uffy the Vampire Slayer is heading into the sunset, but its WB spinoff series, Angel, is going as strong as ever. Though Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar recently announced that she is quitting her long-running series ("Gellar Confirms Buffy End"), Angel is looking to continue beyond its current fourth season.
No word has come down from The WB on whether Angel will come back next year—that news is expected in May. But cast and crew are confident the show will return.
For now, Angel is entering the home stretch of the season in its new 9 p.m. Wednesday timeslot. Angel (David Boreanaz) has reverted to his evil alter ego, Angelus. Bad-girl Slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) is slated to return for an arc of three episodes, starting March 5. And reports are that Boreanaz's character will make an appearance in Buffy's series finale in May.
There have also been some real-life changes for Angel cast mates. Alexis Denisof (Wesley) got engaged to Buffy co-star Alyson Hannigan during the holidays last year. And recurring player Andy Hallett (Lorne) was upped to regular cast member.
Denisof, Amy Acker (Fred) and Hallett took a moment at The WB's winter press preview to speak with Science Fiction Weekly about Angel's future.
Alexis Denisof, congratulations on your recent engagement to Buffy co-star Alyson Hannigan.
Denisof: I'm the luckiest guy in the world right now [beaming]. Sorry. She's mine. All mine! Ha ha ha ha!
How did you propose?
Denisof: We were driving up to my family up in Seattle during the Christmas break from our shows. And I had the ring. And I had thought of 100 different crazy, romantic, complicated plans of asking her. And at the end, I was just like, "You know, I'm going to keep it simple, and I'll know when it's the right time." ...
I had the ring. It was burning a hole in the ... armrest of my car, where it was locked. And we drove all night from L.A. to get north of San Francisco, so we could spend the following day in Napa Valley. And we were just having the most perfect day. We stopped at a winery and stopped at a Dean and Deluca and got some beautiful food to make a picnic, and then we drove up to a mountain lake in Napa Valley. And it was there that I asked her. And lucky for me, she said yes.
Have you set a date?
Denisof: We'd like to [do it in] maybe September, if we can get it organized in time. But we're both working on our shows, and she's also doing the third American Pie movie. So, actually, I won't actually see her until March. So if we can manage to plan a wedding, then we'll be doing pretty well, yeah. But we're shooting for September or October if possible.
Do you have a place?
Denisof: All we've got is California right now. I don't know about L.A., but somewhere probably in California. It makes it easy for everybody to get to.
How do you think Alyson feels about Buffy's end?
Denisof: I think that she feels that they've done it, you know? I think that's the feeling around there for most people, is that, you know, they've told those many stories that make that one big story. And so if it were to carry on, obviously, they'd all get excited about it, whatever the new ... incarnation of it would be. But I think she's preparing herself for this being the last year, because that's the sensible thing to do psychologically. And things are going pretty good outside that. So if a show has to end, and it's always sad when it does, for her, it's probably not a bad time for that to happen.
Speaking about Angel, Wesley's turning out to be both good and bad these days.
Denisof: I'm just enjoying that he's both, you know? He's a guy who does bad things for good [reasons], and sometimes does bad things just to be bad. And I don't know. I think it's really interesting where the character is right now, and I've loved what they've been writing. It's been an exciting season. It's hard to believe that it's the same Wesley that we met on season three on Buffy. He's come a long way. But I really enjoyed it every step of the way. And when the scripts come in, I can't wait to see what he's going to do or say next. I feel like, in every scene, almost anything can happen. And that's a really exciting place to be with a character if you're an actor.
Wesley and Lilah (Stephanie Romanov) had a steamy relationship that ended badly.
Denisof: That's been an interesting relationship. I think it was a big surprise when they hooked up, and they've managed to keep it pretty surprising all the way through. So there's still some dark and twisted stuff to go on between the two of them.
Faith is coming back. Does the gang free Faith from prison to go after Angelus?
Denisof: Yeah, the Angelus plan didn't go quite as planned, which seems to frequently be the case with our show. ... And desperate situations require desperate measures. So ... enlisting Faith's help is pulling a step back from just going out and killing Angelus. It's really kind of a last-ditch attempt. It's that or try to destroy him, because he's wreaking such havoc on L.A. and the world at large. So there are some kick-ass scenes with Faith. I mean, she's an intense character. Obviously, she has a history with Angel, Angelus and Wesley, as you know. And ... they left each other with cuts and bruises and burns, so it's pretty interesting when they get back together again. ...
I love her character, and [Eliza's] great to work with. She just gives you so much, and she's spontaneous and fun and dangerous, and it's a blast. I'm always happy when they put our characters together. Because I think exciting things happen when our characters are together.
Amy Acker, your character and Gunn (J. August Richards) have had a major falling out.
Acker: I don't really know what's happening for the rest of the season, because we never know. I don't think they trust us [laughs]. ... But Angelus ... sort of ruins everything with everyone. He really tries to get to everyone, and succeeds. So ... I think I would get in trouble if I said that. But the Gunn and Fred do not bear well with Angelus in the picture.
This is your character's first encounter with Angelus.
Acker: I do not like Angelus. He makes sure of it early on. He tries to do everything to make sure that we all hate him, so it works.
Can you talk about how the current story arc fits with what's going on in Buffy, where an apocalypse is also coming?
Acker: I [asked], "Well, do we have the same Big Bad as them?" But I think it's a different thing going on. Right now, we have Faith on the show, and she's doing three episodes with us, and then she's going to Buffy to do five episodes there. So that's sort of the closest thing to a crossover we've had. We're in the middle of it.
What's it like working with Eliza?
Acker: She's great. Fred and Faith haven't had too much interaction. But it's a good, you know, tough energy to have on the set.
Do you think you'll be picked up for next year?
Acker: We have no idea. We hope so. It feels like we still have some more to say with the show. At least another year. ... It's hard, because Buffy is ending this year. But they may do a spinoff, and we're not really sure. So we're hoping that we've kind of proven that we can stand on our own without Buffy, at least for a little while.
How do you feel about the show's move to Wednesdays from Sundays?
Acker: I think it'll be good for us. ... We did well on Mondays, and Sundays was fine, so ... hopefully everyone will know that we moved and come watch us there.
Andy Hallett, will your character get a lot more to do?
Hallett: After the nightclub got blown up and grenades and bombs and everything else, for a while there, people were asking me, "How does it feel to be a professional babysitter?" I was like, "All right, now, hold on. That's where I draw the line." But I was having a ball. ...
But now lately I'm just kind of joining in with the gang, and luckily they've taken me on as a series regular. ... So you'll be seeing more of Lorne, which I never expected, by the way. ... I was originally signed on for like two episodes at the very beginning. And yesterday or the day before was my 48th episode, and then I got a wonderful call from [series co-creator] Joss Whedon. ... And I was absolutely stunned. He caught me totally off guard. And he said, "I want to let you know that we're making you a regular for the back nine episodes of this season."
He said they're going to recut the credits, which I didn't even know was a possibility to do in midseason. And I'm thrilled. I'm absolutely thrilled.
When will you become a regular?
Hallett: That'll be episode 14. I don't even know when that will air. ... So it won't be for a little while. But I'm thrilled. But you know, they've been using me a lot anyway, so I kind of anticipated being with them for the duration, but I really wasn't sure. So this just really solidified it.
What's in store for Lorne for the rest of the season?
Hallett: I wish I knew. I swear to God. They tell us so little, it's incredible.
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