Five years after the Kristy Swanson/Luke Perry-led Buffy the Vampire Slayer got here and went in theaters, a televised version reappeared on the upstart WB community in March of 1997.
This time, the idea confirmed stronger endurance. Based on creator Joss Whedon’s unique film script, the TV sequence follows the exploits of a cheerleader-turned-vampire-slayer and her mates as they navigate younger maturity and battle the forces of evil that converge of their Southern California city. With its signature mixture of excessive Gothic horror and teenage comedy, “Buffy” enthralled viewers for seven seasons (the ultimate two on UPN) and endures as a fan favourite from the period.
Here’s a have a look at what the solid has been as much as because the last battle that destroyed Sunnydale but additionally closed the Hellmouth portal for good.
Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers)
Gellar in 2017 with a duplicate of her e-book, Stirring Up Fun With Food: Over 115 Simple, Delicious Ways To Be Creative In The Kitchen
Tasia Wells/Getty Images
With her profession on the upswing when she arrived because the Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar grew to become considered one of Hollywood’s biggest young stars over the subsequent decade. She adopted “Buffy”‘s debut with the fright flicks I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2 (each 1997), and went on to star in Cruel Intentions (1999), Scooby-Doo (2002) and The Grudge (2004). Gellar returned to the small display within the 2010s with main roles in “Ringer” and “The Crazy Ones,” earlier than offering voice work for the animated “Star Wars Rebels” and “Masters of the Universe: Revelation.” She additionally found time to write Stirring Up Fun With Food (2017) and launch the family-friendly Foodstirs baking kits, when not raising her two children with Scooby-Doo co-star Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg)
Hannigan and actor Eugene Levy on an episode of ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ in 2020
Adam Christopher/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank by way of Getty Images
Following her flip as shy-nerd-turned-powerful-witch Willow Rosenberg, Alyson Hannigan made her mark on different common franchises of the early aughts. She cracked up audiences because the “one time at band camp” flutist Michelle Flaherty in American Pie (1999) and its sequels, earlier than settling into the footwear of Lily Aldrin on “How I Met Your Mother.” The actress has additionally hosted “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” and the Food Network reveals “Girl Scout Cookie Championship” and “Outrageous Pumpkins,” whereas additionally contributing voice work to the Disney sequence “Fancy Nancy.” But for all her successes, the actress stays tied to her vampire roots by means of her marriage to fellow “Buffy” alum Alexis Denisof, with whom she has two kids.
Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris)
Brendon on the Motor City Comic Con in 2014
Paul Warner/Getty Images
After enjoying Xander Harris—who had an important function within the Scooby Gang regardless of a scarcity of great powers—Nicholas Brendon continued within the supporting vein in most of his subsequent tasks. He nabbed recurring roles within the sequence “Criminal Minds,” “Private Practice” and “Faking It,” whereas additionally starring within the TV film A Golden Christmas (2009) and the impartial characteristic Big Gay Love (2013). Beyond his display credit, Brendon has co-written a number of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” comedian books for the Dark Horse imprint and has displayed his expertise as an artist. However, his current accomplishments have been eclipsed by a string of arrests for home violence and substance abuse points.
David Boreanaz (Angel)
Boreanaz on a 2021 episode of the CBS drama ‘SEAL Team’
Cliff Lipson/CBS by way of Getty Images
Perhaps the largest beneficiary from a high-profile “Buffy” function was David Boreanaz, who went from unknown actor to one of many small display’s extra prominent leading men over subsequent a long time. His vampire with a soul earned the five-season spinoff “Angel,” for which he acquired three Saturn Awards for greatest actor on tv. Boreanaz then co-starred for 12 seasons as FBI Agent Seely Booth on the crime procedural “Bones” earlier than shifting to the navy drama “SEAL Team” as chief Jason Hayes, sometimes pulling double responsibility on each sequence as a director. The heartthrob actor has additionally become a father to 2 kids together with his second spouse, Jaime Bergman.
James Marsters (Spike)
Marsters on the Museum of Pop Culture in 2018.
Suzi Pratt/WireImage
Another vampire with eyes for the Slayer and a personality arc that introduced him to “Angel,” James Marsters compiled a powerful record of credit within the wake of “Buffy.” Regularly appearing on television, the Californian loved recurring roles in “Smallville,” “Without a Trace,” “Caprica,” “Hawaii Five-O” and “Witches of East End,” earlier than touchdown an everyday gig on the Marvel sequence “Runaways.” On the large display, he surfaced in P.S. I Love You (2007), Dragonball Evolution (2009) and A Bread Factory (2018). Marsters has additionally served because the audiobook narrator for the long-running sci-fi/thriller sequence The Dresden Files, and has launched albums each as a solo artist and a member of the group Ghost of the Robot.
Anthony Head (Rupert Giles)
Head talking on a Comic-Con International panel in 2014
Evans Vestal Ward/Syfy/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal by way of Getty Images
The elder statesman of the primary solid, London-born Anthony Head continued his successes on either side of the Atlantic after seven seasons as Watcher Rupert Giles. He went on to roles within the sequence “Manchild,” “Little Britain,” “Merlin,” “Dominion” and “Ted Lasso,” whereas additionally nurturing his movie profession with appearances in Scoop (2006), The Iron Lady (2011) and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013). Head was additionally seen on the British stage in productions of Six Degrees of Separation and Love In Idleness, and contributed to the BBC Radio packages Bleak Expectations and Cabin Pressure. And in what ought to come as no shock to anyone who noticed him sing and play guitar on “Buffy,” the veteran performer has launched a pair of albums that includes each unique and canopy songs.
Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase)
Carpenter, at proper, is interviewed on the purple carpet for the sequence ‘Battle of the Network Stars’ in 2017.
Kelsey McNeal/Disney General Entertainment Content by way of Getty Images
Introduced as a cold-hearted cheerleader, Charisma Carpenter’s Cordelia Chase embarked a redemptive path that remodeled her right into a key ally and carried her by means of 4 of 5 seasons of “Angel.” From there, Carpenter loved a stable profession as a small-screen regular, if not fairly a headliner; she landed recurring roles within the sequence “Charmed,” “Veronica Mars” and “Greek,” together with a distinguished half within the short-lived “The Lying Game.” The actress additionally joined Sylvester Stallone’s all-star solid in The Expendables (2010), earlier than her three-season stint as host of Investigation Discovery’s “Surviving Evil.” In early 2021, Carpenter made headlines for tweeting about her clashes with Whedon behind the scenes of “Buffy” and “Angel,” opening the door for different solid members and writers to disclose their associated experiences on set.
