Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale: Everything to Know About Hulu’s Potential New Series

If there’s one thing Buffy Summers knows how to do, it’s come back from the dead. But despite her knack for resurrection on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which got a second life of its own when it moved from The WB to UPN during its seven-season run), she’s never returned for a TV revival. It looks like that’s about to change.

A new Buffy series has officially secured a pilot order at Hulu, and original series star Sarah Michelle Gellar is sharpening her stake to join the fun. Not only will Gellar executive produce the show, alongside some familiar names, but she’s also reprising her role as the iconic Vampire Slayer on screen — though the spotlight will be on a new Slayer and her high school friends. In January, Gellar revealed that the title of the show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, bridging the gap between Buffy and the next generation of heroes. As more news is announced, we’ll be keeping track of everything you need to know about New Sunnydale.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale latest news

The passage of time is nothing for a vampire. James Marsters, who played Buffy’s bleach-blond vampire antagonist-turned-love interest Spike on the original series, revealed in January that he might be reprising the role on New Sunnydale. Per IGN, Marsters spoke to fellow Buffy alum Charisma Carpenter on her podcast and said that there has been “interest” in bringing back Spike for the new series. Marsters added that he’d been watching old episodes to prepare. That said, expect Spike to take his time; if the character does make an appearance on New Sunnydale, Marsters doesn’t expect it to happen before the end of Season 1 at the earliest.

When will New Sunnydale premiere?

The Buffy revival is still officially just a pilot, but the odds are good that New Sunnydale will score a series order at Hulu — and it could even premiere this year. Variety reported in November 2025 that the show is expected to debut in 2026.

New Sunnydale cast

Ryan Kiera Armstrong will lead New Sunnydale as the new Slayer at the center of the action. Deadline announced her casting in May 2025. Armstrong’s other credits include The Lowdown, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Firestarter.

Sarah Michelle Gellar celebrated the news by posting a video of the moment when she told the 15-year-old Armstrong that she had earned the role. “From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side,” Gellar said in the caption. “To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift.”

The cast of series regulars will also include, per Deadline, Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned), Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU), Sarah Bock (Severance), Daniel Di Tomasso (Major Crimes), and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier).

And it wouldn’t be Buffy without Buffy. Gellar is officially set to reprise her role as Buffy Summers in the new series. 

No other returning cast members have been named, but Deadline reported in February 2025 that it’s “likely” that Gellar won’t be the only original Buffy cast member to appear in the new show. Gellar fueled more speculation in June 2025 when she told Vanity Fair Italia, “My dream is to bring back everyone who has died.” 

In the meantime, New Sunnydale is filling out its guest cast. Merrin Dungey, Audrey Hsieh, and Audrey Grace Marshall have joined the pilot in guest starring roles, which are expected to become recurring roles if the show goes to series, according to Deadline. Chase Sui Wonders will also appear in the pilot, in a one-off guest starring role.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale main cast:

• Ryan Kiera Armstrong
• Sarah Michelle Gellar
• Faly Rakotohavana 
• Ava Jean 
• Sarah Bock 
• Daniel Di Tomasso 
• Jack Cutmore-Scott

New Sunnydale characters and story

Ready to meet the next generation of teens tasked with slaying vampires and preventing the apocalypse? We may or may not have some details on the show’s new Scooby Gang. After TVLine revealed possible descriptions of the new characters in March 2025, Gellar suggested that fans shouldn’t get too attached to that information, telling Elite Daily, “Those are all fake characters. That thing that got released is all fake.”

Deadline, however, backed up many of those character descriptions in July 2025 while announcing new additions to the cast. Those descriptions, which might be subject to change, are as follows:

• Nova, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, is the new Slayer. She’s described as a “cerebral 16-year-old” who’s “very smart and a bit of a loner.”
• Hugo, played by Faly Rakotohavana, is a “privileged, likable,” geeky high school student.
• Larkin, played by Ava Jean, is a fellow student and a “chronic do-gooder.”
• Gracie, played by Sarah Bock, is the “ringleader for a group of church-going students.”
• Abe, played by Daniel Di Tomasso, is Nova’s father, a single dad who is also a photojournalist.
• Mr. Burke, played by Jack Cutmore-Scott, is a popular high school teacher.

The show’s potential new recurring characters include Ms. LaDuca (Merrin Dungey), New Sunnydale Academy’s college counselor; and a pair of students in the school’s Evangelical Christian group, Keiko (Audrey Hsieh) and Jessica (Audrey Grace Marshall).

In June 2025, Gellar told Vanity Fair Italia that the revival “will try to find a balance between new and old characters.” And it sounds like the series will embrace its high school setting, with a tone that lines up with Buffy‘s high school years. According to Gellar, “it will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original,” which took on weightier issues as the characters grew up. 

Gellar also teased, “We’re trying to figure out how to modernize the themes of the series, especially what it means to feel like an outsider in a world dominated by social media.”

Who’s in charge of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale?

Gellar isn’t just lending her influence to the revival in front of the camera; she’s also set to executive produce the new series, and Variety reports that she’ll be joined by some familiar behind-the-scenes names. Longtime Buffy and Angel executive producer Gail Berman is on board, along with Fran Kuzui (who directed the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie) and Kaz Kuzui. And yes — original Buffy producer Dolly Parton is also executive producing through her company Sandollar.

Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning Nomadland director and a lifelong Buffy fan, directed the pilot and is also an executive producer. 

New Sunnydale will be showrun by Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman, who wrote the pilot. The Zuckermans most recently served as the showrunners of the first season of Poker Face; their other credits include Fringe, Haven, Suits, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Prodigal Son.

In an Instagram post in early February 2025, Gellar described years of meetings with Berman, Zhao, and the Zuckermans eventually giving way to an idea for a revival. “I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit ‘Buffy’ and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right,” she wrote. “This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there.”

She concluded, “I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love ‘Buffy’ as much as I do. And as much as you do. Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.”

As for who’s not involved, original series creator Joss Whedon reportedly has no involvement in the new show. Whedon has not worked in Hollywood since 2021 after facing multiple allegations of creating a “toxic” work environment.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale production

The pilot episode of New Sunnydale was shot in August 2025 in Los Angeles, where the original series and its spin-off, Angel, filmed. Guest star Chase Sui Wonders told Deadline at the time that Gellar was “very hands on” with the new show and was “on set every day, from as soon as we start to when we wrap.”

In July 2025, Gellar posted a photo from the table read, teasing her return to the role of Buffy Summers (as Sarah Michelle Gellar Prinze) with her script in the background.

Where we left Buffy the Vampire Slayer

If you’re trying to remember how Buffy and a new Slayer could coexist, here’s a refresher: The original series began with the concept that there could only be one Slayer alive at a time — an idea the show played with by activating a second Slayer, Kendra (Bianca Lawson), when Buffy briefly died in the Season 1 finale. Kendra was followed after her death by Faith (Eliza Dushku), meaning two Slayers were active for most of the show. But it was the series finale that really opened up the story to multiple Slayers: In the final episode, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) performed a spell to activate every living Potential Slayer at once, ending the rule that one girl had to fight the forces of darkness on her own.

Buffy ended in 2003 after seven seasons. From 2007-2018, Dark Horse Comics published a series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, Seasons Eight through Twelve, that were produced by Joss Whedon and were described as official canonical continuations of the story. There’s been no word on whether the new TV series will have any continuity with the comics, but Whedon is not involved with the revival.

Some of the cast also revived the world of Buffy through the audio series Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, which was released on Audible in 2023. Written by Christopher Golden and cast member Amber Benson, the series was not officially part of the Buffyverse canon, but it did feature plenty of original cast members, including Benson as Tara, James Marsters as Spike, Anthony Stewart Head as Giles, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, Emma Caulfield as Anya, and Juliet Landau as Drusilla. The series was canceled in 2024 after one season. Golden wrote that Disney had “refused to allow Audible to proceed with future seasons” and said, “To my knowledge, they have provided no explanation.” It’s unclear whether the development of New Sunnydale was a factor.

Where to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer

All seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are streaming on Hulu.