Into every generation a slayer is born – one girl in all the world, a chosen one. And a generation ago, that slayer was Buffy Summers, as portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Now, Gellar and the other stars of the beloved horror comedy-drama series have taken to social media to celebrate the show’s 25th Anniversary.
When Buffy first premiered in 1997, it was far from a guaranteed success. Based on the 1992 movie of the same name (which didn’t exactly set the world alight), and on new network The WB – no one was expecting much from this genre-bending show. It would, of course, go on to have seven successful seasons, spawn the spin-off Angel, and end up being hugely influential.
Gellar’s post on Instagram, marking the anniversary, acknowledges that it shouldn’t have been a success; “25 years ago today I had the honor to introduce the world to my version of Buffy Anne Summers. It was an uphill battle. A mid season replacement, on a new network based on a movie, that was by no means a giant success. But then there was you. The fans. You believed in us. You made this happen. You are the reason 25 years later we are still celebrating. So today we celebrate you as well.”
David Boreanz, who played Angel, wrote; “An Angel was born 25 years ago, even though he was 245 years old. We celebrate 25 years and to all the fans we say: Thank You!” James Marsters (Spike), Nicholas Brendan (Xander), and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn) have also all taken to Instagram to celebrate the milestone.
Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase) also wrote a lengthy post. Carpenter has been at the centre of allegations against Joss Whedon, who allegedly created a toxic working environment on the set of Buffy. Many of her co-stars, including Trachtenberg, came out with their own stories regarding Whedon.
Despite this, many women in particular still look back at Buffy as extremely formative for them. It was an empowering show for girls, who had someone as cool as Gellar’s Summers to look up to.
If you’re a fan of Buffy, check out our guides to some other spook-filled fare, such as the best monster movies, the best zombie movies and the best ghost movies.