The best writers of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
This is a list compiled of the best writers on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," ordered from greatest to least. I also list all of the episodes they wrote in order from greatest to least, with my ratings of each episode in parenthesis.
(The first three are especially amazing.)
(The first three are especially amazing.)
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- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Joss Whedon is the middle of five brothers - his younger brothers are Jed Whedon and Zack Whedon. Both his father, Tom Whedon and his grandfather, John Whedon were successful television writers. Joss' mother, Lee Stearns, was a history teacher and she also wrote novels as Lee Whedon. Whedon was raised in New York and was educated at Riverdale Country School, where his mother also taught. He also attended Winchester College in England for two years, before graduating with a film degree from Wesleyan University.
After relocating to Los Angeles, Whedon landed his first TV writing job on "Roseanne", and moved on to script a season of "Parenthood". He then developed a film script which went on to become Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). Whedon was very unhappy with the final film - his original script was extensively re-written and made lighter in tone. After this he earned screenwriting credits on such high profile productions as Alien: Resurrection (1997) and Toy Story (1995), for which he was Oscar nominated. He also worked as a 'script doctor' on various features, notably Speed (1994).
In 1997, Whedon had the opportunity to resurrect his character Buffy in a television series on The WB Network. This time, as showrunner and executive producer, he retained full artistic control. The series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was a popular and critical hit, which ran for several seasons, the last two on UPN. Whedon also produced a spin-off series, "Angel", which was also successful. A foray in to sci-fi television followed with "Firefly", which developed a cult following, but did not stay on air long. It did find an audience on DVD and through re-runs, and a spin-off feature film Serenity (2005) was released in 2005.
Other projects have included comic book writing, the sci-fi drama "Dollhouse" and the screenplay for Marvel blockbuster The Avengers (2012).Episodes:
Amends (10/10)
Restless (10/10)
The Gift (10/10)
Hush (9.5/10)
Once More, with Feeling (9.5/10)
Chosen (9.5/10)
Becoming Part 2 (9.5/10)
The Body (9/10)
Becoming Part 1 (9/10)
Innocence (9/10)
Graduation Day Part 2 (9/10)
Graduation Day Part 1 (9/10)
Doppelgangland (9/10)
Who Are You (9/10)
Anne (8.5/10)
Lie to Me (8.5/10)
Family (8.5/10)
Prophecy Girl (8.5/10)
Lessons (8/10)
The Harvest (8/10)
Welcome to the Hellmouth (8/10)
When She Was Bad (8/10)
The Freshman (7.5/10)
Ted (7.5/10) with David Greenwalt
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Best Season: 3- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Steven S. DeKnight was born in Millville, New Jersey, USA. He is known for Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), Daredevil (2015) and Angel (1999). He is married to Jaime Slater.Episodes:
Seeing Red (9.5/10)
Blood Ties (9/10)
Dead Things (9/10)
Spiral (8.5/10)
All the Way (8/10)- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Drew Goddard was raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He attended Los Alamos High School in Los Alamos, New Mexico and graduated in 1993. He then attended the University of Colorado, and worked as a production assistant in L.A. after graduation. A spec script Drew wrote based on Six Feet Under (2001) came to the attention of both Marti Noxon at Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and David Greenwalt at Angel (1999). Both wanted him but because Marti found him first, Joss Whedon determined Drew would go to "Buffy". He became a staff writer for Season 7 (2002-2003), writing five episodes. Once "Buffy" was over, Drew moved over to "Angel" and became the executive story editor for Season 5 (2003-2004), writing four episodes. Drew also found time to write the introduction for a book of essays about Buffy, "Seven Seasons of Buffy", and to contribute two stories to the "Tales of the Vampires" comic series. In the summer of 2003, Drew received his first screenwriting award, along with co-writer Jane Espenson, when the Hugos honored "Conversations with Dead People" from "Buffy" with an award for Best Dramatic Presentation/Short Form. That episode was also honored with a SyFy Portal Genre Award for Best Episode/Television; another of Drew's "Buffy" episodes, "Lies My Parents Told Me" (co-written with David Fury), was nominated for the same award.Episodes:
Conversations with Dead People (9.5/10) with Jane Espenson
Selfless (9/10)
Dirty Girls (9/10)
Lies My Parents Told Me (8.5/10) with David Fury
Never Leave Me (8.5/10)- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
David Fury was born on 5 March 1959 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Lost (2004) and 24 (2001). He has been married to Elin Hampton since 16 May 1993. They have three children.Episodes:
Grave (9/10)
Lies My Parents Told Me (8.5/10) with Drew Goddard
Helpless (8.5/10)
Fear Itself (8.5/10)
Primeval (8.5/10)
Bargaining Part 2 (8/10)
Crush (8/10)
Gone (8/10)
Life Serial (8/10) with Jane Espenson
Choices (8/10)
Sleeper (8/10) with Jane Espenson
Showtime (8/10)
Shadow (8/10)
The I in Team (8/10)
Real Me (7.5/10)
Go Fish (7.5/10) with Elin Hampton
Doomed (7.5/10) with Marti Noxon & Jane Espenson
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Best Season: 6- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Dan Vebber was born on 7 August 1970 in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Simpsons (1989), Futurama (1999) and American Dad! (2005).Episodes:
The Zeppo (9/10)
Lovers Walk (9/10)- Producer
- Writer
- Director
David Greenwalt was born on 16 October 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Profit (1996). He has been married to Veronica Greenwalt since 16 October 2016.Episodes:
School Hard (8.5/10)
Angel (8.5/10)
Faith, Hope & Trick (8.5/10)
Nightmares (8/10)
Reptile Boy (8/10)
Homecoming (7.5/10)
Ted (7.5/10) with Joss Whedon
Teacher's Pet (7.5/10)- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Marti Noxon was born on 25 August 1964 in California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Sharp Objects (2018) and To the Bone (2017).Episodes:
Surprise (8.5/10)
The Wish (8.5/10)
Villains (8.5/10)
Consequences (8.5/10)
What's My Line: Part 2 (8.5/10)
Bring on the Night (8/10) with Douglas Petrie
What's My Line: Part 1 (8/10) with Howard Gordon
The Prom (8/10)
Bargaining Part 1 (8/10)
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (8/10)
Beauty and the Beasts (8/10)
Dead Man's Party (8/10)
I Only Have Eyes For You (8/10)
Goodbye Iowa (8/10)
Into the Woods (8/10)
New Moon Rising (8/10)
Wild at Heart (8/10)
Wrecked (7.5/10)
Living Conditions (7.5/10)
Buffy vs. Dracula (7.5/10)
Forever (7.5/10)
Doomed (7.5/10) with David Fury & Jane Espenson
Bad Eggs (7/10)
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Best Season: 3- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Douglas Petrie is a writer, director and television producer whose work includes the cult hit television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," as well as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Pushing Daisies," and "American Horror Story" among others. He served as show runner and co-creator, respectively, for the Netfilx dramas "Daredevil" and "The Defenders."Episodes:
Fool for Love (8.5/10)
No Place Like Home (8.5/10)
This Year's Girl (8.5/10)
Beneath You (8.5/10)
Bring on the Night (8/10) with Marti Noxon
The Initiative (8/10)
Revelations (8/10)
Bad Girls (8/10)
Checkpoint (8/10) with Jane Espenson
End of Days (8/10) with Jane Espenson
Enemies (8/10)
The Weight of the World (7.5/10)
Get It Done (7.5/10)
The Yoko Factor (7.5/10)
As You Were (7.5/10)
Flooded (7/10) with Jane Espenson
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Best Season: 5- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Drew Z. Greenberg was born on 8 June 1970 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Dexter (2006), Warehouse 13 (2009) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).Episodes:
Entropy (8.5/10)
Older and Far Away (8.5/10)
Smashed (8/10)
Empty Places (7.5/10)
Him (7.5/10)
The Killer in Me (7.5/10)
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Best Season: 6- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Rob DesHotel was born on 9 July 1966. He was a producer and writer, known for That '70s Show (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Gary Unmarried (2008). He was married to Emily Deshotel. He died on 10 December 2018 in California, USA.Episodes:
Phases (8/10)
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date (8/10)
The Dark Age (8/10)
Killed by Death (7.5/10)
The Puppet Show (7.5/10)
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Best Season: 2- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Dean Batali was born in the USA. Dean is a producer and writer, known for That '70s Show (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Good Witch (2015).Episodes:
Phases (8/10)
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date (8/10)
The Dark Age (8/10)
Killed by Death (7.5/10)
The Puppet Show (7.5/10)
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Best Season: 2