, one of the most successful YA teen series of all time, had an unexpected female powerhouse that helped shape it – Dolly Parton. For seven seasons, , a young woman who wanted to live a normal life, but accepted her destiny to be a “Vampire Slayer” and fight evil vampires and demons. The show was produced by Sandollar Productions, which appeared in the credits after every episode.
While production credits may not be something viewers pay close attention to, in ’s case, the person who founded Sandollar is significant. Sandollar is Dolly Parton’s production company, which she started with her friend and former manager, Sandy Gallin. While Parton’s name doesn't appear in the show’s credits, she is recognized as an uncredited producer of the show, without whom would not have existed.
The story of how the television series came to be starts with Gail Berman, who worked as a producer at Sandollar. Sandollar owned the rights to the original that was released in 1992. The screenplay was written by series creator Joss Whedon, but the film went in a completely different direction, and Whedon hated it so much that he left the project and doesn’t consider the film to be a part of the canon. However, Berman read his original version before the movie came out and revealed that she thought it would make a great tv show (via ). “,” she said. “”
While Buffy’s legacy has been tainted by , Parton has thankfully been a part of the show’s legacy of female empowerment. While the show was lucrative for Sandollar, Berman was given less than her male counterparts in royalty payments. While Berman didn’t bring this up to her boss, she said that Parton took her out to lunch, expressed her disappointment at the unfairness, and handed her a check for the difference (via ).
Parton’s actions aren’t surprising as she has spoken about gender inequality before, and her film debut, , even addresses it. "," Parton said (via ). ".” With Parton’s power in action and words, it’s no coincidence as to why had its heroine share the same birthday with the superstar – January 19th.
