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The O.C. was an American teen drama television series that originally aired on FOX in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. The series, created by Josh Schwartz, portrays the fictional lives of a group of teenagers and their families residing in Orange County, California. The O.C. has been broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide. However, despite being one of the most popular new dramas of 2003, the series' ratings dwindled over the subsequent two seasons, causing FOX network to order only 16 episodes for the fourth season. When the ratings fell even further, the network decided not to renew the show for a fifth season. Consequently, the final episode of "The O.C." was broadcast on February 22, 2007.[1] The O.C. went out with ratings similar to the seasons 2 and 3, attracting an audience of 6.7 million. After the series concluded, the fourth and final season became available on iTunes, along with its animated spinoff series "Atomic County."
ProductionOriginImage:The oc premiere poster.jpg Promotional poster for the show's premiere. Image:Cohen House.jpg The set of the Cohen household. Josh Schwartz, The O.C.'s creator, used a "trojan horse" strategy to get FOX's attention. He was a fan of quirky character-driven shows like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and My So-Called Life, but those shows had short runs and FOX was "looking for their next 90210". He met with producers McG and Stephanie Savage and developed the story of Ryan Atwood, a brooding young teenager who finds himself living among the "beautiful people" of Orange County. Schwartz recalls that they hoped the characters were "a little bit funnier and more soulful, different, and specific than the kinds you usually see in (the) genre."[2] In an interview, Schwartz stated, "I think, maybe from the early ads, people thought they were going to get a kind of melodrama. What we've done instead is something a little bit different, something that has a little bit more irony and a little bit more self-awareness and maybe is a little more successful because of that."[3] Adam Brody originally wanted the part of Ryan Atwood, but later in auditions, he returned at the producers' requests to audition for the role of Seth. Chad Michael Murray was originally offered the role of Luke Ward's good friend, but declined so he could be on the show One Tree Hill. The role of Luke's friend was later cut. Melinda Clarke, who plays the role of Julie Cooper-Nichol, actually read for the part of the perfect mother, Kirsten Cohen. In "The Pilot", there just wasn't enough material for her to read as Julie, so she was brought in to read for Kirsten.[4] The role of Kirsten eventually went to Kelly Rowan.
FilmingDue to labor union salary rules about filming outside of Los Angeles County, The O.C. was actually filmed in several southern California Beach Cities (40 miles away from the actual Newport Beach) to reduce costs. Most interior shots of homes and offices, including the Cohen household, were shot at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach,[5] while most exterior shots (e.g. the pier, diner, and "the Bait Shop") were filmed in neighboring Redondo Beach[6] and Hermosa Beach.[7] The Newport Group, an actual advisory group, was represented in the The O.C. by the same building used for the Miami-Dade Police HQ in CSI: Miami.[8] Broadcast
The first season of The O.C. premiered on Fox in the United States on August 5 2003 at 9:00pm ET. The series finale of The O.C. aired on February 22, 2007. The O.C. has also premiered in other countries around the world including non-English speaking countries. The cable network SOAPnet has purchased the syndication rights to The O.C.. Starting April 9, 2007 the channel will begin airing reruns of the show as part of an afternoon, high school drama line up, together with Beverly Hills, 90210 and One Tree Hill. [2] CancellationSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
On January 3, 2007, FOX officially decided to end the series.[9] Several people attributed the cancellation due to the untimely death of Marissa Cooper when several fans "boycotted" the show. A Large number of fans signed petitions[10] and e-mailed FOXThere were conflicting reports as to whether The O.C. would be picked up for a fifth season by The CW Television Network. Creator Josh Schwartz seemed to be sending mixed signals about the move. In an email to Annie Barrett at Entertainment Weekly, Josh Schwartz reportedly told Ms. Barrett that: "Yeah, this season will indeed be the last. There was some speculation about a Season 5 on another network but we are having a really fun, great run and I feel like better to go out now than stay too long at the party... and after 4 seasons of the OC, I know a lot about parties..."[11] After being questioned on the move in a separate interview with Michael Ausiello from TV Guide, Schwartz replied, "I don’t want to ever say never, because at a certain point… At this moment? No. Secretly, I would love a Julie-Kaitlin anti-Gilmore Girls show".[12] On January 19, 2007 at the Television Critic's Association tour, President of Entertainment of The CW Television Network Dawn Ostroff stated the series would not move to the CW. "Obviously, it came up but we really didn't think it made sense for us for several reasons."[13] The series finale, titled "The End's Not Near, It's Here", was written by creator Josh Schwartz and aired on February 222007. StorylineSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Season 1Image:OC-101.jpg "Premiere", the first episode of The O.C. The first season of The O.C. premiered on August 5, 2003 in the United States, featuring a total of 27 episodes. The premiere shows a new life for Ryan Atwood, a 16 year old living in Chino, the Cohens and the Coopers, and everyone else in the wealthy, picturesque, secretive, turbulent community of Orange County, California. Faced with the prospect of life in a group home, Ryan decides to run away from Newport, but Seth and Marissa convince him to stay. During the season Ryan and Marissa develop a relationship, Luke begins to sleep with Julie, Seth and Summer fall in love, and Jimmy falls into financial trouble. Near the end of the season, Julie and Caleb officially get married. Ryan then finds out that he may be the father of the unborn child of his ex girlfriend, Theresa, and decides to part ways with the Cohen family and his current girlfriend, Marissa, to support her through her pregnancy. When finding out that Ryan is moving back to Chino with Theresa, Seth sails away in his boat, leaving notes for his parents and Summer. Season 2The second season began on November 42004 in the United States. It featured a total of 24 episodes. At the start of the season, it is revealed that Seth ran away to Portland, Oregon, where he has been staying with Luke and Luke's father. Ryan has spent the summer in Chino, living with Theresa Diaz and her mother, and working on a construction site. Realising he would be happier back in Orange County with the Cohens, Theresa tells Ryan that she lost the baby. This prompts Ryan and Seth to return to Newport, where Seth ends up working under Alex at the Bait Shop. They have a brief relationship, but Alex, revealed to be bisexual, starts dating Marissa. Also, Ryan starts a relationship with Lindsay, a new girl at school. Their relationship flounders when Newport finds out that she is the love child of Caleb and half-sister to Kirsten. After Lindsay and her mother move to Chicago, Ryan's brother Trey is released from prison. As he has nowhere else to go, the Cohens invite him to stay with them while he gets his life in order. However, he soon gets into trouble with drugs, and while high, attempts to rape Marissa. Meanwhile, Kirsten begins drinking heavily, a problem that is further aggravated after her father dies of a heart attack. As the season ends, the Cohens and Ryan stage an intervention and Kirsten leaves for rehab. Ryan then discovers his brother's attempted rape of Marissa, and confronts Trey. The two fight and Trey is about to kill Ryan when Marissa arrives and shoots Trey to save Ryan. Season 3Image:OC-325.jpg "The Graduates", the third season finale. The third season began on September 82005 in the United States and featured a total of 25 episodes. The season begins with Kirsten still in rehab and Trey in a coma. Trey eventually comes out of his coma and, after Julie Cooper briefly attempts to blackmail him into blaming Ryan for the shooting, he leaves town. Marissa escapes charges over the shooting, but is expelled from Harbor and is forced to attend Newport Union, a nearby public school. There she meets Johnny, a surfer and his sidekick Chilli. Johnny falls in love with Marissa, and she eventually has to choose between him and Ryan. After choosing Ryan, a drunk Johnny falls to his death from a cliff on the beach. Marissa is re-admitted to Harbor after her friends stage a campaign, with the assistance of Marissa's former rival Taylor Townsend. Unable to come to terms with Johnny's death, Marissa becomes involved with Volchok another surfer with a "bad boy" reputation. However during prom, she catches him cheating on her and ends the relationship with him. On the third season finale, an intoxicated Volchok, still reeling from his break-up with Marissa, rams Marissa and Ryan off a road and over a cliff. Ryan survives the crash and pulls Marissa from the wrecked car. Marissa then slowly dies in his arms by the roadside. Season 4Image:The OC final ep.JPG "The End's Not Near, It's Here", the series finale of The O.C. The fourth and final season began on November 2 2006 in the United States, and featured a total of 16 episodes. The season begins with everyone coping with the death of Marissa Cooper. Ryan has moved out of the Cohen household and become a cage fighter to deal with his anger. Summer begins attending Brown University, where she throws herself into environmental activism, and avoids calls from Seth, who stays in Newport and finds a job at a comic book shop. Marissa's younger sister Kaitlin returns to Newport from boarding school and starts attending Harbor. Julie, meanwhile, hires a private detective to track down Volchok, who had fled to Mexico. She plans to have Ryan take revenge on Volchok, presumably by killing him. Ultimately, with Seth and Sandy's help, Ryan allows Volchok to turn himself into the authorities. Ryan subsequently moves back in with the Cohens. In the meantime, Taylor Townsend, who is previously thought to have been in Paris, attending the Sorbonne, secretly returns to Newport after impulsively marrying a Frenchman, who then refuses to grant her a divorce. Ryan helps her by posing as her lover to get her husband to agree to the divorce, after which she and Ryan begin a romantic relationship. After releasing rabbits from a laboratory, Summer is suspended from Brown for a semester and returns to California where she and Seth reconcile. Julie Cooper begins a relationship with wealthy Texan businessman Gordon Bullit, however, she soon becomes conflicted when she falls for Ryan's biological father, Frank, who was released from prison. Near the end of the fourth season, Kirsten becomes pregnant with a baby girl, and she and Sandy consider whether Newport is the right place to bring up another child. A powerful earthquake hits Newport, during which Ryan is injured, although with the help of a blood transfusion from Seth, he survives. Unfortunately, the Cohens' house is beyond repair. The series finale documents the characters' lives six months after the earthquake. It is shown in a conclusive flashforward that Seth and Summer wed, Julie remains single and graduates from college, Sandy becomes a Law professor, and Ryan becomes an architect. The series concludes with Ryan reaching out to a troubled teenager just as Sandy did for him. SpecialsThe O.C. has had two television specials, detailing behind-the-scenes information, interviews, and bloopers. The two specials aired prior to the second season.
Main charactersImage:OCcastS1.jpg The O.C. Season 1 cast. Image:OCcastS2.jpg The O.C. Season 2 cast. Image:OCcastS3.jpg The O.C. Season 3 cast. Image:OCcastS4.jpg The O.C. Season 4 cast.
Milestone Episodes
Societal impactU.S. television ratingsSeasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of The O.C. on FOX
According to The Futon Critic, "for its seven-week summer [of 2003] run, The O.C. averaged 8.43 million viewers and increased its viewership by more than 17% from its premiere by the end of the summer."[17] However, its viewership numbers from the summer were not factored into their 2003-2004 season average because it aired before the start of the 2003-2004 U.S. television season. The FOX soap's audience perked up, starting from February 2004, when it started airing directly after episodes of the third season of American Idol. The FOX network gave the show a vote of confidence when it moved The O.C. to Thursdays at 8:00 during the fall of 2004 to boost their dismal Thursday nights. The move resulted in some small success by improving the 8:00-9:00 (Eastern & Pacific time) timeslot yet, the network was unable to find a program in the 9:00-10:00 (Eastern & Pacific time) time slot to hold on to The O.C.'s audience. The show's overall audience declined sharply in its third season. An example of this decline was shown when it attracted 7.36 million viewers[18] for the March 9, 2006 episode, which aired after a special Thursday night results show during the fifth season of American Idol. Although these numbers were a small improvement of its third season average, it retained just 28% of Idol's audience,[19] which is well below the rate earned by most programs that air following hit shows and especially well below its post-Idol retention rate in the spring of 2004. The fourth season of The O.C. faced stiff competition in the form of Grey's Anatomy and CSI on Thursdays at 9:00. To boost ratings, FOX network launched a "Save The OC" webpage, containing a petition to be signed by viewers who wanted to keep the show alive.[20] Despite The O.C continuing to suffer from decreased ratings in its fourth season, critics reacted positively to the quality of the show, noting that it managed to become "fresh" and closer to the quality of the first season of The O.C.. Schwartz had admitted being more involved in the writing during the fourth season. The series finale of The O.C., titled The End's Not Near, It's Here, received a ratings surge with a total 6.676 million viewers, with a peak of 7.6 million viewers. This is in contrast to the second last episode of The O.C., titled The Night Moves, which only received 3.63 million viewers. In Orange CountyBefore the show aired, Orange County residents referred to their county by its full name, or just 'O.C.'. The abbreviation 'O.C.' was also used by local radio and television stations, but without 'The'. At first, the name of the show was met with scorn, but since then, some people have begun to refer to Orange County as 'The O.C.' as a joke. Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby went as far as to propose changing the name of Orange County's John Wayne Airport to The O.C. Airport, John Wayne Field but backed down the next day after his office received negative phone calls and emails from angry county residents. This somewhat negative sentiment toward the moniker is reflected in the running gag featured in the former Fox television show Arrested Development, which also takes place in Orange County: a number of the characters use the name "The O.C." (in various settings), to which main character Michael Bluth consistently responds, "Don't call it that." In popular cultureThe O.C. has also been referred to on several other T.V shows of The FOX network.; In House, Hugh Laurie's character, Gregory House shows a keen interest in the show, Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons, Larry Gold from The War at Home, Roger from American Dad and Stewie from Family Guy are all fans of the show. On "Arrested Development", which is also set in Orange County, a running joke was that characters would refer to Orange County and other words that can be abbreviated as the O.C., and would then be told to stop. Michael on the British sitcom My Family is also asked by his mother if he wants the show recorded while he is on an army training course. In the Australian soap opera Neighbours, some of the characters (particularly the Timmins family, and Summer Hoyland) are avid fans of The O.C. However, Bree Timmins claims the show's "storylines never move on" and lost interest. Though she did use Ryan and Marissa as an example of true love to her sister. Jack McFarland on Will & Grace made a remark about "25 year old children and 35 year old parents" in the episode Christmas Break written by Bill Wrubel. In The Blaze Of Glory, Carter Buckley criticizes Julie Cooper as being amongst Newport's "fifty-five year-old women with twenty-five year-old breasts" (Melinda Clarke is 38). In the British teen drama Skins, in the episode 'Sid', Chris states "Its like an episode of The OC in here" when Tony is being attacked verbally and 'bitch slapped' in class. And Dr. Cox from Scrubs once mentioned The O.C. as part of a list of things he couldn't care less about. Popular culture references
One of the reasons The O.C. gained a cult following was the constant flow of references to musicians, films and comic books below the mainstream cultural radar, mainly coming from the character Seth Cohen. One prime example would be in the episode entitled The Best Chrismukkah Ever in which Seth creates the 'Seth Cohen Starter Pack' as a Christmas gift to give to Anna and Summer. This starter pack consisted of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Goonies, and CDs by Bright Eyes, Death Cab for Cutie and The Shins. Bright Eyes and Death Cab for Cutie are also referenced in a handful of other episodes, more so than any other bands. Seth and friends have attended shows by The Walkmen, Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers, Modest Mouse, The Thrills and The Subways at their local music venue, the Bait Shop. Films referenced include The Goonies, Risky Business, Akira, Ghost in The Shell, Blade, House of Flying Daggers, Hellboy and a set of scenes loosely parodying Spider-Man in the episode 'The Rainy Day Women'. Seth also has a large Ben Folds Live poster above his bed, as well as posters for various other bands including Death Cab for Cutie, The Ramones and Nirvana. In one scene there is a close-up of him reading the book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto and the writer Thomas Pynchon was also mentioned quite subtly in one episode, as was Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road. Additionally, Seth plays a variety of games on his PlayStation 2 console. The most frequent example comes from season one, which includes a handful of scenes showing Seth and various other characters playing a game from the Dynasty Warriors series. He makes numerous references to various comic books throughout the series, including X-Men and L.E.G.I.O.N., and cited Brian Michael Bendis as one the greatest comic book authors of all time. Seth's obscure tastes were backed up by other characters - Anna Stern shared Seth's love of comic books and Death Cab for Cutie, and in one episode she gets the two of them tickets to see Bright Eyes as a surprise (although this aspect of the storyline isn't covered and there is no further mention of the concert, possibly due to how unlikely it would be to get Conor Oberst to agree to taking part in the show). In the second season, the character Zach is introduced into the show and shares Seth's love of comic books and superhero movies. Marissa spends most of one episode listening to Interpol in her room and in the second ever episode she mentions that she likes punk because she's angry, specifically The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers and The Cramps. Marissa is surprised to find out that Seth and her share an extremely similar taste in music and literature in the second episode, The Model Home. Alex has a concert poster of The Postal Service on the wall of her living room. In season three, Taylor Townsend eventually bonds with Seth over a mutual love of Japanese anime. And Julie Cooper occasionally recalls a youth spent listening to Whitesnake, Bob Seger and Mötley Crüe. This side of the show was spoofed on a few occasions - firstly, when Ryan developed a passion for the band Journey, going against the hip references made by Seth Cohen. In The Rainy Day Women episode Seth decides to dwell on his troubled love life not by listening to his usual obscure indie tastes, but with Boyz II Men's song "End of the Road". Paris Hilton made a guest appearance in "The L.A." episode, playing an ironic parody of herself - Seth met her and expected her to be as she is on TV, but instead she started a conversation about cult author Thomas Pynchon, stating that "Gravity's Rainbow is his masterpiece!". Seth was suitably stunned. The writers also invented a fictional anime called "Yakuza Prep" which is based on the Japanese movie Battle Royale, in the third season, perhaps to wind up people becoming interested in certain bands and films just because The O.C. mentioned them; for example, when a song by Imogen Heap shot up the download charts the day after it was used in The O.C.'s season finale for season two, "The Dearly Beloved". The writers also created a fictional show called "The Valley", which was basically the in-show equivalent of The O.C.. Characters will frequently make ironic (and perhaps self-mocking) comments about "The Valley" and its fictional reality TV counterpart, "Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley" obviously referring back to the show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and its bold claim to be real. Comedic group The Lonely Island did a parody of The O.C. called The 'Bu. At Boston College, students created and produced a parody titled "The BC" that received nationwide acclaim and features in The New York Times and CBS Evening News. "Save The O.C." WebpageTowards the end of 2006, FOX inserted a webpage on their website entitled Save The OC, asking people to sign an OC loyalty oath [21]. It was stated on the webpage that "not enough people out there have come back to Newport this season". On the webpage, fans were able to send the oath to a friend, sign up for the OC newsletter, and they were also asked to send an email to lovetheoc@gmail.com explaining why they loved the show. According to the webpage, "a very important and powerful person" would be reading the emails. The oath reads as follows:
Although the oath had a humorous tone to it, few of the fans were laughing after the show was actually cancelled. At the time of the cancellation the webpage had received tens of thousands of signatures on a daily basis. Soon after the cancellation though, the number of daily signatures steadily began to decline, eventually levelling off at between roughly 1,500 and 5,500 per day. Slight increases in daily signatures were noticeable around the airing of each week’s episode. This trend was broken however on the air date of the final episode, when more than 18,000 signatures were brought in. During the final seven episodes of The O.C., FOX played short advertisements telling viewers how many episodes were left in the final season, however no attempt was ever made during the show to inform viewers about the Save The OC webpage. The webpage was also never advertised on The O.C.’s official webpage. This lack of advertisement may have contributed to the inability of the Save The OC webpage to save the show from cancellation. Music
The series is also known for its music, specifically indie rock and other non-mainstream bands.
The Beastie Boys single "Ch-Check It Out" debuted on the show in the episode The Strip that aired April 28 2004.[23] U2 debuted their song "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"on the show before it was released as a single, as did Coldplay with their song "Fix You", Gwen Stefani with her single "Cool" and former member of Frou Frou, Imogen Heap and her single "Hide And Seek". The song was featured twice in the episode The Dearly Beloved. The Shins also featured their song "Turn on Me" before the album was released on the episode The French Connection. During the first season series co-producer McG organised a video of the cast singing the 1979 old school punk classic "California" (not the Phantom Planet song), originally released on the 'Beach Blvd. album released on Posh Boy Records. Intended as a secret bonus feature for Music from the OC: Mix 1, the recording was pulled at the last minute and remains shelved. Guest artistsMany popular indie artists have also guest-starred on the show, the majority playing at the venue, the 'Bait Shop' that was introduced in the second season and became a regular hangout (although was featured less in the third season and only mentioned in season four) purposely to showcase indie rock bands on the show, following the success of Rooney in the first season.
DVD releases
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