What Happened to ‘Buffy The Animated Series’?

While its legacy today remains a complicated one, Buffy the Vampire Slayer reached an unprecedented level of success during its initial release. While the notion of crafting an extended coming-of-age drama series off of the premise of a film that had been unsuccessful seemed like a doomed endeavor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer crafted a rich mythology that included memorable plot twists, exciting action sequences, bizarre creatures, and above all else, great characters. Given the success of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its sister series, Angel, it’s not surprising that the franchise has taken on a new life in its expanded universe. While it never made it to the screen, a proposed animated series set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe could have taken the saga in an exciting new direction.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends. 

Release Date

March 10, 1997

Creator

Joss Whedon

Seasons

7

Production Company

Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television

Network

The WB , UPN

Why ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Turned to Animation

As the series grew more ambitious in its later seasons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer proved itself capable of launching spin-off shows that were tangentially related to the main narrative. It became evident that the universe that Joss Whedon had created included many great characters, storylines, and settings; while it would be challenging for the writers to address them all in the core Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, spin-offs could help fill in the gaps and expand on some of the underrepresented elements. After the spin-off series Angel launched to great success in 1999, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer expanded universe began developing with spin-off novels, comics, and roleplaying games. Given the enthusiastic response from an ever-growing fanbase, Whedon considered bringing the “Buffy-verse” into animation.

As Buffy the Vampire Slayer began airing its fifth season in 2001, Whedon and co-writer Jeph Loeb mapped out plans for Buffy: The Animated Series. While the show’s later seasons took place after Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), and Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon) had already gone to college, the animated show would’ve taken them back to their days at Sunnyvale High School. Considering the darker route that the later seasons took, it made sense that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creators were interested in returning to the universe with a slightly lighter touch. Additionally, the short-form animated format would allow the universe to tell smaller, self-contained stories that weren’t necessarily reliant on the central thrust of the narrative.

While it was ostensibly geared toward kids, Buffy: The Animated Series was an ambitious animated program that commanded a sizable budget. Although it would have been easy for Fox to release a cheaply-produced tie-in project that simply generated attention for the core series, Whedon worked with writers Steve DeKnight and Drew Greenberg to develop a rich narrative that told bite-sized mini-adventures during the events of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s first season. Given the advancements that had been made in shows like Animaniacs and Batman: The Animated Series at the time, animation had proven to be a format capable of telling complex stories for audiences of all ages and was in no way a “lesser” medium.

‘Buffy: The Animated Series’ Would’ve Brought Back the Original Cast

While they were still working on the main series at the time, many of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast members were set to appear in the animated series. Anthony Stewart Head had reprised his role as Rupert Giles in a four-minute presentation intended to prove the show’s merits to Fox executives. In addition to Brendon and Hannigan reprising their roles as Xander and Willow, respectively, Buffy: The Animated Series would have brought back characters like Joyce Summers (Kristine Sutherland) and Principal Snyder (Armin Shimerman) that had been killed off. David Boreanaz’s Angelus and Charisma Carpenter’s Cordelia Chase, who had both exited the main series to appear on Angel, were also set to return. While Gellar was not expected to return, Giselle Loran, who had voiced Buffy in several video games, was set to replace her.

While details are scarce about the show’s development, thirteen completed scripts were created for Buffy: The Animated Series, with plans for additional seasons also in place. The first episode, titled “A Day in the Life,” would have revealed the show’s central conceit, reintroduced the characters in animated form, and established some of the new villains. Other concepts included a comedic episode focused on Buffy getting her driver’s license, an installment where the characters were shrunken in size, and a storyline focused on cursed food from the Sunnyvale cafeteria. While initially the episodes were planned as self-contained, “monster of the week”-style installments reminiscent of the first season, it’s possible that Buffy: The Animated Series would have developed more serialized stories had it been greenlit.

Why Was ‘Buffy: The Animated Series’ Canceled?

Despite the high amount of creative output put into the show’s pre-production, Buffy: The Animated Series was unable to find a network willing to air it. The show had been intended to air on Fox Kids, but the termination of the children’s programming block in 2002 left the series without a home. While Whedon shopped the series to other networks, concerns about the high budget made it a risky prospect for interested parties. Although the short proof-of-concept presentation featuring Head was screened for other networks, the conclusion of the main Buffy the Vampire Slayer series in 2003 meant that the show’s exposure had dramatically decreased. The cancellation of Angel in 2004 effectively spelled the end for the Buffy-verse on television.

While it ultimately did not see the light of day, the stories within Buffy: The Animated Series were told in other media. Elements of the show’s animation style were brought into Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, a canon comic book series that picked up where the main series had left off. Buffy: The Animated Series wasn’t the only spin-off that was cut short; there were also plans for the Giles prequel Ripper and a spin-off centered on James Marsters’ Spike and Eliza Dushku’s Faith. However, none of these projects were as advanced in production as Buffy: The Animated Series, and perhaps none had as much potential.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming on Hulu.

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