Warrior Nun Showrunner Reveals His Feelings About Being Compared To Buffy - Exclusive
Buffy the Vampire Slayer blazed a trail in the '90s, providing a blueprint for feminist "Chosen One" supernatural shows. Following its debut in March 1997, the vampire series inspired countless similar-minded projects with badass female characters who kick butt in heels (while they rattle off puns). Even after Buffy ended in May 2003, the show's legacy can still be felt in modern productions that hit similar beats. These days, it's difficult to avoid comparing series like Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, and now Netflix's Warrior Nun to the OG slayer.
Warrior Nun — aptly titled for its content about, you guessed it, warrior nuns — has been on the receiving end of a slew of Buffy comparisons. The series hones in on Ava Silva (Alba Baptista) as she fights demons with a supernaturally charged halo and an arsenal of sass. While showrunner Simon Barry is more than happy to take the Buffy comparison compliments, the similar vibes weren't exactly intentional.
Barry spoke to Looper in an exclusive interview to talk all things Buffy and Warrior Nun.
The Warrior Nun team loves Buffy, but the Netflix series is its own thing
When it came to forming Warrior Nun, Barry's idea was clear: "Well, my vision was to make a kick-ass feminist superhero show."
He was quick to explain that those involved with the making of Warrior Nun are big fans of Buffy, and that creating certain parallels, whether consciously or unconsciously, was inevitable. "We're all nerds. We all were aware of the show [Buffy], of course," said Barry. We're all fans of the show. If we're going to be compared to Buffy, I think it's probably the best thing possible."
Barry elaborated, "There are some things you can't avoid, and of course, Buffy leans large. We weren't really worried about it because I think given our mythology in the context of our show, and the situations we were dealing with, we weren't really concerned about it."
For as many similarities as there are between Ava and Buffy, there are just as many differences. Barry revealed, "It was something that, given our connection to the church and this female sisterhood story that was really driving a lot of our emotional anchors, we were aware of. But it was never something we really discussed in the writing room."
For the Warrior Nun team, Buffy wasn't in the back of their minds
When all things were said and done, Buffy and Ava could never avoid their respective fates — and Barry didn't try to stop certain things from happening to Ava just because they may have been similar to other shows. As he told Looper, it wasn't even on the writers' minds when devising Warrior Nun. They simply made the series that they wanted to — told the story that they were most interested in.
"We never said, 'Oh, this is too much like this [Buffy] storyline,' or whatnot. It was just something that in our minds existed," Barry clarified. "We weren't consciously or unconsciously honoring it or not honoring it. It was just, it's there, [and] you deal with it."
Barry followed the sentiment by saying, "But I'm happy to be compared." And really, if there's any show to be likened to, Buffy's a pretty good choice. Barry agreed: "Yeah, I have no problem with that. If the Buffy fans find our show and get out of Warrior Nun the same joy they got out of Buffy, then I would be thrilled with that. I have no issue with that."
So, what are you waiting for, Buffy fans? The entire first season of Warrior nun is now streaming on Netflix.