Marti Noxon--co-executive producer of The WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer--told SCI FI Wire that the current fifth season will culminate in a three-episode arc that will resolve the Dawn-Glory story arc. "Because [the season finale will be] our 100th episode, the last three episodes of the season are huge and very action-packed, and some momentous things will occur, but that's all I can say," Noxon said in an interview.
As for next year's move to UPN, Noxon said that the show will continue as before--and denied suggestions that the series' higher licensing fees will mean more production money. Trade reports said that UPN will pay Buffy studio 20th Century Fox Television as much as $2.3 million per episode, well above the amount The WB paid.
"Some of that money will go to pay back Fox's [production] deficit," Noxon said. "So it's not like we'll be getting all that for our budgets. We probably would have seen larger budget cuts if we'd stayed at The WB. That was one of the reasons why budget was such an issue, and the licensing fee was such an issue. ... Any show that goes on the air as long as ours sees some budget cuts in the fifth or sixth year." She added, "We'll be looking at less money next year. ... God willing--hello UPN!--we will not be looking at major cuts, but we will be working with less next year, not more. So there will be ... probably a couple of shows where the villain is a tiny bug or ... a hand puppet. A couple of sock puppet villains next year will be fine [laughs]."
