Sarah Michelle Gellar has revealed the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series is titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale
The 48-year-old actress is set to reprise her role as the titular heroine having spent over 20 years away from the role, and Gellar has now revealed the show's name - but has insisted New Sunnydale is "not a sequel" and "not a reboot" of the original series.
12 January 2026
Speaking on the Shut Up Evan podcast she said: "It's not a sequel, it's not a reboot - it's a continuation."
The I Know What You Did Last Summer star noted the series - for which Hulu commissioned a pilot for last year - will address some of the original show's biggest unanswered questions, including where Buffy is "now in this world and what is this world that Buffy lives in, with her and without her".
She added: "So it's not a reboot, it's not picking up with all of the same characters right away. It is not like a sequel ... That's why the name was even important to me - Buffy: New Sunnydale. It's Buffy, but it's also something else."
Gellar also said she had learned never to say never again, pointing to the fact that she initially was not keen to return to the Buffy universe.
She explained: "I will eat my words, and I'm OK with that. I learned my lesson. I never saw how and why it could be as good [as the original show].
"I'm not trying to be better. I just want to hold and honor the memory and what we created. I know sometimes that memory is conflicted for people about how they're supposed to feel about it, but a lot of people put their blood, sweat, and tears into making what I think is an incredibly great show, and I'm incredibly proud of it."
Gellar also explained why New Sunnydale was taking its time to hit screens.
She said: "[This] was the first time I said, 'Maybe, could I possibly do this?' And this went on for three years now... me and [director] Chloé [Zhao] going back and forth, saying I could do it, saying I can't, and really spending the time to develop what it is and why it is.
"I know this seems like it's taking a long time, and it's because unless we are sure that it is exactly what we set out to do and that it makes sense to do it, we don't want to sell you the legacy by not.
"When I know it's perfect, then it will be out there, but I won't do it unless I know it can be that."
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