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

Buffy: Sarah Michelle Gellar on Finale Being "Bittersweet" Experience

In honor of its anniversary, we look back at what Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar had to share about filming the finale.

Published Tue, 20 May 2025 16:37:07 -0500

by Ray Flook

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While most of our attention when it comes to the "Buffyverse" has focused on EP Sarah Michelle Gellar, Showrunners Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman, director Chloé Zhao, and EP Gail Berman's Ryan Kiera Armstrong-starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel series for Hulu, today is a day for looking back. On this day in 2003, the beloved series ended its run after seven seasons with S07E22: "Chosen." In honor of the special occasion, we're looking back at what Gellar had to share with Evan Ross Katz for Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts (which you can purchase here). During their conversations, Gellar revealed what it was like filming the finale and her thoughts on how it wrapped up the series. In addition, the series star explains why ending the series with five seasons was never something she considered, though it's clear that Gellar was no fan of the sixth and final seasons.

"I finished on the soundstage on a Friday night at like five in the morning. People weren't even there, they had gone home 'cause it was so late. And then I had one day on location left and that was kind of it. Everyone else went back to the soundstage to finish filming, but I had to leave because I was contractually obligated to do 'Scooby-Doo 2.' It was weird because all of a sudden it was just over. And you have to process things," Gellar explained. But the series finale itself is a work that Gellar believes still stands, even if the overall experience was bittersweet. "Overall, I was happy with the direction of the finale. I loved the idea that any girl who has the power, who wants the power, can have it. That's the ultimate message of the show. And so I'm very proud of it. I think 'bittersweet' is the right word," Gellar added.

As for whether or not "Buffy" should've ended after five seasons, Gellar had a very concrete reason to believe that the series would roll on to a sixth season and beyond. "That would have been out of my hands because we were all contractually obligated for seven years, so I don't know if it ever crossed my mind, you know?" she explained. That said, Gellar did not mince words when it came expressing where those final seasons rank in her mind (sorry, Buffy/Spike stan fans). "I think I've been vocal that Season 6 is not my favorite. I think that a lot of Season 7 was pulling the trajectory back to where it should be. But if I had to rank seasons, I wouldn't put 6 and 7 up as my top two. I don't think anybody would. Even if you love Buffy and Spike together, I still don't think you would put it at the top."

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