How many episodes did Season 1 of Buffy have? Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1 had 12 episodes.
The first season originally aired on The WB from March 10 through June 2, 1997. It was a mid-season replacement rather than a full traditional broadcast season, which explains why it is much shorter than later seasons, many of which contain more than 20 episodes.
The season introduces Buffy Summers after her move to Sunnydale, where she discovers that the town sits above a Hellmouth. She forms the group that becomes the Scooby Gang with Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, and her Watcher, Rupert Giles. Angel and the vampire villain known as the Master are also established during this opening run.
The 12 episodes combine stand-alone supernatural stories with a season-long plot about the Master's attempt to escape the mystical prison holding him beneath Sunnydale. The finale, “Prophecy Girl,” brings Buffy into direct conflict with him and closes the season's central arc.
A common mistake is to answer 22 or 24, numbers closer to the episode counts of later Buffy seasons. Season 1 is specifically the 12-episode introductory season.