Sarah Michelle Gellar has said “supernatural sometimes allows the most superhuman stories to be told” following the launch of her latest fantasy-genre TV project.
The 45-year-old American actress rose to fame at the age of 19 while starring as Buffy Summers in popular supernatural series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Speaking to the PA news agency about her latest series Wolf Pack, in which she plays arson investigator Kristin Ramsey, Gellar reflected on what continues to draw her to supernatural shows.
“You get to tell deeper stories,” she said.
Wolf Pack, based on the series of novels of the same name by Edo Van Belkom, follows two teenagers whose lives are dramatically changed when a California wildfire awakens a supernatural, werewolf-like creature.
Gellar went on: “It’s about what really scares us in our mind and those manifestations.
“So in this one (Wolf Pack), we’re talking about anxiety, we’re talking about fire, we’re talking about this digital world and what it’s done, back to our anxiety, we’re talking about finding your pack and feeling alone, and what that does when you don’t feel like you fit in somewhere.
“And these kinds of shows, usually are the best ones to be able to tell those stories. Because honestly, life is really hard. And if I had to tune in to a show that was all about anxiety, and loneliness, and depression, I wouldn’t tune in. But this way you get to tell a creative story. Something that hooks you, something that excites you.”
The series, which is dropping weekly on streaming platform Paramount+, stars Armani Jackson as Everett – a teenager struggling to manage his anxiety – and Bella Shepard as Blake, who has chosen to avoid technology and the digital world for fear of what it is doing to young people.
Rodrigo Santoro, Chloe Rose Robertson and Tyler Lawrence Gray also feature.
Of her co-stars’ characters, Gellar said: “I love their stories and what they represent,” while also reflecting on the dynamics on set when working with a young cast.
“I want to create a better environment for them, but also we’re all equals,” she told PA.
“Yes, I maybe have more experience but also, I thought the reverse thing at that age, which was I was 19 but I had been working for 15 years so I had all that experience, and more, of some of the adults.
“When you’re on set, you’re all doing one job, all I want is opportunity and equality like that. That’s how it should feel.”
Wolf Pack’s creator, Jeff Davis, is also the brains behind popular supernatural drama series Teen Wolf, from which a spin-off movie Teen Wolf: The Movie, is set to drop later this month.
However, Gellar clarified the two projects are unrelated, adding: “It’s so different, that’s always the first thing to say.
“I kept saying they should change the title to The Pack, and not Wolf Pack, because it was so confusing and they’re so different…
“Teen Wolf was much more I think a comedy, it had sort of more levity to it. And while this has moments of levity, that’s not the point of the show.”
Episode one of Wolf Pack is available now on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping every week.
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