This March 10 marks a huge milestone for one of the greatest television shows of all time. On this day in 1997, The WB premiered Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As a spinoff of the cult 1992 movie starring Kristy Swanson, it originally served as a mid-season replacement with hardly any buzz around it. But the series quickly amassed a devoted following and critical acclaim thanks to its sharp wit, character development and thematic depth. Now, 25 years later, it’s clear that Buffymania is still going strong as the internet is celebrating its big birthday.
The Buffy hashtag has been trending on Twitter this Thursday morning as fans praise the show that means so much to them — whether they’ve watched it for the past quarter of a century or have come to it more recently.
Amazing artwork!
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers remains an unbeatable icon.
Anyone else feeling as old as David Boreanaz’s Angel?
Buffy and the Scooby gang constantly facing apocalyptic situations has turned out to be pretty instructive in recent times…
Although, after 25 years, we still don’t know what the plural for apocalypse is.
Shoutout to arguably Buffy‘s finest episode, season five’s “The Body” (the one where Buffy’s mom dies), which is one of the most devastating hours of TV ever.
The above clip reminds us that, while Buffy began as a light-hearted teen superhero/supernatural show, its real strength was its ability to ground itself in genuine emotion and put its well-rounded characters through the ringer. That’s probably why its popularity has endured for so long, even through the downfall of its creator, Joss Whedon.
Despite not being on our screens for 19 years — a touted reboot appears to have been shelved — the outpouring of love on social media today just proves that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is going to keep slaying audiences for a long time to come.