‘Buffy’ Reboot Star Ryan Kiera Armstrong Thanks Fans After Hulu Axes Show: ‘I’m Sad You Guys Won’t Be Able to See It’

Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who was set to star in Hulu’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot as a new paranormal butt kicker, shared a video message on her Instagram Story Saturday afternoon after original star Sarah Michelle Gellar said the streamer was no longer moving forward with the sequel series.

“I’m sure many of you have already heard the news by now, but I wanted to come on here and say thank you for all the support that you guys have given me and the show,” Armstrong said. “Throughout the past couple of months, it’s been really special. I’m really proud of what we did. I’m sad that you guys won’t be able to see it, but that doesn’t take away from the amazing experience that I had. I want to say thank you to Sarah [Michelle Gellar], the second sisters [and] Chloé Zhao. I love you guys, and I also want to say thank you to old fans and all the people that believed in this new chapter and who believed in me. So thank you, guys. Thank you to the cast that I worked with. You guys are awesome. But I guess all I want to say is, you know, we brought this back for you guys. And you know, ‘Buffy’ is such a big part of all of our lives, and it’s not going anywhere, so who knows what the future will hold.”

The new “Buffy” was first ordered to pilot at Hulu in February 2025. “Hamnet” filmmaker Zhao was set to direct and executive-produce. The new chapter, titled “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale,” was set up at 20th Television and Searchlight Television.

Along with Armstrong, other cast members for the pilot included Faly Rakotohavana as Hugo, Ava Jean as Larkin, Sarah Bock as Gracie, Daniel di Tomasso as Abe and Jack Cutmore-Scott as Mr. Burke. Gellar was set to return as Buffy in a recurring role.

Gellar dropped the news that “Buffy” was put to rest in an Instagram post Saturday. In her video post, Gellar said, “I am really sad to have to share this, but I wanted you all to hear it from me. Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with ‘Buffy: New Sunnydale.’ I want to 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 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, and I promise if the apocalypse actually comes, you can still beep me.”