Spike & Drusilla Return in New Audible Buffyverse Series ‘Slayers’
Twenty years after the series finale of the beloved teen drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Audible is bringing back some of the most beloved characters from the show (some of whom have died!) for a new story told entirely in audio form.
Byron Cohen/20th Century Fox Film Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection
The format is slightly unusual, more on par with old-timey radio shows than an audiobook. Helmed by Buffy actress Amber Benson, who played Willow’s girlfriend Tara and whose death in the sixth season inspired what is my favorite season finale of the show (because the characters have to battle their own inner demons instead of an outside force), Slayers includes our favorite characters but is on its own timeline and doesn’t involve the original showrunner, Joss Whedon, who has been busy creating Avengers films and bullying people on set, apparently.
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy: Everett Collection
Set ten years after the finale in which Buffy is finally free from the burden of being the Slayer when a spell allows all potential slayers to access their powers, Slayers exists in an alternate universe in which Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) is the Slayer, not Buffy, and both Tara and Anya (who died in the series finale) are still alive. Spike is undercover in the demon underworld, and takes a new slayer named Indira under his wing. Anthony Stewart Head, who played watcher/librarian Rupert Giles will also return, as well as the award-winning screenwriter Danny Strong, who played one third of the evil nerd trio, “The Trio.” Drusilla, played by Juliet Landau, will also reprise her role as the unhinged vampire who broke Spike’s heart.
“It was wild playing Anya and Anyanka again,” Emma Caulfield told Yahoo Entertainment. “Anyanka was a little bit more of a challenge, because I didn’t play her that often in the first iteration, as we’re supposed to call it. And then there’s a third version of the character that was insanely fun to do. I nearly killed my voice doing it! But it was great.”
“It’s a group effort, and the fans are in it with us,” added Amber Benson, who is a cowriter and codirector on top of playing Tara again. “We’re doing this together as a giant team.
Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Audible
Slayers: A Buffyverse Story is available now on Audible, and the original Buffy series is streaming on Hulu.
Dracula
October 2020
Drac is Back! Delve into some of the best vampire fare in TV, movies, radio and books.
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