Everything 'The O.C.' Cast Has Said About a Possible Reboot
California, here we come? The O.C. has been off the air for 14 years, but that hasn’t stopped fans — and former cast members — from speculating about a possible reboot.
Since Rachel Bilson (a.k.a. Summer Roberts) and Melinda Clarke (a.k.a. Julie Cooper-Nichol) launched their new podcast, “Welcome to the OC, Bitches,” in April 2021, interest in another round of Newpsie drama has only increased.
For the podcast, the pair rewatch old episodes of the show and share their memories of filming, with guest appearances from fellow cast members, including Tate Donovan and Peter Gallagher.
“Watching it, I’m just so impressed with how good everybody is,” Bilson told Nylon in April 2021 of revisiting the series. “I feel like it worked because of the natural chemistry and people’s talents, and it’s fun to see that.”
The O.C. followed Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), a troubled teen who moved in with the wealthy Cohen family after he got caught trying to steal a car. The Cohens’ son, Seth (Adam Brody), introduced him to comic books and Death Cab for Cutie, while their next-door neighbor Marissa (Mischa Barton) introduced him to Ferris wheel makeouts and shoplifting.
Clarke played one of the most infamous characters on the show — Marissa’s mom, Julie, whose many nefarious deeds included sleeping with her daughter’s 18-year-old ex-boyfriend.
“Julie really is one of the original Housewives,” the Gotham alum told Bustle in April 2021. “She’s a villain but you never play a villain as a villain. You believe your character’s truth — and her truth was maintaining this beautiful façade.”
In the years since the 2007 series finale, the cast has kept busy with other projects, but Bilson thinks the time could be right for a return to the Bait Shop. “Obviously the fashion in the early 2000s is so crazy, but it’s a trip to see some of it resurfacing, like the Juicy Couture tracksuits,” she told Nylon. “I feel like they’re having a resurgence and everyone’s in matching sweatsuits or tracksuits now … so that’s pretty funny.”
Another thing that’s coming back? O.C. creator Josh Schwartz’s other beloved teen drama, Gossip Girl, set to premiere in July on HBO Max. The producer has said he has no plans to revive The O.C. too, but fans are still making the same wish every Chrismukkah. As Julie put it in season 2: “Surf, sex and scandal. It’s a recipe for a cultural phenomenon, don’t you think?”
Keep scrolling to read everything the O.C. cast has said about the idea of a reboot:
"I’ve always said anything that Josh and Stephanie [Savage] want to do, I’m on board for, but it’s kind of hard to figure out what you’d do with the characters and where they would be," the Hart of Dixie alum told Nylon in April 2021. "I will say if they ever wanted to do it, I would do it. But I just don’t know where you go [with the plot]."
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The Ready or Not actor would give a revival his "blessing," but he has zero interest in reprising the role of Seth Cohen. "I’m in another stage in my life," he told GQ in August 2019. "And I feel silly saying no because they’re not doing it and I haven't been asked, so who am I to turn down nonexistent work? But the truth is, it’s not that I mind talking about it, and I haven’t fought hard to not to talk about it, I don’t care, I’m talking freely about it now, and I enjoy it to a certain degree. But as someone who would also like to be known for my other work, I can’t imagine dipping back into that pool to have another decade of conversation."
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Barton's character was killed off in the season 3 finale, but she thinks a reboot is definitely a possibility. "I think there are ways it could happen for sure. I mean in this industry there's a way to do everything," she told Entertainment Tonight in August 2020. "If you really wanna get The O.C. back, of course we could, of course there's a way. Characters can slightly change or diverge or come back as a cousin. Like, who cares?"
That said, she's not interested in returning as a long-lost Marissa lookalike or a ghost. "There was so much drama on that set that I feel like it had kinda reached its end," she added. "Also with Marissa herself as a character, we had done a lot of story lines with her ... and that felt like it was doing the character justice. But I do understand people wanting her to maybe come back and be raised from the dead so that she could be back up to her old antics."
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Clarke is interested in reuniting the cast for a group catch-up, and if that leads to a reboot, she'd be willing to do it. "Never say never," she told ET in April 2021.
Courtesy of Melinda Clarke/Instagram
The Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist star really enjoyed his time as Newport Beach's best public defender, so if a revival happened, he'd be happy to participate. “I love Sandy Cohen,” he told ET in January 2018. “I’d love to play Sandy Cohen again.”
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The creator claimed he's been asked to revive the series, but he thinks it ended when and how it should have. "For us, that was a very, very singular story," he said in January 2020 during the Television Critics Association press tour. "We felt like we completed that tale by the end."
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