We finally have an update on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot from a source that may seem a bit out of place, especially if you don’t know her connection to the series. That unlikely source? Dolly Parton. Yes, that Dolly Parton.
She served as an uncredibted producer on the original series (confirmed when Sarah Michelle Gellar talked about it on The Tonight Show). Buffy the Vampire Slayer followed Buffy Summers (Gellar), the one true slayer, as she lived in the Hellmouth of Sunnydale, where she would train with her watcher Giles (Anthony Head) and brought her friends into her high-schooler-by-day, slayer-by-night life. Whether you were a Spike (James Marsters) fan or an Angel (David Boreanaz) believer, the show had a cast that really made everything about Buffy work.
And Parton was there from the start of our love for Buffy and knows how the show works and what fans love about it. So, news from Parton on the revamp of the series is exciting. “They’re still working on that,” Parton told Business Insider. “They’re thinking about bringing it back and revamping it.”
I love that Parton is keeping the dream alive. Many have been talking about Buffy again thanks to things like the Audible series Slayers, which gave us an alternate reality with some of our favorite characters, so the love for Buffy and, subsequently, Angel is currently very much alive and well. Bringing any kind of “reboot” talk into the universe is a smart move, whether or not the original cast is attached.
Gellar has talked about Parton in the past and how the cast never got to meet her, but she would send them gifts at the start of the show, and Gellar once heard Parton praising her performance. It’s exciting to know that Parton is seemingly in the know with this reworking of the series, as well. We don’t quite know how the series is going to work, but giving a new generation of kids their Buffy is the right move.
A revamp of the series would work
Bringing it back for a new generation sounds like perfection. Buffy and Angel defined many growing up. While I would not come to either of these shows until later on, knowing how many of my friends were changed by watching Buffy as kids is enough for me to see the joy in this news, even if it would be yet another Buffy show I don’t get to grow up with. Well, I still act like a teen, so maybe this time I’ll grow up some more?
Jokes aside, the world of Buffy Summers is one that so many of us love. Watching this series brought me such joy, and as I continue to make my way through the bad season of Angel currently (Why is Connor trying to kiss Cordy? Who decided this?!), I am getting through it because there are characters I care about still on the show.
That was always the saving grace of the Buffy universe. We loved the characters we were with, so when we were watching outlandish things happening, we let it go because of who we were experiencing them with. So giving that joy to a new audience? I’m all for it.
(featured image: The WB)
