Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, airing on The WB from 1997 to 2001 and then on UPN through 2003, following a young woman chosen by fate to fight vampires and demons drawn to her small California town, which sits atop a mystical gateway called a Hellmouth, while she relies on a small circle of loyal friends rather than working alone as prior Slayers had. The series is often listed among the greatest television programs ever made and was influential in a wave of shows built around strong female leads, using its horror premise as a sustained metaphor for adolescence. Its popularity spawned an extensive body of tie-in comics, spin-offs and academic study collectively known as the Buffyverse.