Script-writing was done by Mutant Enemy Productions, a production company created by Whedon in 1997. The writers with the most writing credits are Joss Whedon, Steven S. DeKnight, Jane Espenson, David Fury, Drew Goddard, Drew Greenberg, David Greenwalt, Rebecca Rand Kirshner, Marti Noxon, and Doug Petrie. Other authors with writing credits include Dean Batali, Carl Ellsworth, Tracey Forbes, Ashley Gable, Howard Gordon, Diego Gutierrez, Elin Hampton, Rob Des Hotel, Matt Kiene, Ty King, Thomas A. Swyden, Joe Reinkemeyer, Dana Reston, and Dan Vebber. Josef Adalian and Michael Schneider, "WB revisits glory days." Variety, June 29, 2006. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. But now, 25 years ago this week since it first premiered in the US, a cultural reappraisal is happening as fans have increasingly found themselves confronted with certain questions about the show: does it still hold up as the important piece of groundbreaking, feminist television it was once heralded as, in the cold light of 2022? How do they square their ardent affection for the iconic cult series with its more problematic elements? And given the disturbing accusations made by the cast about its creator Joss Whedon and his allegedly "toxic" and "not appropriate" behaviour on set, to what extent should the art be separated from the artist – or not – in this case?

Interview with Joss Whedon, Jane Espenson, and Doug Petrie on "Enemies" and "Earshot" (Region 1 only) SunnydaleArchives (4 March 2015). "What's Wrong with Buffy's HD?". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-18 . Retrieved 5 August 2016. Whitbrook, James (16 December 2014). "Oh Dear, Buffy's HD Makeover Is A Total Mess". Gizmodo . Retrieved 5 August 2016.I only started to watch Buffy recently, 20 years after the first episode was aired, got to say I am very impressed. Now remember this is 2017, people are used to 1080p streaming, Blu-ray / 4K video, and HDMA sound quality, 480i, 2 channel sound and 1.33:1 screen ratio are simply not going to cut it anymore. However, in this case, despite the huge technical disadvantages, Buffy still stands out as a serious and entertaining show, one of the best of its kind. The screen-play are well written, characters well developed, dialogues are actually interesting and thought provoking, plus great acting all around. Joss Whedon is a real genius. Several years later, Gail Berman (later a 20th Century Fox executive, but at that time President and CEO of the production company Sandollar Television, who owned the TV rights to the movie) approached Whedon to develop his Buffy concept into a television series. [3] Whedon explained: "They said, 'Do you want to do a show?' And I thought, 'High school as a horror movie.' And so the metaphor became the central concept behind Buffy, and that's how I sold it." [5] The supernatural elements in the series stood as metaphors for personal anxieties associated with adolescence and young adulthood.

Writer Joss Whedon says that "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress" was really the first incarnation of the Buffy concept, "the idea of some woman who seems to be completely insignificant who turns out to be extraordinary." [1] This early, unproduced idea evolved into Buffy, which Whedon developed to invert the Hollywood formula of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie." Whedon wanted "to subvert that idea and create someone who was a hero." He explained, "The very first mission statement of the show was the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it." [2]

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And then there were the show's gender politics: for while it foregrounded many empowered women, it also featured a problematic male lead in the shape of Xander. There were other examples of toxic and fragile masculinity on the show, like the reprisal of teenage boy villains into The Trio in series six, but the difference was that Xander was positioned as a nice guy – and rewatching the series now, that's something which leaves a particularly bad taste. A pretty girl couldn’t walk by without Xander oggling or pestering them, and it mostly goes unquestioned, especially where Buffy is concerned. His entitled attitude towards her and animosity towards every guy she dates is nauseating to watch. "In the first episode, Buffy drops her books and he says, 'Can I have you? Oh I mean, can I help you?' and that line follows him through seven seasons of TV, this feeling of entitlement to her that he never gets to fulfill," says Darke. Although the canonicity of these creations aren't always confirmed, notably the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight and its following seasons have been produced as the direct continuation of the series in comic form. The Region 2 and 4 DVDs include the scenes from previous episodes ("Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer") at the beginning of each episode (except season 2); the Region 1 DVDs do not.