It didn’t break a ton of new ground, but like the Buffy books or comics, it was a neat way of continuing to spend time in that world and with those characters.

What’s more, the setup for Season 2 was pretty exciting. There was a cliffhanger ending, which was clearly intended as a launchpad for further stories. Without getting into major spoilers for anyone yet to check it out (and again, it is worthwhile), it had some big twists regarding several major characters, including Spike, Drusilla, and a couple of others that you’re waiting to hear about throughout the series.

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Unfortunately, Slayers was abruptly cancelled by Disney in 2024. Co-writer and creator Christopher Golden, who has previously worked on several Buffy comics and novels, said at the time: “Hugely disappointed to share that, despite its enormous success, Disney has refused to allow Audible to proceed with future seasons of SLAYERS: A BUFFYVERSE STORY. To my knowledge, they have provided no explanation.”

One year later, it was confirmed that a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series was in the works at Hulu (which is owned by Disney). It’s unclear if that was the reason Slayers was cancelled, but it at least seems like a possibility, since it makes sense they wouldn’t want a conflicting ongoing release that involved several notable cast members (some of whom may have eventually returned for New Sunnydale).

With no clear plans for Buffy‘s future on TV, Slayers Season 2 should finally be allowed to happen. Again, it’s flawed, but it’s also a series that’s made with a clear love and reverence for the original TV show, and provides a fun way of continuing to tell Buffyverse stories, something that the franchise, and its fans deserve.

Slayers: A Buffyverse Story Season 1 is available on Audible.

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