Today in streaming news, one reboot of an older series found its star, and one star of an older series came out of retirement to return to series television.

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot has found its new leading lady: Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Firestarter) will play the new slayer in the Hulu show, which is set in the Buffyverse. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is producing, will be reprising the role she made famous on The WB and UPN show that debuted in 1997 and ran for 7 seasons.

Gellar broke the casting news to Armstrong herself, and recorded the conversation for Instagram. In the post, Gellar wrote “From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side. To have that kind of emotional intelligence , and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room. Welcome to #NewSunnydale.”

Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) is directing the new Buffy pilot, from a script written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman. The show is being called the next chapter in the Buffyverse, and omes from 20th Television and Searchlight TV.

Not much else is known about the project at the moment, but the character played by Armstrong was described in casting materials as an introverted high-school student.

In other news, Michael J. Fox has retired from retirement to take a major guest-starring role on Shrinking season three. Shrinking airs on Apple TV+ and was created and is executive produced by Bill Lawrence, who produced Fox’s hit sitcom Spin City, which aired from 1996-2002. Fox appeared in the first four seasons.

Again, there aren’t many official details, but Fox’s appearance may be connected to Harrison Ford’s character, Paul Rhoades, being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which Fox has been publicly fighting for more than thirty years and which was part of the reason the actor retired from show business in 2020.

Co-created by Jason Segel, Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, Shrinking follows grieving therapist Jimmy (Segel) who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Joining Fox for season three are Jeff Daniels, Sherry Cola and Isabella Gomez. They join Christa Miller, Jessica Williams and Ted McGinley as part of the cast.