Sarah Michelle Gellar

On a network TV landscape filled with plenty of generic, basic plotlines (doctors and lawyers and cops, oh my), The CW’s upcoming series Ringer instantly stands out, with its complex, intriguing storyline. In her first series since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Bridget, a woman with a troubled past, who finds herself on the run after she witnesses a crime. When Bridget’s much better off twin sister, Siobhan (also played by Gellar), kills herself — with no one but Bridget aware of this fact — Bridget assumes Siobhan’s identity, only to discover her sister had many, dangerous secrets of her own.

Gellar is a producer on Ringer (which also stars Lost’s Nestor Carbonell and Fantastic Four’s Ioan Gruffudd), alongside creators Eric C. Charmelo and Nicole Snyder (Supernatural). At last week’s CW Upfront, I spoke to the actress about her new series and what brought her back to TV. And as you’ll see, Gellar was dedicated to keeping the show’s many secrets, albeit in a very playful manner.
 The CW Sarah Michelle Gellar at CW’s 2011 Upfront IGN TV: Fans have wanted to see you back on TV again for quite a while. What was it about Ringer that drew you in?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: Celebrity Rehab wouldn’t have me! Real Housewives didn’t want me. They said I was the most boring housewife in the history of Housewives. [Real Housewives’ executive producer] Andy Cohen denied me and said no. So I thought okay, so I can’t be on Celebrity Rehab, I can’t be on Real Housewives… I know!

It was about waiting for the right script. When you have a show like Buffy, you can’t just do anything afterwards. It has to be something that speaks to not just me, but to the audience that was so incredibly loyal to me and that wanted to be challenged – that wanted something different, that wanted to be kept on the edge of their seats. And this is the first thing I read where I really thought, "This works for everybody."

IGN: This show has a pretty interesting, complex setup…

Gellar: Do not ask me to set it up! I’ll send you a logline!

IGN: [Laughs] I won’t ask you to, I promise! But what is it like playing both these characters? Though I’m not sure how much you’ll be playing Siobhan…

Gellar: You will see both sisters continuously… Maybe not necessarily every episode or consecutively, but you will be seeing them.

IGN: Can you talk at all about…

Gellar: No!

IGN: [Laughs] I’d imagine Bridget has some pretty major reasons to go to such extreme lengths.

Gellar: It’s about demons. It’s a story of redemption. It’s a story of what happens when circumstances put your life in a direction you never saw and you’re trying to make amends for it, but you just keep getting deeper and deeper. It really goes for both girls, both sisters.

IGN: There are a lot of different directions a story like this could go. As a producer, do you have some pretty strong ideas about where you’d like to take things, now that you’ve got the pickup?

Gellar: Yes. Is that the answer you were totally looking for? [Laughs]

IGN: Exactly the answer! Ringer looks to have a strong thriller element. Are you looking forward to the potential for a lot of twists and turns?

Gellar: Yes. Except I don’t have to be chased and kill people. That’s the best part. I come injury free. Well, except for that one time that Ioan knocked into me, but that was his fault!