Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot still in the works, says Dolly Parton

Country music legend and little-known Buffy the Vampire Slayer producer Dolly Parton has revealed that the supernatural drama series could soon be making a TV comeback.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer starred recent Drag Race guest judge Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead role, and aired for seven season between 1997 and 2003. It became a pop culture juggernaut, spawning spin-offs in books, TV, podcasts and games.

The show found such a huge following that its fans refer to it and its related works as the “Buffyverse”.

Yet few people know that “Jolene” star and 11-time Grammy winner Dolly Parton produced every single season of Buffy via her production company Sandollar Productions.

In a recent interview with Business Insider, Parton teased that a previously announced revival of the original series is still a possibility.

“They’re still working on that… they’re thinking about bringing it back and revamping it,” Parton said, though she did not specify who was involved in the reboot.

Sarah Michelle Gellar has previously ruled herself out of making a Buffy return.

Parton went on to stress that while she was involved in producing the show, she had little do with its actual creation. So much so that Gellar, who played lead character Buffy, admitted last year that she didn’t meet Parton during her time on the show – but Parton did send the cast Christmas gifts.

“A lot of my work was done just conversing back and forth with the business people there,” the “9 To 5” singer said.

“I have to give more people more credit on Buffy the Vampire Slayer than me. A lot of people did so much sweat on that.

“That little show did great.”

A Buffy reboot was initially announced way back in 2009, however the project was criticised for not including the show’s original creator Joss Whedon, and it was ultimately shelved.

In 2018, another reboot was promised, this time with Whedon on board, and a proposed Black lead. However, the project is yet to come to fruition. 

Whedon has since faced several accusations of bullying and workplace harassment in 2020 and 2021, first from the cast of DC film Justice League, and then from Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress Charisma Carpenter.

Other stars of the show, including Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg, supported Carpenter’s claim that the set of Buffy was a “toxic” work environment, while Gellar also distanced herself from Whedon.

Queer fans of the show still celebrate it for helping to herald in a new age of LGBTQ+ representation; across the “Buffyverse” there are a few dozen queer characters, including fan favourite sapphic witch duo Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) and Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan).