'Slayers: A Buffyverse Story' - An Audible Original Podcast
On Wednesday the 13th of September 2023, it was announced that Amber had co-written, co-directed, and will star in a brand-new immersive audio drama called ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. Yes that's right, not only has The Buffyverse returned, Amber once again played Tara Maclay for the first time in more than twenty years.
‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ is an Audible Original and is exclusively available on the Audible platform. Fans can buy it now via the UK, US, Canadian and Australian versions of the website and app.
The news was first revealed exclusively by Entertainment Weekly in an article written by Sydney Bucksbaum, who confirmed that this new original story had been co-written by Amber Benson and her long-time friend and writing partner Christopher Golden. Amber has also co-directed the drama along with KC Wayland, as well as returning to the role of Tara Maclay who she played wonderfully in the TV series.
Amber is one of several friends and former co-stars who are returning to their original roles for this new chapter in the Buffyverse. More on that in a moment, but first here's what we know about the story so far as revealed in Sydney Bucksbaum's article. Click here to read it.
As it begins, Spike (James Marsters) has gone deep undercover in Los Angeles as he attempts to convince the forces of darkness that he is back to his evil ways. That is until his cover is compromised by a young slayer, Indira Nunnally (Laya DeLeon Hayes). Now Spike must track down a watcher to guide her.
That's when their paths cross with a veteran slayer from a parallel reality, a world where Buffy Summers never existed. The one and only slayer is Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter). Cordelia is searching for help to defeat a ‘big bad’ that is terrorising her world, none other than Spike's former love interest, Drusilla (Juliet Landau) who has an unexpected love interest of her own.
The main cast plays out as follows:
Amber Benson as Tara Maclay
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
Emma Caulfield Ford as Anya Jenkins & Anyanka
James Charles Leary as Clement "Clem"
Laya DeLeon Hayes as Indira Nunnally
Anthony Head as Rupert Giles
Juliet Landau as Drusilla "Dru"
James Marsters as Spike
Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson
Laya is a newcomer to The Buffyverse, but some of you may recognise her name from several projects including playing Delilah Fulton on the CBS drama, The Equaliser.
As well as starring in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Amber is no stranger to writing for the Buffyverse. In 2001 she teamed up with Christopher Golden to write a comic book as part of the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic’ series called ‘Willow & Tara: WannaBlessedBe’ and later in 2002 they joined together again to write the two-part ‘Willow & Tara: Wilderness’. These three comics were later released together as a graphic novel paperback entitled ‘Willow & Tara’.
Amber also wrote ‘The Innocent’, a short story set at the height of the French Revolution about Claudine who was The Slayer at that time. This was released in 2002 as part of a collection of short stories called ‘Tales Of The Slayers’ and again in 2011 as part of a hardcover collection called ‘Tales’.
Christopher Golden has also written within The Buffyverse before, having written several Buffy the Vampire Slayer tie-in novels both during and after the show's time on the air. He also co-wrote the script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds videogame.
The pair have worked together on a number of other projects, including co-creating and writing ‘Ghosts of Albion’, an animated Internet series for the BBC, and the subsequent novella and novels. For more information on their writing projects click on this link to The Written Word section of the website.
‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was released on 12th October 2023 here in UK, (Audible.co.uk) USA, (Audible.com) Canada, (Audible.ca) and Australia. (Audible.com.au) Click on the appropriate hyperlink for your country
Audible members can use a credit (plus a fee) to buy it or it is available to buy for a one-off fee for non-members. Click the appropriate hyperlink above to buy it or find out more.
The charge I paid was just over £5 plus 1 Audible Credit. I don’t know if this charge is the same for everyone or changes depending on your Audible package. If anyone in the UK, USA, Canada or Australia has any more information please get in touch and let me know.
As both a fan of Amber and Buffy, I'm thrilled that she has been given this fantastic opportunity to add to her impressive body of work as a writer.
I’m also delighted that she returned to star in ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. Amber has largely retired from acting to focus on writing but I'm so excited that she is returning to play Tara once again. Tara's controversial exit from Buffy The Vampire Slayer was upsetting for many fans, myself included. The fact that Amber has once again stepped into the role of Tara means so much to me.
‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was a huge hit among fans. It became the number one listened-to product on the Audible platform in the USA, UK, and Australia. In December 2023 it was announced that ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was the number one audio on Audible in the USA in 2023.
Despite this huge success and all of the cast and crew wanting to make a second season, on the 21st of February 2024, news came that shocked and dismayed fans. It was announced that Disney, who own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, had withdrawn its support and would not allow any further season to be made.
The Walt Disney Company has offered no official explanation as to why they have taken this decision and Audible has not commented publicly either. I wrote a specific post about the cancellation in the new section – click here to read it.
A petition to save ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was set up by Beth Ricketson. We don't know Beth personally but as a fan of both Amber and Buffy the Vampire Slayer I wanted to let fans know about the petition as I have already done on our social media channels. We wanted to show our support and help spread the word.
You can find out more about the petition and sign it at the link below:
https://www.change.org/p/urge-disney-to-approve-a-second-season-of-slayers-a-buffyverse-story
In the future, I will be adding an episode guide for this amazing series. I hope to make other improvements to our dedicated page ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. It is still available to buy and listen to on all four of the Audible platforms it was originally released on.
AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with the production of ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. All rights belong to Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/The Walt Disney Company, Audible, and Amber Benson & Christopher Golden. We have no connection to Entertainment Weekly or Sydney Bucksbaum. This post is for informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about an exciting project starring, co-written & co-directed by Amber Benson.
‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ is an Audible Original and is exclusively available on the Audible platform. Fans can buy it now via the UK, US, Canadian and Australian versions of the website and app.
The news was first revealed exclusively by Entertainment Weekly in an article written by Sydney Bucksbaum, who confirmed that this new original story had been co-written by Amber Benson and her long-time friend and writing partner Christopher Golden. Amber has also co-directed the drama along with KC Wayland, as well as returning to the role of Tara Maclay who she played wonderfully in the TV series.
Amber is one of several friends and former co-stars who are returning to their original roles for this new chapter in the Buffyverse. More on that in a moment, but first here's what we know about the story so far as revealed in Sydney Bucksbaum's article. Click here to read it.
As it begins, Spike (James Marsters) has gone deep undercover in Los Angeles as he attempts to convince the forces of darkness that he is back to his evil ways. That is until his cover is compromised by a young slayer, Indira Nunnally (Laya DeLeon Hayes). Now Spike must track down a watcher to guide her.
That's when their paths cross with a veteran slayer from a parallel reality, a world where Buffy Summers never existed. The one and only slayer is Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter). Cordelia is searching for help to defeat a ‘big bad’ that is terrorising her world, none other than Spike's former love interest, Drusilla (Juliet Landau) who has an unexpected love interest of her own.
The main cast plays out as follows:
Amber Benson as Tara Maclay
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
Emma Caulfield Ford as Anya Jenkins & Anyanka
James Charles Leary as Clement "Clem"
Laya DeLeon Hayes as Indira Nunnally
Anthony Head as Rupert Giles
Juliet Landau as Drusilla "Dru"
James Marsters as Spike
Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson
Laya is a newcomer to The Buffyverse, but some of you may recognise her name from several projects including playing Delilah Fulton on the CBS drama, The Equaliser.
As well as starring in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Amber is no stranger to writing for the Buffyverse. In 2001 she teamed up with Christopher Golden to write a comic book as part of the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic’ series called ‘Willow & Tara: WannaBlessedBe’ and later in 2002 they joined together again to write the two-part ‘Willow & Tara: Wilderness’. These three comics were later released together as a graphic novel paperback entitled ‘Willow & Tara’.
Amber also wrote ‘The Innocent’, a short story set at the height of the French Revolution about Claudine who was The Slayer at that time. This was released in 2002 as part of a collection of short stories called ‘Tales Of The Slayers’ and again in 2011 as part of a hardcover collection called ‘Tales’.
Christopher Golden has also written within The Buffyverse before, having written several Buffy the Vampire Slayer tie-in novels both during and after the show's time on the air. He also co-wrote the script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds videogame.
The pair have worked together on a number of other projects, including co-creating and writing ‘Ghosts of Albion’, an animated Internet series for the BBC, and the subsequent novella and novels. For more information on their writing projects click on this link to The Written Word section of the website.
‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was released on 12th October 2023 here in UK, (Audible.co.uk) USA, (Audible.com) Canada, (Audible.ca) and Australia. (Audible.com.au) Click on the appropriate hyperlink for your country
Audible members can use a credit (plus a fee) to buy it or it is available to buy for a one-off fee for non-members. Click the appropriate hyperlink above to buy it or find out more.
The charge I paid was just over £5 plus 1 Audible Credit. I don’t know if this charge is the same for everyone or changes depending on your Audible package. If anyone in the UK, USA, Canada or Australia has any more information please get in touch and let me know.
As both a fan of Amber and Buffy, I'm thrilled that she has been given this fantastic opportunity to add to her impressive body of work as a writer.
I’m also delighted that she returned to star in ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. Amber has largely retired from acting to focus on writing but I'm so excited that she is returning to play Tara once again. Tara's controversial exit from Buffy The Vampire Slayer was upsetting for many fans, myself included. The fact that Amber has once again stepped into the role of Tara means so much to me.
‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was a huge hit among fans. It became the number one listened-to product on the Audible platform in the USA, UK, and Australia. In December 2023 it was announced that ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was the number one audio on Audible in the USA in 2023.
Despite this huge success and all of the cast and crew wanting to make a second season, on the 21st of February 2024, news came that shocked and dismayed fans. It was announced that Disney, who own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, had withdrawn its support and would not allow any further season to be made.
The Walt Disney Company has offered no official explanation as to why they have taken this decision and Audible has not commented publicly either. I wrote a specific post about the cancellation in the new section – click here to read it.
A petition to save ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’ was set up by Beth Ricketson. We don't know Beth personally but as a fan of both Amber and Buffy the Vampire Slayer I wanted to let fans know about the petition as I have already done on our social media channels. We wanted to show our support and help spread the word.
You can find out more about the petition and sign it at the link below:
https://www.change.org/p/urge-disney-to-approve-a-second-season-of-slayers-a-buffyverse-story
In the future, I will be adding an episode guide for this amazing series. I hope to make other improvements to our dedicated page ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. It is still available to buy and listen to on all four of the Audible platforms it was originally released on.
AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with the production of ‘Slayers: A Buffyverse Story’. All rights belong to Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/The Walt Disney Company, Audible, and Amber Benson & Christopher Golden. We have no connection to Entertainment Weekly or Sydney Bucksbaum. This post is for informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about an exciting project starring, co-written & co-directed by Amber Benson.
