The O.C. | |
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Intertitle Card Seasons 3-4 |
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Format | Teen drama |
Created by | Josh Schwartz |
Starring | Peter Gallagher Kelly Rowan Benjamin McKenzie Mischa Barton Adam Brody Rachel Bilson Melinda Clarke Tate Donovan Autumn Reeser Willa Holland Alan Dale Chris Carmack |
Theme music composer | Phantom Planet |
Opening theme | "California" |
Composer(s) | Christopher Tyng, Richard Marvin |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 92 (List of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Dave Bartis (season 1) Bob DeLaurentis Doug Liman (season 1) McG Stephanie Savage (season 4; co-executive producer seasons 1–3) Josh Schwartz |
Location(s) | Newport Beach, California |
Running time | 42 min. (approx.) |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | Fox |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV) |
Original run | August 3, 2003 | – February 21, 2007
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 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 Newport Beach in Orange County, California. The O.C. has been broadcast in more than fifty countries worldwide and was one of the most popular new dramas of 2003.[1] The O.C. attracted a strong 9.7 million viewers for its first season, but ratings declined as the show went on. The low ratings led to cancellation in early 2007, after four seasons, and 92 episodes, even after an online petition which gained over 700,000 signatures.[2] Re-runs of The O.C. are now shown on The WB, SOAPnet, Really and Channel 4.
The show centers on Ryan Atwood, a troubled youth from a broken home who is adopted by the wealthy and philanthropic Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. Ryan and his surrogate brother Seth, a socially awkward and, initially, friendless teen, deal with life as outsiders in the high-class world of Newport Beach, Orange County, California. This includes their often troubled and always dramatic relationships with Summer Roberts, Marissa Cooper, Alex Kelly, Lindsay Gardner, Taylor Townsend, and others. The show also features Marissa's mother, Julie Cooper, and for the first two seasons, her (ex)husbands Jimmy Cooper and Kirsten's overbearing father, Caleb Nichol. School water polo player Luke Ward, Marissa's boyfriend and early adversary to Ryan and Seth, causes problems in the first season. Drama also arises from Marissa's younger sister, Kaitlin Cooper. These main characters have problems and story arcs with numerous supporting characters from their past, workplace, and school.
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The early part of season 1 focuses on Ryan Atwood's arrival at Newport Beach after being taken in by Sandy and Kirsten Cohen and the relationships he develops with the residents there. A major theme of the first season is the culture shock Ryan feels as he adjusts to a new life in the high-class society of Newport Beach. He quickly befriends and bonds with Seth Cohen, and begins to have a romantic relationship with Marissa Cooper. He also develops a rivalry with Marissa's then-boyfriend, Luke Ward. However, they eventually become friends when Ryan continues to support Luke in times of trouble. Major conflicts and storylines in season 1 include the love triangle between Seth, Summer, and Anna, Julie and Jimmy Cooper's divorce and its effect on Marissa, conflicts between Ryan and Luke, and the arrivals of Oliver Trask and Theresa Diaz.
The second season of The O.C. continues to follow the tumultuous romantic relationships between Ryan and Marissa, Seth and Summer, as well as Sandy and Kirsten. Josh Schwartz, the show's creator, stated that in season 2, the show would "no longer be about Ryan's past; now it's going to be about Ryan's future" and that this season would "slow down the storytelling a little bit ... and evolve the characters".[3] A number of recurring characters are introduced to cause conflicts, such as D.J., Lindsay Gardner, Zach Stevens, and Alex Kelly, to which the main characters form a variety of relationships. Ryan's brother, Trey Atwood, gets out of jail and also causes problems, such as attempting to rape Marissa, while Sandy and Kirsten face new conflicts that could threaten their marriage. Alan Dale as Caleb Nichol, Kirsten's father, receives star billing this season, and his character dies during it. Also, the Bait Shop becomes a prominent social destination for the teenage characters. Season 2 ends with Marissa shooting Trey after attempting to stop an altercation between him and Ryan.
In the beginning of season 3 Marissa is expelled from the Harbor School and must go to Newport Union, a public high school, for shooting Trey Atwood. There, she meets several new recurring characters, most notably Johnny Harper. Back in Harbor, Taylor Townsend is also introduced as a recurring character. Marissa breaks up with Ryan and becomes romantically involved with Kevin Volchok, a surfer and delinquent high school drop-out. Marissa's younger sister, Kaitlin, also returns to Newport after staying at a boarding school. The Cooper family, left with little money, is forced to move to a trailer. Season 3 ends with the teenage characters' high school graduation and the death of Marissa in a car crash caused by Volchok.
Season 4 begins with the grief the characters experience after the death of Marissa, especially with Ryan, Julie, and Summer. Ryan is coping by cage fighting, and Julie enlists him to find Volchok. Ryan eventually becomes romantically involved with Taylor Townsend, while Seth and Summer face the problems of a long distance relationship as Summer goes off to attend college. Two actors receive star billing this season, Autumn Reeser as Taylor Townsend and Willa Holland as Kaitlin Cooper. By the series finale, Ryan begins college at Berkley and starts his career as an architect, while Summer and Seth get married.
The initial season had nine major roles receive star billing. Numerous recurring characters are frequently introduced who also play a pivotal role in the development of the story-lines from episode to episode. The following is a list of the main characters or former main characters who were featured on the opening credits at one point.
Peter Gallagher portrays Sandy Cohen, an idealistic public defender who takes in Ryan Atwood in the pilot episode, much to the dismay of his wife, Kirsten. As the seasons progress, he opens up his own private law firm and becomes the CEO of the Newport Group, before returning to the public defender's office. He is the husband of Kirsten, the father of Seth Cohen, and the legal guardian of Ryan Atwood. He is a philanthropist, and although living in upper class and a large house, is right-minded and frequently provides his two sons, and wife, with direction and advice. He has good strong relationships with his wife and sons, although occasionally having trouble, especially in season two. Sandy is a graduate of UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall law school. He is from the Bronx. By the end of the show, he is now a professor at Berkeley.
Kelly Rowan portrays Kirsten Cohen. She is the wife of Sandy Cohen, the mother of Seth and former CFO of her father's (Caleb Nichol) real estate company, the Newport Group. Before she met Sandy she dated and grew up with Jimmy Cooper, with whom she remains friends. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Art History. At first, she is reluctant to accept Ryan into her home, but by the end of the first season, she is seen begging him to stay. She has had trouble with alcohol, especially in the aftermath of her father's death, and co-founded of the NewMatch dating service with Julie. In Season 4 she finds out that she is pregnant with a baby girl who is later named Sophie Rose Cohen (Sophie after Sandy's mother & Rose after her own mother). Sophie Rose is shown in the final episode at her brother Seth's wedding being about 6 years old. She is from Newport Beach.
Benjamin McKenzie portrays Ryan Atwood, a troubled teenager from Chino is thrown headlong into the privileged community of Newport Beach, California after his mother (Dawn Atwood) throws him out of their family home. Ryan is subsequently taken in by his public defender, Sandy Cohen. He forms fast bonds with all the Cohen family especially Sandy's son Seth. Seth had no friends, and Ryan's arrival in the Cohen househod shook up both their lives. Ryan had a huge impact on Seth, and Ryan is later legally adopted by Kirsten and Sandy Cohen. When Ryan and Marissa Cooper meet for the first time there is an instantaneous attraction but it is turbulent relationship from start to finish. Along the way we see Ryan's relationships with his brother Trey, his first love and the "girl next-door" Theresa Diaz, and his troubled relationships with his absent mother and father. Throughout the series Ryan's other love interests include Lindsay, a high school friend, who turns out to be Caleb Nichols's secret love child. He dates Sadie, Johnny's cousin following Johnny's death. Ryan's main love interest for most of the series is Marissa with whom he has an on again/off again relationship, before the two of them are involved in a car accident and she dies in his arms. After a period of intense grief, Ryan develops a romantic relationship with Taylor Townsend. The finale shows Ryan graduating from UC Berkeley and becoming an architect. While walking to his car after work one day, he sees a teen in the same situation he was in years ago and offers him help.
Mischa Barton portrays Marissa Cooper. Marissa is arguably the most conflicted of the main characters, frequently battling with drugs and alcohol. Marissa's relationships with her parents, boyfriends, and fellow classmates are often tumultuous. She is Summer's best friend and Ryan's on and off love interest. Marissa engages in various romances throughout the series (in addition to her relationship with Ryan), notably with her family's gardener D.J., Seth's ex-girlfriend Alex, and high school drop-out Kevin Volchok. In the third season finale, Marissa decides to work with her father on his yacht, however, on the way to the airport with Ryan, Volchok runs them off of the road, leading to her death. Marissa's death plays a large role throughout season 4 as the other characters grieve.
Adam Brody portrays Seth Cohen, the awkward adolescent son of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. He is known for his quick quips and pop-culture references. He is also the love interest of Summer Roberts, on whom he had a crush since 3rd grade. He dated Anna Stern during Season 1, but they break up due to a lack of chemistry. When Ryan moved back to Chino, Seth sailed to Portland on his sailboat and stayed with Luke and Luke's gay father in protest. Seth comes back home when Ryan returns to the Cohen household. After one of his break-ups with Summer, he had a fling with the bartender at the Bait Shop, Alex. He breaks up with her because her lesbian ex-girlfriend shows up, but eventually he realizes that he loves Summer. He lies to Summer in season 3 about getting into Brown, but only to make sure that she doesn't throw away her dream of going. The truth comes out eventually and he gets into RISD. He proposes to Summer in the fourth season, thinking that she might be pregnant. After he learns she is not pregnant, the thought of marriage begins to scare him and they engage in a game of chicken over who will be the one to terminate the engagement. In the finale, six months after a tragic earthquake, Seth and Summer take time to pursue separate interests but get married sometime in the future with Ryan as the best man and Taylor as the maid of honor.
Rachel Bilson portrays Summer Roberts, a pretty and popular socialite who is the love interest of Seth and best friend to Marissa. She is the daughter of Dr. Neil Roberts. Initially Summer is the "bitch" of the group but it soon became clear this is a cover for her own insecurities. Her mother left when her parents divorced after her mother abandons them and she has had no contact with her since. Her stepmother, nicknamed the "step-monster", a lazy woman with a suggested drug problem is mentioned few times throughout the series and is shown only once from behind in season 4. When Seth sails to Portland, Summer finds a new love interest, Zach. On the way to be maid of honor in Zach's sisters' wedding in Italy, Summer leaves Zach at the airport realizing that she is meant to be with Seth. She and Seth believe she is pregnant in the fourth season and they planned to get married. After they find out that she isn't, they break off the engagement, though not their relationship. Six months after the earthquake, Summer and Seth go their separate ways, allowing Summer to pursue her environmental interests, which she develops after the death of her best friend, Marissa. The two get married sometime in the future.
Chris Carmack portrays Luke Ward, Marissa's ex-boyfriend and regular cast member from episodes 1–24. Luke is the oldest of the three sons of Carson and Meredith Ward, and the older brother of Brad and Eric Ward (seen in season 4 being Kaitlin's "friends"). When Ryan first comes to town, the two of them get into constant fights, mainly over Marissa. The two of them eventually set aside their differences and become friends. He had an affair with Julie Cooper after he and Marissa broke up. The first main character to leave the show, Luke and his father moved to Portland after the people of Newport learned that his father was gay. He lets Seth live with him and his father in Portland over the summer break before school starts for their final year. This is shown in the first episode of season 2 before Seth returns home with Ryan.
Melinda Clarke portrays Julie Cooper, the mother of Kaitlin Cooper and the late Marissa Cooper. At the beginning of the show she's married to financial planner Jimmy Cooper, but after learning that he had stolen large sums of money from his clients, Julie divorces him. She had an affair with her daughter's ex-boyfriend, Luke, while dating Caleb. She later marries Caleb Nichol and attempts to take-over as CEO of the Newport Group, with no success. Following Caleb’s death, she was left with no money and ends up living in a trailer park. She becomes engaged to Dr. Neil Roberts. The engagement falls apart after Marissa's death, and she becomes single again. Julie becomes involved with Frank Atwood in the fourth season and in the final episode, before Julie's attempted wedding to Bullit, it's revealed that Julie was carrying Frank's baby. In the finale, Julie graduates from college sometime in the future and she now has a son with Frank. She is originally from Riverside, California.
Alan Dale portrays Caleb Nichol, Kirsten's businessman father and later Julie Cooper's husband. His character recurs throughout the first season, and he becomes a regular during the second season. Caleb is the show's first main character to die (from a heart attack). The reading of his will reveals that Caleb was broke, and leaves his widow Julie with nothing.
Tate Donovan portrays Jimmy Cooper, Marissa and Kaitlin's father (and Julie's ex-husband). He was a regular cast member for episodes 1–34, but his character left Newport for Maui. He dated Hailley Nichol for a while after his divorce with Julie. He returns following Caleb's death at the end of the second season and almost remarries Julie. After running into financial troubles (and being attacked), he decides to leave Newport again early in the third season. He lives on a boat for part of season 2, and as of the end of season 3, he is the captain of ship that is sailing in the Greek Islands. He returns in season 4 in the episode "The Chrismukk-huh?", but only in a parallel universe, where he is married to Kirsten, who he dated in high school.
Autumn Reeser portrays Taylor Townsend, introduced in Season 3 as a neurotic perfectionist student who battles Marissa for full control of Harbor High School's social scene. Summer and Seth become friends with Taylor after learning how lonely she is. In the season three finale, Seth tells her she has become inner circle material, making her a part of the "Fab Five". But shortly after that, Marissa dies in a car accident, thus making her the fourth member of the core four. In Season 4, Taylor comes back from France married and ready to be divorced and then becomes the love interest of Ryan Atwood. She is the daughter of the ill-spirited Veronica Townsend.
Willa Holland portrays Kaitlin Cooper. The role was originally played by Shailene Woodley in a recurring role during Season 1, Kaitlin spends much of the series at boarding school before returning on a recurring basis in season 3 (now played by Holland) and finally becoming a regular character in season 4. The daughter of Jimmy Cooper and Julie Cooper-Nichol and sister to the late Marissa Cooper. After returning from boarding school, she begins to like Johnny, Marissa's friend, but when he dies she blames herself and goes back to boarding school. She comes home before Marissa is to leave for her boat trip and starts attending high school at Harbor during the fourth season. Her personality is more similar to her mother's rather than her father's, and quite different from that of her older sister Marissa. She dates Chris Brown who plays Will for a short time known as "band geek." In the finale, Kaitlin is shown congratulating her mother for graduating. She has a younger half-brother courtesy of Frank Atwood and Julie.
In 2002, creator Josh Schwartz met with Joseph "McG" McGinty Nichol and Stephanie Savage of production company Wonderland Sound and Vision. They told Schwartz they wanted to create a television show based in McG's hometown of Newport Beach.[4][5] Savage suggested producing a police or extreme sports 21 Jump Street-style show, but Schwartz knew little about the genre. Having had experiences with people from Newport Beach during his time at the University of Southern California, Schwartz came back to them with his own characters.[6] The show was pitched to Fox and Warner Bros in August 2002.[7] Fox targeted a summer launch for the show,[8] and Doug Liman was brought in to direct the premiere after McG withdrew due to his scheduling conflicts with Charlie's Angels 2.[9] The show was confirmed for the 2003–2004 schedule in May,[10] and an August 5, 2003 broadcast date was selected in June.[11]
Schwartz, said that inspiration for the show came from being a fan of Larry Sanders,[12] Cameron Crowe and other "quirky character-driven shows like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and My So-Called Life".[13] Schwartz went to college at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television,[14] and later said that The O.C. was "very much based on sort of the experiences I had when I was in college".[12] He also stated that Cohen family in season one resembles his own family life,[15] adding that "The dynamic between Sandy and Seth is very much based on me and my dad."[16]
Although the show is set in Newport Beach, financial penalties imposed for filming outside the studio zone meant much of the show was filmed in the Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County region.[17] Many of the beach scenes were also filmed in Redondo Beach and Torrance.[18] Sites in Los Angeles County were used for many different on-screen locations, which include Ryan's hometown of Chino, Luke's father's Portland home, Johnny's fathers Indio office and Tijuana.[17][19][20]
For the first episode, "Premiere", the Cohen family home was shot on location in Malibu. A mock pool house was built for use in the pilot, and taken down after filming completed. The Cohen's home was recreated on a soundstage at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach for filming during the rest of the series;[21][22] the pool was only 4-feet deep meaning that the cast had to act on their knees.[23] External shots of the original house remained in use throughout the show.[21][22] The pilot was shot on 35 mm film stock, while subsequent episodes used digitally post-processed 16 mm in order to reduce the cost of production.[21]
The Harbor School is the local school that the show's adolescents attend. Based on Newport's real-life Corona del Mar High School which executive producer McG attended,[24] the filming location was actually Mount St. Mary's College, a private woman's college in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[17] The University of California, Los Angeles was the location used to represent Berkeley,[25] and the University of Southern California was used to represent Brown University.[26] The FAA First Federal Credit Union building in Hawthorne was used to depict the Newport Group in season two.[27][28][29] Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes was used three times on the show—twice for a wedding and once for a funeral.[30] The Cohen's original home in Berkeley, which they return to in "The End's Not Near, It's Here" was shot in South Pasadena.[31]
The restaurant dubbed the Crab Shack on the show is actually local landmark The Crab Cooker.[32] Scenes from the show were also shot at the landmark Wattles Mansion located in Hollywood.[33]
Alexandra Patsavas, who had previously worked on shows including Roswell and Carnivàle, was appointed as music supervisor on The O.C..[34] Patsavas worked alongside creator Josh Schwartz, in selecting the music to be used. Schwartz said that he had "always intended that music be a character on the show"[35] The O.C. made indie rock a "main focus of the series" and also its marketing plan,[36] releasing six soundtracks throughout the series. In the second season, a fictional new night club and concert venue, called The Bait Shop, was introduced. Bands including The Walkmen, The Killers, Modest Mouse, The Thrills, Rachael Yamagata, Death Cab for Cutie and The Subways all made guest appearances on the show performing at the venue.[37][38][39][40][41] In addition to having guest artists perform on the show, it also premiered many new music singles from artists including the Beastie Boys, U2, Beck, Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, and The Shins.[42]
Many bands gained exposure through the show which caused increase in sales of their music. Rooney, who were the first band to guest appear on the show, experienced a "200 percent increase in sales" after their appearance.[43] Even artists who just had their songs featured benefited: Imogen Heap became "a household name stateside",[44] and Youth Group, who recorded a song specifically for the show, had "more than 5,000 iTunes downloads [of that track] in its first week" following it being played.[45] However, not all bands were keen to feature on the show. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were asked to perform, but they turned it down because they were worried that it could diminish their credibility.[46] Some fans and critics echoed that sentiment by stating that such appearances and mass marketing techniques are creating sell-outs.[47]
Music was used throughout the series as a way to deepen or reveal aspects of the characters.. Marissa spends most of one episode drinking and listening to Interpol in her room. In the second episode she mentions that she is a fan of punk music, specifically The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers and The Cramps. Alex has a concert poster of The Postal Service on the wall of her living room and describes live music as her "passion". Julie Cooper occasionally recalls a youth spent listening to Poison, Whitesnake, Bob Seger and Mötley Crüe. In Season One, Ryan reveals a passion for the band Journey, going against the hip references made by Seth Cohen.[48] 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".
Generally the music was well received. Ben Spier from Entertainment Weekly described the show as a "mixtaper's dream"[49] and Rolling Stone commented that the soundtrack was the reason people kept watching the show.[50] However, Karyn L. Barr from Entertainment Weekly stated that using acts like U2 on a show that dedicated time to indie bands was "selling out."[51] Noah Davis of PopMatters.com criticised the show for neglecting plotlines and replacing them with "the gang's countless trips to the Bait Shop".[52]
Within the series, Seth Cohen has a Jewish father and a Protestant mother. As a way to merge the two faiths, Seth claims to have "created Chrismukkah" when he was six years old. The series included annual Chrismukkah episodes for every season of its run. Particulars of when exactly the holiday was celebrated were not given; Seth simply said in the first season's Chrismukkah episode that it was "eight days of presents, followed by one day of many presents," with a stress on the word "many" (this was repeated in the second season's Chrismukkah episode by Seth's new brother Ryan, with an added "many"). The only references to how it was celebrated, other than the family displaying both a Christmas tree and a Hanukkah menorah, was that the Cohens spent Christmas Day itself rather than going out for Chinese food and a movie as many American Jews have taken up in recent years, watching movies like It's a Wonderful Life and Fiddler on the Roof at home while eating Chinese takeout. Chrismukkah later received mention in the television series, Grey's Anatomy.
Pop Culture website The AV Club reviewed all four Chrismukkah episodes for it's Holiday Advent Calendar. The reviewer mentioned that when forced to think of holiday specials, "the first thing that popped into my head wasn’t nostalgia for my Rankin/Bass- and Chuck Jones-filled youth. Instead, I immediately focused on a much more recent obsession: Chrismukkah. Created by The O.C.’s Seth Cohen." The reviewer continued, saying that a "thread of underlying sadness unites all four Chrismukkah episodes, but it’s a sadness that begs to be redeemed by the end of the hour. Chrismukkah is really about traditional Christmas togetherness and your standard happy ending; it’s the everyday miracle of people coming together to create something magical."[53]
Several episodes feature a fictional show-within-the-show called The Valley, an in-show equivalent to The O.C. [54] The Valley, like The O.C. has a fictional reality TV counterpart, Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley, which causes Seth to ask, "Why watch the plight of fictional characters when you can watch real people in contrived situations?" Season 2 also focuses on the creation of a fictional comic book called Atomic County written by Seth Cohen that is used for similar self-deprecating purposes.
The Valley and Atomic County are used throughout the series to comment on aspects of the show itself, such as message board criticism of the show's reliance on love triangles, the trope of mid-twenties actors portraying teenagers, and the inability of the series to be renewed for another season. In addition, several of the characters talk as if they are aware that they are in a television series. One episode in the second season finds Seth commenting that "we tried some new things", but that "last year was just better", echoing response from fans that the second season was inferior to the first.
In a post-mortem review of the series, USA Today remarked that The O.C.'s "undertone of sarcasm and self-parody' was one of the aspects of the series that made it compelling. Writer Ken Barnes opined that The O.C. took "meta-TV" to its "sublime peak" with The Valley, "a hilarious running gag". He continued, saying that the "device allowed producers and writers to have fun mocking critical and public perceptions of The OC, its supposed soap-operatic excesses and pop-culture obsessions.[55] In a book written by Alan Sepinwall that examined the series, Sepinwall noted that "Schwartz spends enough of his day trolling message boards to know exactly what fans are complaining about and which references to other shows and movies they've caught, and he incorporates it into his scripts." An entire chapter of the book is devoted to perceived self-mockery within the series, with much attention given to the episode "The L.A." from Season One. Producer Allan Heinberg is quoted as saying that, "We had to cut a lot of stuff that the network or Josh felt was a little too much," before adding that "Sandy at one point had a speech about the Golden Globes that we felt was maybe a little inside". [56]
The first season premiered at 9:00 p.m. (EDT) on August 5, 2003 on Fox, and was simulcast in Canada on CTV.[57][58] The original, English-language version of the show also aired in other continents. In the United Kingdom, the first episode was aired at 9:00 p.m. (GMT) on March 7, 2004 on Channel 4,[59] but subsequent episodes were first shown on sister station E4, a week in advance of being shown on Channel 4.[60] In Australia, the pilot was first broadcast on the Nine Network but the channel later dropped the show.[61][62] Network Ten picked up the show and by the fourth season was airing episodes within days of it being broadcast in the U.S.[63] In New Zealand, the show was aired on TV2,[64] and in Ireland it was broadcast on TG4.[65] In South Africa it premiered on April 1, 2004 on satellite television channel Go and was shown on terrestrial channel SABC 3 in December 2006.[66] In India, the English-language channel Zee Café debuted the show on December 30, 2005.[67] For the fourth season, in the week before an episode was broadcast on television, it was available via on demand streaming through Fox Interactive Media's MySpace and MyFoxLocal stations.[68]
It was also aired in non-English speaking countries. It aired across Latin America on the Warner Channel.[69] In France, it aired on France 2 under the name Newport Beach.[70] It aired in Germany on ProSieben,[71] in Switzerland on SF zwei,[72] and in Russia under the name OC – Lonely Hearts on STS.[73] In Italy it was shown on Italia 1,[74] with pay-per view channel Joi being the first to make available episodes of season 3 onwards through the digital terrestrial television service Mediaset Premium.[75][76]
Due to low ratings it was rumored that the show would not return for a fifth season.[77] In June 2006 Fox confirmed that "the current order for The O.C. is 16 episodes", but added that there was a chance to add more installments.[78] In September 2006 Rachel Bilson said that she felt like "the show is over",[79] and co-star Kelly Rowan stated that many of the cast realized the show was close to being cancelled. Rowan said that "when [the fourth season] was picked up for just 16 episodes this year the cast had a feeling the end was near".[80] On January 3, 2007 Fox announced that The O.C. was to be cancelled. In a statement, Schwartz said "This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close" adding that "what better time to go out than creatively on top".[81] Fox launched an official campaign on their website, garnering over 740,000 signatures.[82][83] There were rumors that the show would be saved, and a move to The CW Television Network was mooted; however, CW president Dawn Ostroff, whose company is partly owned by Warner Bros., confirmed in January 2007 that while the move was discussed, it was decided against.[84]
All four seasons are available on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4.
Season | DVD | |
---|---|---|
Season 1 | The O.C. – The Complete First Season | |
Season 2 | The O.C. – The Complete Second Season | |
Season 3 | The O.C. – The Complete Third Season | |
Season 4 | The O.C. – The Complete Fourth Season |
Additionally, The O.C. The Complete Series was released on November 27, 2007 in Canada and the United States,[85] which included the first season remastered in widescreen.[86] The complete series was also released as a Region 2 DVD on November 19, 2007 but did not include the remastered version of the first season.[87] Additionally, the DVD included a note from Josh Schwartz, a printed conversation between Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, two rare bonus discs, a season four gag reel, and Atomic County excerpts.
For users in the US, a regularly changing selection of episodes are available to stream free of charge from The WB's website.[88] For registered members of selected regional iTunes Stores, the complete series is available to purchase and download.[89][90][91][92][93][94] These seasons are also available in the US as video on demand from Amazon Unbox.[95] The fourth season was also made available in the Zune.[96]
The pilot episode attracted 7.46 million viewers in the United States,[97] came second in its time slot behind the season finale of Last Comic Standing,[98] and was the highest rating show of the night in the 12–17-year-old demographic.[99] Overall season one was the highest-rated new drama of the season among adults aged 18 to 34,[100] averaging a total of 9.7 million viewers.[101] For the second season, the show moved to an "ultra-competitive Thursday"[102] against the likes of Survivor, Joey and Will & Grace, and this is often cited as a cause of The O.C.'s decline in popularity.[103][104] The move improved Fox's performance at the new time slot, but lost the show viewers,[105] with average viewing figures decreased thirty percent from the previous season to 7 million.[106] For the third season average viewing figures decreased a further twenty percent from the previous season to 5.6 million.[107] The Thursday 9.00 pm timeslot placed the show against two other very popular shows, CSI and Grey's Anatomy.[108] With the fourth season not starting until November, the premiere attracted 3.4 million viewers,[109] which was a series low.[110] For the final ever episode 6.7 million viewers tuned in which was 76 percent more than the season average of 4.6 million viewers.[111][112]
The most watched O.C. episode was "The Rivals". It attracted 12.72 million viewers, and was the lead-out to American Idol which attracted 29.43 million viewers that week.[113]
Season | Episodes | Timeslot (ET) | Season premiere | Season finale | TV season | Rank | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 27 | Tuesday 9:00 pm (2003) Wednesday 9:00 pm (2003–04) |
August 5, 2003 | May 5, 2004 | 2003–04 | #57 | 9.7[101] |
2 | 24 | Thursday 8:00 pm | November 4, 2004 | May 19, 2005 | 2004–05 | #85 | 7.0[106] |
3 | 25 | Thursday 8:00 pm (2005) Thursday 9:00 pm (2006) |
September 8, 2005 | May 18, 2006 | 2005–06 | #105 | 5.6[107] |
4 | 16 | Thursday 9:00 pm | November 2, 2006 | February 22, 2007 | 2006–07 | #123 | 4.3[112] |
For the debut episode, "Premiere", Schwartz received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Screenplay in an Episodic Drama,[114] and casting directors Rush and Silverberg nominated in the Dramatic Pilot category of the Artios Awards.[115] Luke's tagline, "Welcome to the O.C., bitch", was placed 83rd by TV Land in its 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases in 2006.[116][117][118] The first season picked up four Teen Choice Awards, and was nominated for another two. Additionally it was nominated for the Outstanding New Program TCA Award,[119] and in Australia it won a Logie Award for Most Popular Overseas Program in 2005.[120] For the second season the show was nominated for five Teen Choice Awards, and won four of them, including best drama. It was nominated for the Favorite Television Drama People's Choice Award, and Kelly Rowan won a PRISM Award for Performance in a Drama Series Episode, with Peter Gallagher getting a nomination. The second season finale was nominated for a PRISM TV Drama Series Episode award.[121] The third season was nominated for five Teen Choice Awards and won four of them, including "Choice Drama/Action Adventure Show" and "Choice Actor: Drama/Action Adventure", which Adam Brody won for the third consecutive year.[122]
The O.C. generated a dedicated and thriving international fan community. Fans of the show, sometimes dubbed OC Groupies,[123] have been active in developing a large number of fan websites and forums dedicated to the program. Famous fans of the show include the Bush twins, Jenna and Barbara,[124] and Princess Beatrice.[125]
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. The same group produced an SNL Digital Short titled "Dear Sister" that satirized the final scene of The O.C.'s second-season finale.[126][127]The short became popular enough to beget a wave of re-enactments and parodies using the same use of "Hide and Seek" and slow-motion to violent scenes.
The characters and setting of The O.C. have appeared in several official tie-ins outside of the television broadcast, including in print and on the Internet.
Eight novelizations have been released by the publisher Scholastic Inc. with the permission of Warner Bros. They are:
With the exception of 'Twas the Night Before Chrismukkah, written by Andes Hruby,[128] all the books were written by authors Cory Martin and Aury Wallington.[129][130] In addition to these novels Scholastic also published an official biography book titled Meet The O.C. Superstars (ISBN 0-4396-60602), written by Monica Rizzo.[131]
Several unofficial books relating to the show have also been published.
New Match, the company Kirstin and Julie set up, mentioned a website in "The Road Warrior", and an actual website was set up by Fox. This has since ceased to exist.[134]
In addition to tie-in novels, several other types of products based on the series, such as clothes, toys and games, have been licensed for release. Licensed items of clothing released included T-Shirts, Jumpers, Underwear and Flip-Flops, which are sold from the Warner Bros. store.[135] Other accessories available included keychains, notepads and a Chrismukkah wrapping paper.[136] A partnership with Sephora included one of their beauty editors writing on the official OC Insider site,[137] and the inclusion of articles about their products.[138] An official bath set and "OC Beauty To Go Cooling Set" were released in 2004.[139][140] In 2006, Gameloft released a mobile game based on the show.[141] AMC Beauty released fragrances in October 2006, named "The O.C. for Him" and "The O.C. for Her" in 0.5oz and 1.7oz versions.[142] LeSportsac, in a partnership with Warner Bros., released The O.C. collection" in August 2006, which was a fashion line of bags and accessories.[143] Elsewhere Screenlife and Mattel launched a The O.C. themed version of Scene It?, a DVD trivia game based on the first three seasons,[144] and Cardinal Games released The OC Game, a trivia board game.[145]
Additionally websites including TheOCInsider.com and Starbrand.tv included comprehensive guides of fashion and styles featured on the show, providing details to customers of how to obtain these items.
The O.C. has given rise to a number of spin-offs, some developed and others not. Atomic County was a spin-off based on the cartoon characters in Seth's comic book of the same name. It was created by The O.C. writer John Stephens and artist Eric Wight, who was responsible for the comic book drawings featured on the show. In 2005 Schwartz announced he was writing a spin-off which followed the life of Marissa's younger sister Kaitlin at boarding school.[146] It was set to premiere in January 2006, but the airing of the spin-off never occurred. Schwartz attributed this to Gail Berman, president of Fox Broadcasting Company, moving to Paramount in May 2005.[147]
There were plans to turn the show into something of a reverse spin-off. Schwartz being the creative force behind the television series Gossip Girl planned to release a spin-off entitled Valley Girls, originally to premiere in the fall of 2009. Schwartz wanted to tie in the younger versions of the characters from both The O.C. and the principals from Valley Girls to establish a continuity with Gossip Girl.
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