Posted in: Current News, CW, Opinion, TV | Tagged: btvs, buffy, buffy the vampire slayer, opinion

Buffy Reaction: Hulu, Joss Whedon, That "Last 20 Seconds" Rumor & More

We've got some thoughts on Hulu not moving ahead with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chloé Zhao's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.

Earlier today, the news that Hulu had given a pass to 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 pilot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale pilot pretty much broke the pop culture landscape. While "sources" have been hitting up the big-time entertainment sites to offer the streamer's vaguely-worded perspective on the matter, it's probably going to be a long while before we get to the heart of what went wrong. We're just going to put it out there: we thought it was a no-brainer. You had an Academy Award-nominated director with a pitch so impressive that it got Gellar to change her mind on a return she never imagined making. Add to that the acting talents of Armstrong, who made more than made a name for herself recently in FX's The Lowdown (renewed for a second season), and the creative skills that the Zuckermans and Berman bring to the table. And yet, here we are. With that in mind, we wanted to throw out some random thoughts we had over the past few hours:

Joss Whedon Wasn't a Factor: Unless Disney's Hulu is having clandestine meetings with him about making some kind of career comeback via "Buffy," Joss Whedon wasn't a factor. We're mentioning this because we've seen some people post that giving the pilot a series green light would somehow mean that Whedon would be brought back into the mix, and Disney wanted no part of that. While we know nothing about the behind-the-scenes legal stuff, we're going to say with confidence, based on what went down with Whedon and the allegations from those who worked on "Buffy" and Angel, there's no way Gellar would've signed on if it meant Whedon would be involved.

Hulu Doesn't Get the Benefit of the Doubt: Unless we get to see the pilot for ourselves, we're going to side with Gellar, Zhao, and the others on this one – easily. The onus is on the streamers and studios to make their case for their decisions – not the creators. We want to see their "notes." Why? Because studios and streamers don't exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to what goes to series and what doesn't. And yet, we're seeing folks automatically assuming that it was the fault of the "New Sunnydale" team and their approach to the series, as if the studios and streamers deserve some kind of benefit of the doubt.

Sarah Michelle Gellar: "There had been talk about reworking the pilot. In the end, Hulu opted not to proceed with it but remains high on the Buffy IP and plans to regroup and mull a possible new incarnation of the beloved franchise." That was a line from Deadline Hollywood's reporting earlier today. If that's true, then someone over at Hulu should speak to the folks behind Orphan Black: Echoes about how well things go when you move on with a franchise without the main player – and "Echoes" had the great Krysten Ritter. If Hulu decides to move on with the franchise, that will be a difficult tightrope walk. You're going to disenfranchise a lot of fans who are going to feel that Gellar is being disrespected. If Hulu still wants Gellar involved, they're going to need to come to her with a "Buffy"- style take that exceeds the creative high bar Gellar says Zhao set.

That "Last 20 Seconds" Rumor: There's a rumor going around that the pilot didn't have Gellar's Buffy Summers appear until the final 20 seconds – like that's a bad thing. We knew going in that "New Sunnydale" would focus on a new slayer (Armstrong), with Gellar taking on a recurring role. But let's put even that aside for a second. What's wrong with building drama for a kick-ass ending to the first episode? You want me to tune into the next episode? That's a big way to make it happen. And if you're Hulu, what could you really be worried about? You have Gellar in front of you, telling you and everyone else how committed she is to her return and to this series. That should've been more than enough to ease any concerns.

Should We Be Concerned About Ryan Coogler's "The X-Files"? We have two Oscar-nominated filmmakers fronting new takes on two very popular franchises. We just saw that, even with Gellar directly involved on both sides of the camera, "New Sunnydale" wasn't enough for the streamer to give it a go-ahead. Does this put pressure on filmmaker Ryan Coogler's (Sinners) attempt to jump-start The X-Files franchise? With Coogler at the helm, we were more than confident that simply setting it in the original series' universe would be more than enough to sell it. But now? It feels like maybe having Gillian Anderson and/or David Duchovny involved in some way might become a bit more of a priority. Again, we know that it's different creative minds tackling two very different franchises, but the common factor is still Hulu.

Here's a look back at the video message that Gellar shared earlier today, breaking the bad news and thanking Zhao – while also making it clear to the "Buffy" fans that she's still ready to be called upon when the Apocalypse hits:

Along with Gellar and Armstrong, the pilot also includes Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned) as Hugo, Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU) as Larkin, Sarah Bock (Severance) as Gracie, Daniel di Tomasso (Witches of East End) as Abe, Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier) as Mr. Burke, Kingston Vernes (The Survivor) as Carson, Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio) as Shirley, Merrin Dungey (The Lincoln Lawyer) as Ms. LaDuca, Audrey Hsieh (Found) as Keiko, and Audrey Grace Marshall (The Flight Attendant) as Jessica.

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