Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American television series that aired from March 10, 1997, until May 20, 2003. The series was created in 1997 by writer-director Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

 under his production tag, Mutant Enemy Productions

Mutant Enemy Productions

Mutant Enemy Productions is the production company created in 1997 by Joss Whedon to produce Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The company also produced the Buffy spin-off, Angel, and his two short-lived science fiction series, the space western Firefly and his high-concept Dollhouse, produced by 20th...

 with later co-executive producers being Jane Espenson

Jane Espenson

Jane Espenson is an American script writer and television producer who has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and shared a Hugo Award for her writing on the episode "Conversations with Dead People"...

, David Fury

David Fury

David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...

, David Greenwalt

David Greenwalt

David Greenwalt is an American screenwriter, director and producer.He was the co-executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of its spinoff, Angel. He is also co-creator of the short-lived cult television show Profit...

, Doug Petrie

Doug Petrie

Doug Petrie is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Best known as a writer, director, and co-executive producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He co-wrote the screenplays for the Fantastic Four film and Harriet the Spy. He has also written for the television shows Angel, The 4400 and Tru...

, Marti Noxon

Marti Noxon

Martha Mills "Marti" Noxon is an American television and film writer first known for writing and producing Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Production :...

, and David Solomon

David Solomon (producer)

David Solomon is an American director and producer best known for directing Buffy the Vampire Slayer between 1997 and 2003. He also directed several episodes of Firefly in 2002, over a season of Las Vegas in 2004 and 2005, one episode of Private Practice in 2007 and the first episode of the 2008...

. The series narrative follows Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...

 (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...

), the latest in a line of young women known as "Vampire Slayers" or simply "Slayers". In the story, Slayers are "called" (chosen by fate

Destiny

Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...

) to battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness.