"Into every generation" a new supernatural series is born. Sarah Michelle Gellar's Wolf Pack, available to stream on Paramount+, is one of this genre's latest and most anticipated shows. But, before shows like Wolf Pack, Supernatural, and all the other supernatural dramas, there was the 90s show that started it all, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, still beloved by fans everywhere. The preceding movie is not as appreciated but still stands as a cult classic. Most fans today will regard Sarah Michelle Gellar as the real Buffy, the one who fought the forces of darkness for seven years--and still fights, to those who read the comics--while snuggling up with vampire hotties (Bangel vs Spuffy? The fan-feud is ongoing).
Joss Whedon created BTVS as an allegory for the horrors of high school, and as the Scooby Gang aged, the show explored deeper adult themes of addiction, toxic relationships, loss, and parenthood. The show is a cathartic outlet for die-hard Buffy fans. It shows people how strong they can be no matter what they go through. It represents the inner demons people face every day and the tumultuous relationships they navigate with each other. For those who grew up with Buffy, it's a staple comfort show and a fan obsession. For those just discovering Buffy, this article should serve as an introduction to the Buffyverse. Now without further ado, here's how you can watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Where Is Buffy the Vampire Slayer Streaming?
Buffy is available to stream with a Hulu subscription, or on the Roku channel for free with a Roku device. Seasons and separate episodes can also be purchased on Amazon, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and Google Play. The complete series can be purchased on DVD from Amazon and Walmart.
What Exactly Is Buffy the Vampire Slayer About?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, brand new to the fictional town of Sunnydale, California. She and her mother, Joyce, portrayed by Kristine Sutherland, try to make a go at a fresh start after the tragic events that took place in LA. But Buffy can't escape her past, nor her destiny as a vampire slayer. She quickly teams up with her watcher, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), and her new besties, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) to battle the vampires and demons spawned from the Hellmouth on which Sunnydale sits. Over the course of seven years, from 1997 to 2003, the "Scooby Gang" defeat seven big bads and stave off six apocalypses. They lose prominent loved ones and form unlikely alliances throughout the show, and at times their reality is completely altered. But through it all, they form bonds in blood and magic that can never be broken and become a family willing to fight for the fate of the world.
Who Are the Cast and Creators of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
As already mentioned, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Buffy Summers, the sassy LA teen who just wants to be a regular girl, but her calling to fight vampires is far from normal. Anthony Stewart Head is her watcher, an appointed mentor to the slayer, and an inadvertent father figure in the absence of Buffy's own distant father. Alyson Hannigan is Willow Rosenberg, a loveable genius and Buffy's best friend. Nicholas Brendon plays Xander Harris, a total spazz who fights with all of his mortal might. Kristine Sutherland is Buffy's mom, and Michelle Trachtenberg plays Buffy's mystically inserted little sister in later seasons. David Boreanaz is Angel, the vampire with a soul and Buffy's first and forever love. James Marsters plays Spike, a vampire menace at first who later becomes another love interest for Buffy. Charisma Carpenter is Cordelia Chase, the most envied and hated girl in Sunnydale who, by no fault of her own, gets mixed up with the Scooby Gang and becomes part of the crew. Seth Green is Oz, the werewolf madly in love with Willow and a staple character for a couple of seasons. Emma Caulfield is Anya, a demon turned ex-demon turned demon again who joins the group through Xander around Season 4, and Amber Benson is Tara Maclay, Willow's first girlfriend and the love of her life. There's also Eliza Dushku as Faith, "the Cain to [Buffy's] Abel", a vampire slayer who goes rogue but later seeks redemption, Juliet Landau as Drusilla, Spike's vampire girlfriend, Marc Blucas as Riley Finn, Buffy's straight-and-narrow college boyfriend, and Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, the newly appointed watcher to Buffy and Faith in Season 3.
Inspired by the horror movie helpless blonde trope and with motivations to turn it on its head, Joss Whedon created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and later the spin-off series, Angel. After failing to put out the movie he intended with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), allegedly due to lack of creative control, The WB network gave Whedon the green light on creating the series, which became an instant success. Whedon produced the show under his company Mutant Enemy Productions with producers David Greenwalt, Marti Noxon, Fran Rubel Kuzui, and Kaz Kuzui. Mutant Enemy also produced the sci-fi series Firefly, as well as the Marvel series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the blockbuster horror movie The Cabin in the Woods.
After five seasons airing on The WB, Buffy transferred to UPN for the last two seasons. In 2001, BTVS went into syndication and was picked up by various networks including 20th Century Fox. It continues to air on the Comet TV network and, as mentioned above, is available to stream on many platforms.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Guide
Season 1
Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on March 10, 1997, and ended on June 2, 1997. The pilot introduced audiences to the core members of Buffy's demon-fighting crew, Giles, Willow, and Xander, and the season gave viewers a first look at characters like Angel, Cordelia, and Jenny Calendar. The first major villain Buffy faces is The Master, the big bad of the first season. He's a super old vampire prophetically connected to Buffy. Season 1 also provided a slew of lesser bad guys, including a witch hellbent on pursuing her dreams of being a cheerleader, a group of school bullies possessed by evil hyenas, and a demon-infused robot with the power to control the internet.
Season 2
Buffy Season 2, which aired from September 15, 1997, to May 19, 1998, sees Buffy and Angel's relationship intensify and tragically fall apart. After losing his soul, Angel becomes the big bad in this season. Viewers are also introduced to Spike and Drusilla for the first time, as well as Kendra, the Jamaican vampire slayer, portrayed by Bianca Lawson. Season 2 also marks the beginning of Willow's witch journey, an important storyline throughout the show.
Season 3
Season 3 aired from September 29, 1998, to July 13, 1999. It's a season of milestones and rites of passage. There's prom, Buffy's 18th birthday, high school graduation, and the unwanted increased involvement of the Watcher's Council, which also comes to its end. The Buffyverse gains a fan favorite and minor villain in Faith the vampire slayer, Buffy's darker half. The Mayor of Sunnydale, Mayor Wilkins, is this season's calm, collected, jovial supervillain, and his secret plans of ending the human world come to a giant head in the season finale.
Season 4
Season 4 began on October 5, 1999, and ended on May 23, 2000. This season, Buffy goes to college and Sunnydale gets the Initiative, a secret government agency tasked with killing, capturing, and experimenting on demons. Buffy falls in love with an initiative operative, Riley Finn, and goes from an initiative ally to its number one enemy. Willow explores her sexuality with Tara, who eventually becomes part of the gang, and Anya is included as a new main character. The big bad here is Adam, a demon-human-cyborg created and accidentally unleashed by the Initiative. It's not the most popular season for most Buffy fans, but it's worth the watch.
Season 5
In Season 5, which aired from September 26, 2000, to May 22, 2001, Buffy fans get the most hated character in BTVS history: Dawn Summers, Buffy's little sister. There's some fun with Dracula and love-crazed robots, but to balance out the comedy with tragedy, Buffy suffers a heartbreaking loss. The show pits Buffy against Glory, a Hell-God who just wants to go home at the expense of the world. This was originally supposed to be the last season, with Buffy's messianic self-sacrifice to end the story, but alas, the show must go on.
Season 6
Airing from October 2, 2001, to May 21, 2002, Buffy Season 6 is the darkest season of the show. Buffy endures an abusive relationship, Willow battles an addiction to magic (a blatant metaphor for drug addiction), and Giles is nowhere around to parent these wayward souls. Unexpectedly, Willow becomes the big bad after losing the love of her life, and Xander ends up saving the world from her wrath.
Season 7
The last season of the show, airing from September 24, 2002, to May 20, 2003, does not disappoint with the biggest battle Buffy and the gang have ever had to face. They fight The First, the very essence of evil. They are tested well beyond their limits and very nearly defeated. But Buffy doesn't go down that easy, and through blood, sweat, and tears, a new era of the vampire slayer is born.
How to Explore the Continued Story of the Buffyverse?
For those wanting to dive deeper into the world of Buffy, they can explore the Angelverse by watching the spin-off show, Angel. They can even be watched in tandem with each other, as Angel starts its first season at the onset of Buffy Season 4, and there are a few episodes that overlap. Angel follows Buffy's first vampire love, Angel, on his personal road to redemption. Viewers get to see familiar characters receive more fleshed-out character developments, like Cordelia and Wesley, and they get a more in-depth view of Angel's backstory. Angel is available to stream on Hulu.
To understand the foundation on which the Buffy series was built, fans can watch the 1992 film of the same name. Events in the film get some mention in the show, and to truly understand all that Buffy has been through, the movie is a must-see. The film is not streaming on Hulu but you can watch it on HBO Max.
If fans can't stand the idea of the Buffy and Angel series coming to an end, both shows were continued in the form of comics. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic series, released by Dark Horse Comics, continued until Season 12, the last issue being published on September 19, 2018, and the last issue of Angel came out in August 2022. There are also countless non-canon comics and novels. There's enough Buffy media to consume for a lifetime, so don't worry when that Season 7 finale starts rolling the credits.