From Cordelia To Creator: Charisma Carpenter’s New Podcast Turns Nostalgia Into Community

The crowd inside New York’s The Bowery Hotel Terrace at Charisma Carpenter’s Homecoming event erupted in applause as surprise emcee Clare Kramer (Glory on the seminal TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer) walked through the audience, golden sequin dress winking in the spotlights trained on her progress to the stage. The applause only grew louder when Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel, entered the room. She greeted fans with hugs and by name as she took center stage. The first live taping of Carpenter’s new Buffy and Angel-centric first watch podcast on Patreon, The Bitch Is Back, was under way.

In an entertainment landscape defined by franchise reboots, rebrands and influencer overload, The Bitch Is Back stands out as something far rarer. Carpenter is building a direct-to-fan ecosystem by turning decades of fan devotion into something interactive, intimate and entirely her own.

Into Every Generation A Podcast Is Born

Carpenter has been considering the idea of a podcast since 2022. “It was a gradual ease into it from social media,” she explains. “There’s really so many things that led to building this moment.”

During the pandemic, Carpenter built a platform called MyCon, a virtual community for pre-recorded cameos and shout-outs, to sell signed photos and have one-on-one interactions with fans during a time when traditional conventions, which she’s been attending for nearly 30 years, were put on pause. Other platforms such as Cameo and Memmo.me were more expensive for fans who didn’t get as much time with the stars they wanted to engage with. “It’s always bothered me that you don’t get to have time with your fans,” she says. “People are waiting in line so you want to be respectful and not rush, but you also know they want to have an experience. MyCon was an awesome opportunity.”

TikTok brought the idea into sharper focus. She was hesitant to join at first, but with encouragement from a friend she created an account. Responding to a fan comment trying to verify if she was the real deal, she posted her own video confirming, “Yes it’s me! You have to call everyone you’ve ever met right now and tell them I’m on TikTok!” Her follower count surged to over 120,000 in 24 hours. On TikTok, Carpenter decided to dedicate her content to the Buffyverse because she’s able to respond directly to fan questions, although the platform fell short for questions that required more thoughtful, in-depth answers. She needed a home to host longer-form content.

The podcast’s name nods to a quote from the Angel episode “Rm w/a Vu,” where Carpenter’s character confronts a ghost haunting her apartment: “…get ready to haul your wrinkly, translucent ass out of this place, ’cause lady, the bitch is back.” Carpenter explains in the first episode of her podcast that the term ‘bitch’ is not derogatory. “It was in that moment that I realized bitch is not a slur. Bitch is a defining moment of courage and strength and resilience.”

When deciding to do the podcast, some things weren’t up for discussion. “It was kind of like a Goldilocks situation,” she remembers, thinking back to contract offers she’d reviewed over the years that were just not the right fit for the project. Then the opportunity came to create this podcast on Patreon. Carpenter still had doubts and asked her fans directly. “They gave me permission,” she says. “They’ve watched it a hundred times, and they wanted to see it through my eyes.” Two of the items on the list of non-negotiables were control over the content and platform. “It has to be in my voice, I have to run it,” she says. “Patreon made me the CEO of my vision.”

Carpenter plans and writes the episodes and even moderates her own chat forums. Some of the The Bitch Is Back content is limited to paying members only, such as exclusive chats, bonus episodes and preferred seating at events. Because she’s so intimately involved in the entire process, she’s able to make tweaks along the way from feedback she gleans from her fan interactions. “I’m in tune with them and I care,” she says. “I would argue that is why this platform exists. That is why this podcast came to me. Because Patreon understood and respected my relationship with fans.”

Patreon is a membership platform with over 300,000 active creators, ranging from podcast hosts to musicians and artists. Creators can earn money through exclusive content for paid members, which can be set to different tiers. The company takes between 5% and 12% of creator’s earnings plus payment processing fees. Carpenter charges her army of supporters $7 a month.

According to Patreon, the platform will host approximately 30 events this year centered around podcast creators. Charisma Carpenter’s Homecoming event was limited to 100 attendees and generated a waitlist. During the live taping of the podcast Carpenter remarked on the packed room, stating that Patreon prepped her ahead of time for the turnout. It’s typical to experience a drop off between registrants and actual attendees, though for Charisma Carpenter’s Homecoming, there was minimal movement on the waitlist due to turnout.

I’m A Slayer, Ask Me How!

Buffy and Angel have influenced pop culture for nearly 30 years. The television show, picking up where the 1992 movie left off, first aired on the WB network in March 1997 as a mid-season replacement. In just seven seasons, Buffy has created a new vernacular, spawned college courses and

merchandise of every flavor from lollipops to prop replicas. The very concept of Buffy set the horror genre on its ear with a blonde cheerleader from California destined to save the world from vampires while also trying to maintain a social life and attend high school.

Now streaming on Hulu in the U.S., both shows continue to attract viewers and generate money for the Disney-owned streaming giant. According to Parrot Analytics, a company that measures global audience demand, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has made just over $100 million for the streaming platform since the start of 2020 alone, while Angel has netted just over $20 million in the same time frame. Hulu has also ordered a pilot for a Buffy reboot series, although there isn’t a set release date yet.

The Buffyverse remains a popular brand magnet for new collaborations, ranging from Adidas apparel to Loungefly bags and collectibles on fandom sites like Box Lunch and Hot Topic. For those looking for something handmade or vintage, Etsy and eBay are an active marketplace with over 56,000 auctions currently up for bid.

She’s The Slayer. I’m A Homecoming Queen!

Attendees to Carpenter’s Homecoming were a motley crew of fans—some attended with family members and partners and some came solo. But no one was truly alone. “I noticed that a lot of people were saying ‘I’m coming, but I’ll be solo!,’ and I thought, we should start a chat for anyone who’s coming solo so they can link up,” Carpenter says. The chat has since spawned its own events with NYC locals attending a Buffy trivia event together the following week.

For this event, Carpenter enlisted surprise guests from both shows; Clare Kramer (Glory) as emcee with special guests Julie Benz (Darla) and Amber Benson (Tara). After the live taping, a cocktail party was held for attendees who could sample Cordelia-themed cocktails, like the Queen C Cosmo or Hello Salty Goodness Margarita, and passed hors d’oeuvres. A DJ spun Buffy- and Angel-inspired tracks as attendees mingled. The main draw was engaging with the celebrities while Carpenter took photos on an ornate throne and spent time with each guest. One fan, Alex Ngo, 28, wandered the event with a huge smile on his face, mingling with guests and stars alike. His mother introduced him to Buffy 10 years ago, and has since passed away. Now he watches Buffy to feel close to her, and it’s become one of his favorite television shows.

The celebrities posed for photos, shared laughs and created community. During the taping, Benson addressed the fan base surrounding the Buffyverse saying that it was different from other 90’s shows because it not only had the nostalgia but gave permission to those who felt like they didn’t fit in to be different—and still fit in.

Benson’s sentiments echo Carpenter’s views. “That’s the point,” she says. “To make such a community out of this that it tells the community that this is a safe place where you are seen and heard.”