Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Holy TV news, Comic-Con! Joss Whedon is returning to TV in a big, big way. In addition to having a new sci-fi series picked up at HBO, Whedon is developing a series reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer — and that’s not all. This new, modern Buffy series will feature a black female lead, but before you arch that eyebrow, hear this: Whedon has set Midnight, Texas creator Monica Owusu-Breen as the executive producer, writer and showrunner of the new Buffy.

Much as we’ve dreaded the thought, Buffy the Vampire Slayer might return to life yet a third time. FOX bosses say they’ve frequently discussed the possibility of resurrecting Joss Whedon’s brand of vampire pop, and are just waiting for the go-ahead to make it so.

In the Golden Age of television — or Peak TV, or “oh god, please stop, I have enough to watch already” — shows aren’t just more cinematic, they’re offering us more of everything. That includes more sex scenes, which have become increasingly prevalent, revealing, daring and yes, even artful, reinforcing the notion that TV has become more like film. We recently chose the 25 best movie sex scenes of the last 25 years, and with the smaller screen’s growing resemblance to its big screen brethren, we thought it only right to do the same for television. We also assumed that making a list of the 25 best TV sex scenes of the last 20 years would be far easier and much less surprising. Spoiler alert: We were wrong.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer got another turn in that vampire-dusting sun with the recent 20th anniversary, and all those old romances remain as divisive as ever. That said, when Sarah Michelle Gellar plays “marry, shag, kill” with the Buffy trio of Angel, Spike and Xander … well, the outcome probably isn’t going to shock you.

We’re still actively awaiting whatever project brings Joss Whedon back to the limelight, but as Buffy the Vampire Slayer reaches a 20-year anniversary, it’s impossible to ignore how TV consumption has changed. If ever Joss plotted a TV return, streaming options like Netflix would leap at the chance, though the Avengers director says of the all-at-once model “I would not want to do it.”

Every movie and TV fan has their pick of sacred properties Hollywood dare not reboot (or revive), and a great many would likely point to Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a Whedon property best-left alone. Sarah Michelle Gellar has her own idea of whether revisiting Buffy might be worthwhile today, and where she hopes the character ended up.

It feels like forever and a day we’ve been dividing ships of one dystopian and/or supernatural couple or another, but certainly Joss Whedon deserves credit for Buffy the Vampire Slayer cementing the trend. Over a decade later, fans are still torn over which en-souled vampire marks Buffy’s one true love, but Joss Whedon has formally made his choice. Sound the alarm, and get out your stakes.