Sarah Michelle Gellar is spilling the tea on her all-time favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“People agree with my faves, and sometimes they disappoint people. But my all-time favorite is probably ‘The Prom,’” the television icon shared with Parade during an exclusive interview while promoting Turo’s “10 Days of Slay” campaign.
The unforgettable episode aired in 1999 during the third season of the beloved series. “To me, it encompasses everything the show was about: This girl that’s caught between two worlds and making that decision. Do you do the thing that normal teenage girls do?” Sarah, who recently celebrated 23 years of marriage to Freddie Prinze Jr., recalled.
“Again, the commentary on high school, and when you realize that maybe people do see you more than you feel seen. Everything about that episode, to me, was special,” she added of the episode, which can be streamed on Hulu.
Her second choice is Season 4’s “Hush,” the only episode of the seven-season series that is nearly devoid of dialogue. In the storyline, the Gentleman ghouls come to Sunnyvale and steal voices, leaving residents unable to speak or scream for help.
“I think [The Gentlemen were] the scariest villains we’ve had. It was so funny that we all thought, ‘This is going to be so easy, no dialogue for an episode.’ And it was so challenging,” she remembered about making the episode.
“We were all so much more tired than if we just had to learn lines. And it was such a great exercise in terms of communicating and all of that,” the New York City native told us.
Related: Here’s How Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. Went From Co-Stars to a 22-Year Marriage
An honorable mention also went to Season 5’s “The Body,” when Buffy – then just 20 years old – tragically loses her mom Joyce to a brain aneurysm. “It was so complicated…specifically my part,” Sarah said. “The entire first act was one take, going through all the different sets – that was really ambitious for the time.”
Sarah is gearing up for the buzzy reboot Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, marking her first time playing Buffy Summers since the original show wrapped in 2003. The pilot episode has reportedly finished filming per Variety, and will see the introduction of a new teenage vampire slayer played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and American Horror Story: Red Tide). Executive producer and director Chloé Zhao also returns from the original series.
While fans will have to wait for the series to drop on Hulu, they’re getting a tease thanks to a Buffy-esque spooky month campaign for car rental app Turo as they launch an alternative to car ownership. Users can now book extended trips for several months versus just a few days or weeks, and can also enter to win 90-day trips from Sarah via Instagram.
Related: Sarah Michelle Gellar Hits the Gym for New ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Reboot: ‘Still Got It’
“Growing up in New York City, cars just aren’t a thing. So I didn’t spend my life learning about cars, or being interested in them,” she said, noting her family discovered the car-sharing marketplace while in Hawaii during the pandemic. “I’m surprised someone didn’t think of this sooner from a sustainability concept…the horrors of car shopping is really an intimidating process.”
In the campaign, the 48-year-old makes her way through an eerie parking lot full of car alarms before answering a mysterious phone call. “It was like it was a really fun [shoot] day except the funny thing – it was like the one day this year it’s rained and you know Los Angeles can’t function in rain…then on top of it, there was that crazy super moon! It was really fun,” she shared of filming the bit.
The nostalgia didn’t stop there in our chat with Sarah, who also revealed her favorite prop from Buffy, sadly revealing she didn’t take it with her.
“I didn’t take many [props from the show]…It didn’t occur to me [at the time], but the one I’m saddest about was the umbrella from the Class Protector Award in ‘The Prom,’” she spilled. “I said to [director] Chloé Zhao one day that was the one I wish I had taken, and she got an exact replica of the prop for me…it was made by someone who the show meant so much to, and it’s a very special gift.”
Related: Sarah Michelle Gellar Stuns in Fiery First Look on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Set
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 31, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
