Should Buffy the Vampire Slayer get a revival?

Fox has hinted that a ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ revival may come sooner rather than later. But not all of the ‘Buffy’ fans are here for it.

Fox TV group chair Gary Newman admitted that they’ve thought about bringing back Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It makes sense. In the age of nostalgia and reboots, it’s only natural that the vampire-slaying high schooler and her Scooby gang would come up. But the announcement has been met with mixed reactions, to say the least.

“I think if you look in our library, Buffy is probably the most ripe show we have for bringing back,” Newman said at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem, according to Variety.

While he wouldn’t officially confirm a Buffy revival was happening, Newman said, “It’s something we talk about frequently, and Joss Whedon is really one of the greatest creators we ever worked with. When Joss decides it’s time, we’ll do it. And until Joss decides it’s time, it won’t happen.”

He added that the creator has to be the one to want to bring a show back and that there has to really be a hunger for it in the fanbase.

They might have some problems with the fanbase, though.

I’m sure a beloved show like Buffy would have an audience if they made a revival, but comments in the Variety article show that a lot of people don’t want yet another reboot and think that Buffy should be left alone.

“Greatest show ever. Just DON’T reboot it. The comic sequels have been pretty bad,” commenter Matt wrote.

“No! I loved Buffy but I was somewhat relieved when the show ended. By the seventh season, I was beginning to lose interest in the show. I truly hope they do not try to reboot this or do a revival. Leave it alone,” a commenter named Haz said.

Plus, people have been critical of both Buffy and its creator Joss Whedon lately.

At the time, the show was pretty revolutionary. You had a complex female hero, who could be strong but still feminine who navigated killing demons, dating and high school.

It was one of the first feminist shows I’d seen, and it was amazing to watch Buffy kick ass and fight these metaphorical, relatable monsters. I loved how campy and witty it was. Plus, it was one of the first shows to have a lead lesbian character. It was a pretty ground-breaking show.

But Buffy was a little problematic. People had major issues with Spike attempting to rape Buffy. People hated Xander. And some have said the show didn’t truly combat gender stereotypes. Buffy also fell into the “Bury Your Gays” trope when they killed off Tara. And people have said that the show had problems with race.

Then there are the problems with Buffy creator Joss Whedon himself. Whedon recently left the Batgirl film, in part because he would face too much “scrutiny.”

And he has faced a lot of scrutiny lately. While he was praised as a feminist icon for Buffy, people have been taking a closer look at his portrayal of women. For example, in the fictional realm, he’s been criticized for the way he treated Black Widow in The Avengers.

In real life, Whedon’s been criticized for his personal relationships. Whedon’s ex-wife Kai Cole previously wrote a damning open letter calling Whedon a “hypocrite preaching feminist ideals.”

Despite its problems, if there were a Buffy revival, I would probably watch it because I love it. Hopefully, they’d try to fix some of the issues people have pointed out and update the show. It would be interesting to see a show like Buffy on the air in the wake of the Me Too movement.

But while I would watch it, I don’t think they should actually revive it. Sometimes things are better left alone. And Buffy is one of them.

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