Buffy Library

"BBC to Make British 'Buffy' Spin-Off"

(Reuters July 7, 2001)

LONDON - The British Broadcasting Corporation is to make a spin-off series of the cult U.S. TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a British newspaper reported on Sunday.
The BBC is planning a series provisionally called "The Watcher" featuring the British actor Anthony Stewart Head who plays librarian Rupert Giles in the popular U.S. show, the Observer said.
The Twentieth Century Fox-made series, which stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, has been a ratings hit both sides of the Atlantic with its story lines of the teenage "Buffy" battling the forces of evil under the guidance of Giles.
The last series, the fifth, ended with the death of Buffy, but more episodes are planned.
The BBC project is being developed with the creator of the original "Buffy" show, Joss Whedon, the paper said.
"Joss has pitched it as a slightly more adult show," Head was quoted in the Observer as saying.
"After Buffy died, I asked him whether there was much more for me to do and he said 'Look, you know, this show is not called The Watcher, it is about Buffy but how would you feel if there was a show called The Watcher and we made it in Britain'.
"I will still be playing Giles. But there will not necessarily be so many vampires around."
"Buffy" has already spawned one successful spin-off in the shape of "Angel," starring actor David Boreanaz.