Joss Whedon mulls over Angel's future.

In an interview with Cleveland.com, Whedon has high hopes that Angel will be picked up for a sixth season, mainly due to the fact he feels the changes he has made in season five have reinvigorated the programme and its cast.

"I do feel like there's a new energy this year," said Whedon. "You know, obviously, bringing James in and shaking up the cast a little bit and just having the mission statement of making the show accessible to people who haven't seen it before, sort of really kept us on our toes.

"We were in that very, very dark place last year, and I love last year's show very much, but it was this one dark kind of thing... Everything was just very sort of Gothic, and it weighs on you when you're working on it... If you're making comedy, you do laugh occasionally, so there's kind of a lighter spirit this year."

" It feels to me like the new energy could propel us into more seasons. And I very much hope it does," he added.

Whedon is also unperturbed by the news that the WB is to produce a new version of vampire soap opera Dark Shadows.

"Clearly, I'm the 97th guy to use the vampire metaphor to tell stories," he said. "I have no problem with there being a 98th... It does not strike terror in my heart."