Nearly two decades after Buffy the Vampire Slayer came to an end, Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals how country music legend Dolly Parton was involved in the hit TV series.
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During her appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Gellar confirmed that Parton was a producer on Buffy. “We never saw her,” she explained. “We’d get Christmas gifts in the beginning that would have her name, and I would think, ‘She doesn’t know who I am.’”
However, Gellar revealed Parton did actually know who she was. “She complimented the show and my performance,” Gellar recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I can die now. Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I’m good.’”
Rumors began to circulate about Parton’s involvement on Buffy when The Post revealed more details about her producing gig on the show. However, no one in the cast confirmed Dolly being a producer on the show. Parton and producer Sandy Gallin, who died in 2017, notably co-founded Sandollar Productions in 1986. The production company produced Buffy and its spinoff Angel as well as the 1992 film Buffy.
Parton was said to not be credited as a producer on the show. The executive producer of Sandollar at the time, Gail Berman, and Gallin remain listed as executive producers in Buffy and Angel credits. Meanwhile, Gellar explained that while she’s “very proud” of Buffy, she’s not interested in a reboot of the show.
“I will always be proud of what my castmates did, what I did,” Gellar recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “Was it an ideal working situation? Absolutely not. But it’s OK to love Buffy for what we created because I think it’s pretty spectacular.”
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Executive Producer Says Dolly Parton Made Sure She Was Paid Equally
Executive producer Gail Berman somewhat confirmed Dolly Parton’s involvement in the Buffy franchise while speaking to The New York Times in 2016. The filmmaker revealed that after learning she had been given less royalties from Buffy the Vampire Slayer than her male counterparts, Parton had lunch with her and gave her a check. This was to make sure she was paid equally.
After the news broke about Parton’s involvement in the show, fans went nuts with excitement. “She helped give us the greatest show about female empowerment since the dawn of television,” one fan wrote. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a revolutionary program that should be studied. Dolly, I love you. I also love Sarah Michelle Gellar.”
Another shocked fan couldn’t believe the news. They took to Twitter and wrote, “I was today years old when I found out that Dolly Parton was an uncredited executive producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
