Hulu shelved “Buffy: New Sunnydale” after Chloé Zhao helmed a pilot for the new iteration of the show.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz take a dig at Buffy revival’s cancellation at Emmys

Hulu shelved “Buffy: New Sunnydale” after Chloé Zhao helmed a pilot for the new iteration of the show.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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September 14, 2026 9:27 p.m. ET

Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz at the 2026 Emmys. Credit:

Trae Patton/NBC via Getty

- Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz presented at the Emmys.

- The duo used the opportunity to shade the decision to shelve the revival *Buffy: New Sunnydale*.

- The former costars’ jokes prompted a roar of laughter at the awards show.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz used the Emmys stage for unexpectedly pointed purposes.

The longtime *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* costars reunited to present the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, while also commemorating the 30th anniversary of the *Buffy* premiere.

At the tail end of their time on stage, the former castmates took the opportunity to jab at the *Buffy* revival’s cancellation earlier this year.

“You know, Sarah, I always thought that Buffy and Angel would end up together,” Boreanaz said in reference to the duo’s romantically entangled characters.

“Well, I guess we won’t find out,” Gellar responded, prompting a roar of laughter from the audience.

Sarah Michelle Gellar on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.

The joke was a not-so-subtle dig at *Buffy*’s scrapped revival, which Hulu ordered as a pilot before unceremoniously shelving the project.

The original *Buffy* ran for seven seasons, from 1997 to 2003. The Boreanaz-led spinoff *Angel* ran for five seasons, from 1999 to 2004. ** reported that Gellar was in negotiations to revive the series in February 2025, with *Nomadland* auteur Chloé Zhao in the director’s chair and *Poker Face* alums Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman serving as writers.

Gellar confirmed that she was considering a revival shortly thereafter, explaining that an impassioned conversation with Zhao gave renewed her interest in returning to the show after years of resisting more *Buffy*.

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‘Buffy’ stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz are asked to kiss, hold hands on Emmys 2026 red carpet

“I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit Buffy and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right,” Gellar said last year. “This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there.”

In May 2025, Gellar revealed that Ryan Kiera Armstrong would star as a new slayer in the show, which would have been titled *Buffy: New Sunnydale*.

However, Gellar ultimately confirmed that the show was not moving forward after the completion of the pilot. “Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with *Buffy: New Sunnydale*,” she said in an Instagram video in March. “I wanna thank Chloé Zhao because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots… and thanks to Chloé, I was reminded of how much I love her and how much she means not only to me, but to all of you. And this doesn’t change any of that.”

Gellar later explained why she thought the show did not proceed at Hulu. “We had an executive on our show 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,” she told PEOPLE.

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Elsewhere in their Emmys presentation, Gellar reflected on the recent string of losses within the *Buffy* family, which included Michelle Trachtenberg’s death at 39 last year, Nicholas Brendon’s death at 54 in March, and Anthony Head’s death at 72 in June.

“David and I would like to acknowledge that it’s been a tough two years for our beloved cast and crew,” the actress said. “And we feel very lucky to have known and worked with such amazing people.”

**Watch EW and PEOPLE’s interview with *The Traitors* host Alan Cumming on the Emmys red carpet below.**

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Emmys”