Sarah Michelle Gellar Says She Did ‘Buffy’ Reboot to Bring Comfort in Divided Times: ‘We Need That Chosen Family’

After years of shutting rumors and fan-casting of a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot, Sarah Michelle Gellar shocked lifelong fans of the cult-favorite series by signing on to a sequel series at Hulu earlier this year.

Reflecting Tuesday on her reasons for deciding to revisit the iconic character over 20 years after staking her last vampire, the actress said on SiriusXM’s “The Morning Mash Up” that she wants the project to bring comfort to fans living in particularly divided times.

“You know, I hope that it brings comfort. I think for me that was like, the big thing is that when you realize all these years later that the show still translates, ’cause sometimes you watch a show that you loved and you see it now and you’re like, ‘OK,’ but it doesn’t have the same meaning. ‘Buffy’ is still hitting people who are watching it for the first time and they’re seeing themselves and they’re seeing their friends and they’re finding their chosen family,” Gellar told co-host Ryan Sampson while interviewing alongside “Buffy” co-star Alyson Hannigan. “I think more than ever right now, as we get more and more divided, we need that chosen family, so I hope to provide a new chosen family.”

“Morning Mash Up” co-host Stanley T pressed the actress on what factors she was considering in the script that made her finally say yes.

“[I did it for] Chloé Zhao and the Zuckermans — I call them the Zucks,” she explained. Zhao is signed on to direct the series’ pilot based off a script written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman. 20th Television and Searchlight TV produce the show. TheWrap last reported that the reboot is nearing a pilot order at Hulu, and Gellar teased in a recent interview with People that pre-production is “progressing probably faster than I’d anticipated.”

“They had the story and I think that’s why no one, everyone was just trying to redo it,” Gellar continued on the SiriusXM program. “[The Zuckermans] had a continuation of where it goes now and, you know, as Alyson and I now have teenagers and you see the circle of what’s needed, which is actually why we’re here today.”

Little is known about this next chapter in the Buffyverse, but it will see Gellar return as the titular character, Buffy, in a recurring capacity while primarily focusing on a new slayer. The Zuckermans are attached as executive producers on the pilot alongside Zhao and Gellar. Additional EPs include Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui, who EP via Suite B; and Dolly Parton, who EPs via Sandollar.

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