Posted in: Hulu, TV | Tagged: btvs, buffy, buffy the vampire slayer

Buffy Pilot Rewrite Had More Buffy; Erwich Made Call on Pilot: Report

A report offers insights into Hulu's decision to pass on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, including the executive who made the call.

Overnight, a new report hit offering insights into Hulu's decision to pass on EP Sarah Michelle Gellar, Showrunners Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman, director and executive producer Chloé Zhao, and EP Gail Berman's Gellar and Ryan K. Armstrong-starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale. The report hit shortly after Gellar spoke with PEOPLE, calling out the timing of when she and Zhao were notified, and revealing that the show had an executive "who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn't for him." Here are some of the news details and key highlights from the Deadline Hollywood piece, which names the Hulu executive that Geller referred to. To be clear, the reporting includes intel from unnamed sources who were either directly involved in what went down or closely associated with it – that's important to keep in mind as all sides look to spin the situation in the media.

More Buffy Summers, Not Less: According to DH, the original pilot script was tagged as "not perfect" and "not great." But after a "well-received rewrite" that now included "a lot more Buffy Summers in it," 20th Television and Searchlight Television were feeling good about getting a green light.

"I hear virtually every day last week, the two studios on the Buffy reboot, 20th Television and Searchlight Television, touched base with the project's producers and creative team, indicating that a pickup for the pilot starring Gellar and Ryan Kiera Armstrong seemed imminent after its writers, Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, had done a rewrite."

Hulu Had Notes: DH's report noted from "multiple sources" that the streamer's biggest concern was that the pilot "played too young" and felt "small." Reportedly, the studios and creative team wanted to keep the spirit of the original series' modest budget look and vibe. The Zuckermans' rewrite was reportedly 90 minutes long: "It was more adult, featuring a lot more of Gellar's Buffy, and was described as a more of a streaming than a network show." DH reports that "the rewrite was well received at both studios, 20th TV and Searchlight TV, triggering the internal talk of a pending pickup, with at least one executive in charge 'putting everything on the line' for it, as one person put it."

Was It Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich? According to DH's reporting, Erwich was the executive that Gellar was referring to. Though sources "agreed with Gellar's general assessment of his take on the show," what Erwich meant by his comments during production on the pilot remains a mystery for now. DH's report suggests that the rewritten version of the project "was too expensive to shoot" or that "it still fell short of the high bar set by the original series."

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