The O.C. – Gone But Not Forgotten

For a long time, Teen Dramas were my guilty pleasure. I wasn’t into the standard stuff like 90210 or Party of Five. No, I either hated those shows, or I just never saw them. My favorites were shows like My So-Called Life or Freaks and Geeks. I think it was because, much like the characters on the show, I fell in love with them. Like soap opera fans, I became invested in the character’s relationships. But, unlike previous shows, The O.C. was one of those rare shows that gave you just enough drama that it didn’t go into full-blown melodrama.

Okay, that’s a lie. It gave you A LOT of melodrama at times. But for some strange reason, the show felt sincere. While many of these teen dramas at the time felt like they were writing episodes for ratings, the O.C. just felt like they were telling good stories. It was organic. Were they always perfect? No. But it was a lot of fun. So why was the show so different from all the other dramas on the air? Let’s find out in this episode of Gone But Not Forgotten.

The O.C. was created by Josh Schwartz. How Schwartz began his career is pretty impressive. While attending the University of Southern California, Josh sold his first script to Sony. It was never made, but he went on to write a few pilots for TV that were produced but never aired. During this time, Josh met with Charlie’s Angels director MCG’s production company Wonderland Sound and Vision. He met Stephanie Savage, the head of the production company at the time. Savage and Schwartz hit it off and this is when history began to happen. Stephanie Savage told Josh they wanted to make a show about MCG’s hometown Orange County. Savage thought a show like 21 Jump Street would be a good idea for Josh to write. But Schwartz turned it down. He said he had no experience or desire to write that show. Still, the idea of Orange County made him think about his experiences at USC.  Schwartz grew up in Rhode Island, and as a Jewish kid now going to school in such a different environment had a massive impact on him. He said that he was thrown by the culture there. He now saw good-looking water polo players with blond model girlfriends on a daily basis.

So he was given the green light, and at just 26 years old, Josh Schwartz became the youngest showrunner in TV history. This was not a popular decision at the network. They began to try to send other experienced executive producers who hated Josh. This was because they wanted to keep repeating what other dramas did at the time. It seems like this resentment from the network came because they felt they were tricked. They were sold a new 90210 but instead were getting back something like Freaks and Geeks and My So-Called Life. Shows that barely lasted a season. So many experienced show producers hated being told their ideas were boring. Josh said many of them were waiting for him to fail and then take over. It was when he met executive producer Bob DeLaurentis that things changed. DeLaurentis has been working in Hollywood since 1982. He has been involved in iconic shows like Alfred Hitchcock presents. Delaurentis immediately saw talent in Josh and wanted him to succeed. He took him under his wing and taught him how to run a show.

Casting The O.C. was a journey in itself. Schwarts and Savage already had the actors in mind for many characters, like Peter Gallagher and Tate Donovan. But it was the teenagers that were more of a challenge. The character of Ryan Atwood was the most important casting choice of all. Ryan was the troubled kid from the wrong side of the tracts with a big heart that he hid from the world. When Ben Mckenzie came into the audition, he smoked a cigarette and did not say a word to anyone. He then sat down and delivered a jaw-dropping performance. Josh and April said that Ben was not the look they were going for to portray Ryan. They wanted someone who was not intimidating. Schwartz and April said they thought Mckenzie was almost like a young Russell Crowe. But his performance blew them away, and they knew they wanted him for the role.

Surprisingly the most popular character in the series Seth Cohen was almost axed from the show altogether. The network hated the character. After Ben was cast, they told Shcwartz they found their Luke Perry and wanted their Jason Priestly. He reminded them that this was not 90210, which is when they replied, “Can’t we just abort him?”. So he asked them to give him a chance to fix the role in the script. 

In the original pilot, Seth was an annoying character who wanted to be cool but failed miserably. So Josh wrote him more like himself, the geeky kid who owned his geekiness. It’s funny. Today you can’t picture Seth Cohen played by anyone other than the immensely funny Adam Brody. But he almost didn’t get the role. 

In fact, Josh Schwarts told the casting director that he never wanted to see Adam again. This is because Brody went to the audition without learning his lines. He tried to adlib the scene and failed spectacularly. But, casting director Patrick Rush insisted he is given a second chance. So Schwartz relented, and Adam came in, this time fully prepared and crushed it. 

For Ryan’s love interest Marissa Cooper the role almost went to Olivia Wilde, but they decided to go with 17-year-old actress Mischa Barton instead. Barton’s career grew with her roles in films like The Sixth Sense and the critically acclaimed indie film Pups. Schwartz said that what got her the role over Wilde was that Barton had a sense of tragedy that fit the character.

Other characters were not meant to have a big role on the show or even last more than an episode or two. Rachel Bilson is the perfect example. Bilson played one of the most popular characters in the O.C., Summer Roberts, a snobby and superficial rich girl who turns out to be deeper than people thought. Schwartz said that when Rachel said “ew,” he knew he had to keep her around longer. This would be the greatest decision he ever made on the show since Seth and Summers’s relationship was one of the best parts of the show.

Julie Cooper was another character who was not supposed to have such a big role in the series. The character was supposed to be the annoying trophy wife, but Melinda Clarke just charmed the pants out of everyone. 

Julie would wind up becoming the “villain” of the series. I say villain in quotes because even though the characters started as two-dimensional, she would show new depths. Julie Cooper’s past and insecurities would be explored, which fully brought her to life for the viewers. What was impressive was that she was cruel and selfish at the beginning of the show. So at first, you hate her. But, towards the end of the series, you root for her happiness. 

This is what I loved about the show so much. It would surprise you. You have some serious dramatic moments at one point, but then you would get a meta-joke thrown at you.

One of my favorite examples of this is the character of Luke, played by Chris Carmack. Luke was introduced in the pilot as the school bully who would pick on Seth and fight with Ryan. He was the spoiled rich kid who was the star water polo player of the school. His relationship with Marissa deteriorated due to his hatred of Ryan and selfishness. Then he is forced to do a project with Ryan and winds up bonding with him over a sports car. It’s at this moment that Luke’s life changes forever when he discovers that his father is having an affair with another man. Ryan promises to keep this secret from anyone to prevent Luke from being in pain. But, word gets out, and soon he becomes the laughingstock of the school. At the time it was shocking to see someone who was set up as a complete ass to be revealed to be so vulnerable. Toward the end of the first season, he becomes good friends with Ryan and Seth. He gets so close to them that he helps Ryan save his relationship with Marissa when she is being manipulated by an unstable kid named Oliver. 

After re-watching the OC for this video, I was surprised at how good the first season’s episodes were. When the network gave the green light, they ordered a 27-episode season. This was unheard of back then, and I don’t know how they pulled it off. It’s incredible how it never dragged.

The show was an instant hit, critics and fans adored it.  A big reason was that this type of teen drama was something completely new. It didn’t talk down to the audience and was a bit of a meta-commentary on the teen drama genre. One of the funniest running jokes on the show was that Summer watched a tv show called “The Valley”. It was an obvious jab at other shows at the time, like 90210 or Party of Five. It even had Colin Hanks, who would portray one of the stars of The Valley. A year before the show started, Hanks was in an underrated comedy called Orange County that co-starred Jack Black, so this was a cute Easter egg for fans. 

Another important thing the show did was promote the coolness of geekdom. Seth was an unapologetic comic book, sci-fi, and indie film geek. Adam Brody became the role model for nerds everywhere. Most of his dialogue was improvised. 

A memory I have seared into my brain was a moment on the show where Summer and another girl called Anna to compete for Seth’s heart. On Seth’s made-up holiday, “Chrismukkah”, each gives him a holiday gift. Anna gives him a comic book she made him and Summer…well, she dressed up as Wonder Woman.

Yep, I will take that image to my grave. Seth had some great dialogue and jokes.Season 2 was a little bit down from season one, but it was still very good. It had some incredible moments, like recreating the classic Spider-Man kiss.  This season also gave birth to a hilarious meme that didn’t want to die for over a decade – when Marissa shoots Ryan’s Bother (Logan Marshall-Green) to the sound of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”.

Yeah, like I said, the show did go into the melodrama a bit, but for the most part, it wasn’t as intense as most shows at the time. It always fell back on the characters that were the core of the show, the drama was only secondary. But that all changed when they hit… 

Season 3

Bad decisions were made, and it wasn’t made by Josh Schwartz. The show was damaged when storylines were introduced that went nowhere. A perfect example was when Marissa was forced to go to public school, which introduced bland characters like Johnny, another threat to Ryan and Marissa’s relationship. Then storylines for the adults were written with many disastrous results. At best, they sucked, like when Jerry Ryan guest-starred on multiple episodes. At worst was degrading the characters like Sandy’s relationship with the family became strained. I think these decisions wounded the series so badly that it never recovered.

But why did this happen? Well, I know many of you can already guess why. The network, no wait, not just any network. FOX!

Yes, Fox, where the Fox original programming motto is “If it’s not broken, then…KILL IT!!

The issues began in season 2 because some of the show’s biggest supporters left, and new executives came in and decided they wanted to make the show more appealing to adults. This was to compete with Desperate Housewives. One of the worst things the network did was with Marissa and Alex’s romantic relationship. Alex was played by Olivia Wilde and was a new love interest, Marissa. It was in the early days of introducing LGBTQ characters. Alex was supposed to have a bigger role on the show. But the network was afraid of offending more “sensitive” viewers. So they insisted she be written out of the show, but not before they shredded the storyline. In the show, Alex and Marissa kiss. It was filmed as a very romantic and touching scene between the two characters. The network made them edited to be a peck on the mouth.  Then created a promo before the episode aired that said…

“Don’t miss the latest episode of The O.C. for the hottest kiss ever on network television!’ 

Schwartz said that when he saw the promo, he said out loud, ‘We’re dead’

Things were not pretty behind the scenes with the cast, either. Many of the actors didn’t want to be on the show anymore. They felt the series was holding them back from film roles. Bad behavior began to set in on the set with many of the cast. At times they purposely were forgetting their lines. Ben McKenzie began to feud with guest star Cam Gigandet. Cam had a large storyline throughout season 3, so it was not a happy experience for him when he began interacting with McKenzie. Ben later went on record to apologize for his behavior, chalking it up to letting fame go to his head and having impostor syndrome. They have since made up with Cam saying Ben is an amazing actor. Rachel Bilson and Micha Barton also reportedly hated each other behind the scenes. This didn’t go well when she took some shots at her in the press. But one of the worst moments during the filming of the series was when Barton gave a tone-deaf interview with ELLE, as excerpted here:

“ When I ask what kind of fan mail she receives, Barton says, “It’s fascinating the stories you’ll get.” For example? In a weary, singsong voice, she says, “Like, ‘I was in the war and my leg got cut off and I’m in the hospital. I’ll never walk again, but all I can do is lie in bed and watch your TV show.’ It’s just—stuff you get.” She shrugs and takes another bite of swordfish. I ask if that letter came from a soldier in Iraq, and she says, “I don’t remember. But that one was big on the list of, like, heart-wrenching stories. Are you joking? The O.C.? Surely there are more important things in life than my stupid show. But, like, okay, if you feel that way. I’m like, that’s”—she chuckles and rolls her eyes—”

Yikes, that’s bad. To be fair, she was 19 and immature. So maybe we should cut her some slack, considering she was practically a kid then. 

Then she did something many people, fans, and crew alike were angry about for years. Spoilers for season three, at the end of this horrible season, Marissa was killed off. Schwartz decided this because many critics complained about what a boring and annoying character Marissa Cooper had become. He also said that he felt that she was a tragic character whose future would always be bleak. 

So the death was kept under wraps for months. It was being built up as this jaw-dropping moment for the season. Then a few hours before the episode aired, Micha Barton went on Access Hollywood….and…spoiled…the…ENDING!

It’s been debated for years whether she did it intentionally or was it just a mistake. She was unhappy with the series and was rumored to have been difficult to work with. It could have been a mistake considering her past interactions with the press. But I will leave it up to you to decide. 

One good thing came out of season 3….a great thing, in my opinion. We were introduced to Taylor. Autumn Reeser was brought on to portray quirky perfectionist Taylor Townsend. Taylor was originally a villain of the series, with her mother having Marissa expelled in order for her to become the star of the school. However, as the show progressed, Taylor became more and more quirky and adorable. Many people may disagree, but I think Taylor saved the show. She was funny, sweet, and sexy and owned her neurotic behavior.

Season four was a return to basics. The fallout of the death of Marissa was felt by all of the characters in their different ways. Summer ran away from the pain by going to a college across the country, Ryan became obsessed with finding the man responsible for her death, and Seth was left trying to keep everyone together. Taylor began a romance with Ryan that I feel was better than his relationship with Marissa. While Marissa was always in need of being rescued by Ryan, Taylor pushed him to confront his demons. She made Ryan reconnect with his father, and she made him acknowledge his grief. 

Taylor also made Summer deal with how her fear of loss had hurt her and Seth’s relationship.

It’s a controversial statement for some OC fans, but the show needed Taylor. She brought back the thing that the show excels at inter-character relationships. Yet even though Season Four was great it was not perfect. Marissa’s younger sister Kaitlin Cooper played by Willa Holland, was made a series regular. This was a huge mistake because her part did not gel with the show. Her role on the show felt clumsily inserted. Most of her storylines did not intersect with the others. It felt like someone was trying to shove a cube into a circle-shaped hole. One of the worst series of episodes involved stunt casting. I don’t see this as much lately, but in early 2000, musicians and reality stars were often forced to appear on popular shows. It was always a rating ploy by networks to attract more viewers. So you had Paris Hilton suddenly guest star on Veronica Mars or Nicole Richie become an antagonist on Chuck. But the worst example was when Chris Brown was brought in as a love interest for Kristin on The O.C

Holy crap, guys, I swear the man was getting close to being as bad as Tommy Wiseau at times. He just stared at the camera like someone who saw a butterfly land before him. It was even worse when he tried to act beside a real actor like Willa Holland. 

A funny thing was that a few actors with small parts in The O.C. ended up having big roles on another Josh Schwartz show, Chuck. In an episode, Julia Ling played a girl in love with Chris Brown’s character, and Scott Krinsky played a homeless man named Daryll. I think Daryll moved to Burbank, changed his name to Jeff, and started working at Buy More.

Still, even though season 4 of The OC was great, Fox followed the formula they always do and began to move the show around to different timeslots. The cast felt that when they were told the fourth season only had 16 episodes ordered by the network, they knew the end was near. When word got out that the show would possibly be canceled, a petition to save the show got 740,000 signatures. At one point, there was talk of the show moving to the CW, but it didn’t pan out. On February 22, 2007, the last episode of The O.C. aired, giving us a nice, although rushed, happy ending to all our characters.

So should the show come back? Nah. I think many of the teen dramas today are just trying to be The O.C. So much of what made the show special back then is the norm now. It would be nice to see a small mini-series like what happened with Gilmore Girls a few years back. Still, I am mostly happy with how it all ended. Many actors have had successful careers, like Ben McKenzie starring on the hit TV show Gotham and Adam Brody having big roles in the Shazam films. Autumn is now a staple of the hallmark movies and even producing her films. Rachel Bilson had a show for a while called Heart of Dixie, and Melinda Clarke was a co-star in another hit show, La Femme Nikita. The show is still special after all these years, and you can watch the entire Hulu series. If you want to go even deeper into the show, Bilson and Clarke have a podcast called Welcome to the O.C. bitches. The podcast has many stars, and crew talk about their time on the show and rewatch episodes.

So the O.C. may be gone, but it will never be forgotten. If you can, sit at the beach, turn on your laptop or tablet, and put on an episode. You won’t regret it.