The O.C.

The O.C.
The O.C. intertitle
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"
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	92 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Dave Bartis (season 1) Bob DeLaurentis Doug Liman (season 1) McG Stephanie Savage (season 4; co-executive producer seasons 1–3) Josh Schwartz
Production location	Orange County, California
Running time	42 minutes
Original release
Network	FOX
Release	August 5, 2003 – February 22, 2007

The O.C. was an American teen drama television series that originally aired on FOX in the United States , and in Canada On CTV Television Network 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 more than 50 countries worldwide and was one of the most popular new dramas of 2003. The final episode of The O.C. was broadcast on February 22, 2007. The O.C. went out with ratings similar to the seasons two and three, 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." The complete series has been made available on DVD in the United States, Belgium, The Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, Austria, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Norway and Taiwan.

The O.C. has been noted for its music selections, which led to some hitherto unknown bands (such as alternative band Phantom Planet, who performed the theme song to the show, "California") gaining exposure, so much so that the show's producers have released six compilation albums featuring highlighted performers. The show focuses on the life of Ryan Atwood, a troubled teenager from a broken home who is adopted by the wealthy and philanthropic Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. Ryan and his surrogate brother Seth deal with life as outsiders in the wild high-class world of Orange County, California and their often troubled and always dramatic relationships, most notably with Marissa Cooper, Summer Roberts and Taylor Townsend.

Production

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The set of the Cohen household.

Josh Schwartz, The O.C.'s creator who based the school and characters on his almna mater, The Wheeler School, in Rhode Island, 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 young teenager who finds himself living among the "rich and 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." 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."

Adam Brody originally auditioned for the part of Ryan Atwood, he did not bother with learning the script and just adlibbed the whole audition, this lead to Schwartz wanting nothing to do with him, however later in auditions, Brody returned at the producers' request to audition for the role of Seth. Chad Michael Murray was originally offered the role of Luke Ward's best friend, but chose One Tree Hill instead. The secondary character was later scrapped by Schwartz.

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. The role of Kirsten eventually went to Kelly Rowan.

Filming

Due to labor union salary rules about filming outside of the studio zone in 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, while most exterior shots (e.g. the pier, diner, and "the Bait Shop") were filmed in neighboring Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. The Cohen's pool is only four feet deep, so the cast do the pool scenes on their knees. The Newport Group was represented in The O.C. by the same building used for the Miami-Dade Police HQ in CSI: Miami. The UCLA campus - particularly Schoenberg Hall - was used in lieu of UC Berkeley in an episode where Ryan visits college. USC was used in lieu of Brown when Summer and Seth visit.

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.

Cancellation and syndication

On January 3, 2007, FOX officially decided to end the series. There 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 O.C., I know a lot about parties..." 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". 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." Peter Gallagher, Rachel Bilson, Benjamin McKenzie and Adam Brody shared their thoughts on the show's ending. The series finale, titled "The End's Not Near, It's Here", was written by creator Josh Schwartz and aired on February 222007.

The U.S. cable network SOAPnet purchased the syndication rights to The O.C., and as of April 9, 2007 the channel has been airing reruns of the show. It is part of the afternoon, high school drama line up, together with Beverly Hills, 90210 and One Tree Hill.

Beginning in late August 2007, the Canadian channel MuchMusic began syndication. OMNI.1, another Canadian mainstream channel, also began syndication of The O.C. in early September 2007. Both channels began with the first season and will broadcast the entire series in episodic order. The O.C. airs at 11:00AM for OMNI.1,4:00PM and 7:00PM for MuchMusic, EST. The show was also syndicated by another French-Canadian channel, VRAK.TV.

In Australia where the show became very popular, the Nine Network aired the pilot but dropped the show due to low ratings. The show was then picked up by Network Ten and the entire series was aired. Currently, the show airs every day on the Foxtel cable channel Arena. The entire series is also available on DVD.

In New Zealand, recently launched SKY Television channel Vibe will begin syndication of the first season beginning October, 2007. In the United Kingdom, The O.C. is syndicated on E4. Two episodes are shown daily in chronological order. In Norway, the series is syndicated on TV3 with one episode aired daily from Monday to Friday in chronological order. In Denmark it was TV Danmark(Now called Kanal 5) who aired the show. In Brazil, The O.C. is syndicated on SBT, dubbed in portuguese language. All the first three seasons were shown and, as of February 2008, the fourth season was being aired.

Storyline

Main article: List of The O.C. episodes

Season one

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"Pilot," 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 struggling 17 year old high school student from Chino, California. He is sent to jail and meets his attorney, Sanford Cohen, who gets him out. Sandy accepts him in his house and Ryan is introduced to this new life of luxury and wealth. He now lives with Sandy, his wife Kirsten, and their 16-year-old son, the geeky-good looking Seth. During the season, Ryan and Marissa, the beautiful next-door neighbor, develop a relationship despite Marissa having a boyfriend, the jock Luke. Seth had always been in love with Summer, Marissa's best friend, but she didn't even know his name. Later on they fall in love despite Seth's brief relationship with Anna Stern. Jimmy, Marissa's dad, lands in financial trouble, so Julie, his wife, leaves him. Ryan and Marissa's relationship falls apart when new kid on the block Oliver Trask comes to town. His overpossessive and turbulent past drives a wedge in between Ryan and Marissa's relationship leading to their break up. Trask then threatens to kill himself but is talked out of doing so by Ryan. Luke starts dating Julie secretly. Marissa finds out and the couple has to break up. Near the end of the season, Julie and Caleb, Kirsten's father, get married. Ryan discovers that he may be the father of the unborn child of his ex-girlfriend, Theresa, who Ryan has a brief relationship with after his break up with Marissa. He decides to leave the Cohen family and his current girlfriend, Marissa, to support her through her pregnancy. Upon finding out that Ryan is moving back to Chino with Theresa, Seth sails away in his boat, leaving farewell notes for his parents and Summer.

Season two

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"The Rainy Day Women"

The OC season 2 focused mostly on the romantic lives of Seth and Ryan. The 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, the supposed pregnant woman dating Ryan, and her mother, and working on a construction site. Sandy and Kirsten try to get their boys to come back home, but Seth will not go back unless Ryan returns. As Ryan realizes over time 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. Summer is mad at Seth for leaving, so she has a new boyfriend, Zach Stevens. They date during a large part of the season. During their dating period, Seth tries multiple times to win Summer back by proving he has changed. Marissa is also dating someone new, her gardener D.J., since she thought Ryan was not coming back. D.J. realizes she is only using him to piss off her mom, so he breaks up with her. Seth ends up working under Alex at the Bait Shop. They have a brief relationship, but Alex, revealed to be bisexual, starts dating Marissa. Meanwhile Julie and Caleb have sent Marissa's sister Kaitlin off to boarding school. Julie is unhappy, since she only got married for money, and she starts seeing her ex-husband Jimmy again. In the end, Caleb stated that he knew about their affair and was willing to overlook it. However he believes she is having a relationship with an ex-boyfriend with whom she made a sex tape in the 80's and wants to divorce her. 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, making her Ryan's aunt by adoption, at Seth's Chrismukkah party. A blood test was then taken and Caleb finds out that Lindsay was, indeed, his daughter, but Lindsay decides to move away despite the news. 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. Ryan does not trust Trey very much and accuses him of stealing a very expensive watch. Trey hadn't stolen the watch, he had gone back to the store later and bought it for Ryan to thank him. Trey was actually trying to be on his best behavior. 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 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 three

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"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. Also in the beginning of the season, after they have waited a long time, Ryan and Marissa have sex the night before she is to move to Hawaii. But her father Jimmy has serious troubles with a mafiosi he can't pay back, and he has to flee without his family to Hawaii, while he was about to marry Julie again. 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. Ryan is also thrown out of Harbor after punching the Dean because he manhandled Marissa. Johnny falls in love with Marissa, and she eventually has to choose between him and Ryan. Ryan is re-admitted to Harbor as it is revealed that the Dean was currently having a sexual relationship with Taylor Townsend. Marissa is re-admitted to Harbor after her friends stage a campaign, with the assistance of Marissa's former rival Taylor. Marissa's younger sister Kaitlin returns from boarding school and takes a liking to Johnny but Marissa can't deny that she has feelings for Johnny; she loves Ryan but her crush on Johnny makes her relationship with Ryan shaky. After Marissa chooses Ryan, a drunk Johnny falls to his death from a cliff on the beach. After the death of Johnny; Kaitlin, distraught with his death returns to boarding school away from the terror. Seth and Summer continue their relationship. Problems include Seth smoking marijuana and skipping his college interview but the two work things out and their relationship stabilizes.Ryan and Marissa become more distant from each other and they both agree that despite the fact that they love each other it isn't working so they break up. Ryan then has a short relationship with Johnny's cousin Sadie before she moves back to her home town. While everything is going on with Marissa, Julie finds comfort with Dr. Roberts, Summer's father, and they finally tell Summer and Marissa about their relationship. Unable to come to terms with Johnny's death and the break up with Ryan, Marissa becomes involved with Kevin Volchok another surfer with a "bad boy" reputation. However, she catches him cheating on her during the prom and ends their relationship. In the third season finale, an intoxicated Volchok, still reeling from his break-up with Marissa, rams Marissa and Ryan off the road and over a cliff. Ryan survives the crash and pulls Marissa from the wrecked car. A sad Ryan looks to Marissa, while she asks him to stay instead of go and get help , they both in love look at each other and then Marissa Cooper dies in Ryan Atwood's arms.

Season four

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"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 becomes 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 in to 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. He 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. In Chrismukk-huh Ryan receives a letter from Marissa(she wrote it before planning to leave Newport) saying that she still loves him , but she was going so that they could both move on. He finally understands that he will never forget Marissa, however he will have to move on , so he finally says goodbye to Marissa. 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, and the Cohens' house is damaged beyond repair. Ryan and Seth go back to Berkeley to convince a gay couple who live in their old house to sell it to them. Kirsten has her baby. At Julie's wedding to Bullit she says "I can't do this without Kiki" so the wedding is brought there so that Kirsten can be with them. After seeing everything that has happened in the house the gay couple decide to sell their house to the Cohens. Ryan and Taylor begin their relationship again when they realize they both love each other still. Julie finally decides to stay single and raise her baby boy alone with Kaitlin and get her life back on track without a man. Fast forward to a few years later when Seth and Summer finally get married, Taylor and Ryan share a look at their wedding (it is up to the viewer to decide whether or not they are together), Julie goes back to college and graduates, where we see Kaitlin, Bullit, Frank, and Ryan's half-brother (again, it is up to the viewer to decide the scenario). Ryan becomes an architect and the show closes with him asking a boy, alone with only a bike, if he needs help just as Sandy helped him in the very first episode. All ends well with Ryan asking the boy, "Hey kid, need help?" The kid looks up and then looks away. (This scene mirrors the opening scene of The O.C., where Sandy offers to help Ryan.)

Specials

The O.C. has had two television specials, containing behind-the-scenes information, interviews and bloopers. The two specials were broadcast prior to the second season.

• The O.C. - Obsess Completely (First aired September 162004)
• Welcome to The O.C. - A Day in the Life (First aired September 232004)

Main characters

Further information: List of recurring characters in The O.C.

• Sandy Cohen (played by Peter Gallagher) - Season 1 - Season 4: An idealistic public defender who takes in Ryan Atwood. Early in Season 1, he takes a job at a private law firm. He is fired from the firm in Season 2 after helping Caleb with his case, after which he starts his own private law office. He later becomes the CEO of the Newport Group until its main office is burnt down (accidentally) by his son and he decides to return to the public defender's office. Sandy is a graduate of UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall law school. In the final episode, after returning to the Berkeley home, Sandy is shown teaching law at Berkeley.

• Kirsten Cohen (played by Kelly Rowan) - Season 1 - Season 4: The linchpin of O.C. society. She is the wife of Sandy Cohen and the mother of Seth. She is the former CFO of her late father's (Caleb Nichol) real estate company, the Newport Group. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Art History. A recovering alcoholic, Kirsten is a co-founder of the NewMatch dating service with Julie.

• Ryan Atwood (played by Benjamin McKenzie) - Season 1 - Season 4: A troubled teenager from Chino thrown headlong into the privileged community of Newport Beach, California, having been taken in by Sandy Cohen after his mother (Dawn Atwood) threw him out of their family home. Ryan has an on/off relationship with Marissa Cooper before she's killed. He begins to date Taylor Townsend in the fourth season. However, after an earthquake hits Newport, they break up. Six months later they realize they still love each other. In the end, Ryan graduates from UC Berkeley and becomes an architect. He also learns from Sandy and offers help to a troubled boy, saying the last words on the show: "Hey kid, need any help?".

• Marissa Cooper (played by Mischa Barton) - Season 1 - Season 3: The first of the "core four" to leave the series at the end of season three. 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. She shoots Ryan's brother Trey, who had tried to rape her. When Ryan finds out he immediately goes to find Trey. A fight ensues, and in order to stop Trey from killing Ryan, Marissa shoots him in the back. Marissa is killed in a car accident after her last boyfriend, Kevin Volchok, runs her and Ryan off the road. She's on her way to the airport to catch a flight to Hawaii, where she would have worked on the boat her father Jimmy was captaining. They would have been taking the boat to Greece. She is survived by Kaitlin and a half-brother via Frank Atwood and her mother Julie.

• Seth Cohen (played by Adam Brody) - Season 1 - Season 4: 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. He proposes to Summer in the fourth season, knowing that she might be pregnant. After he learns she is not pregnant the thought of marriage begins to scare him. In the finale, six months after the tragic earthquake, Seth and Summer take time to pursue separate interests and he gets married sometime later to Summer Roberts with Ryan as the best man and Taylor as the maid of honor.

• Luke Ward (played by Chris Carmack) - Season 1: Marissa's jock ex-boyfriend and regular cast member 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"). 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.

• Julie Cooper-Nichol (played by Melinda Clarke) - Season 1 - Season 4: 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 daughters 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 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.

• Summer Roberts (played by Rachel Bilson) - Season 1 - Season 4: The socialite of the four main teen characters (Ryan, Seth, Marissa and Summer). She 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 and she has had no contact with her since. Her stepmother, nicknamed the "step-monster", although Summer occasionally mentions her, was shown from behind in season 4. She and Seth believe Summer 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, but the two get married sometime in the future.

• Taylor Townsend (played by Autumn Reeser) - Season 4: Introduced in Season Three 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 short-lived “Fab Five.” In Season 4, Taylor becomes the love interest of Ryan Atwood. She is the daughter of the ill spirited Veronica Townsend.

• Caleb Nichol (played by Alan Dale) - Season 2: 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.

• Kaitlin Cooper (played by Willa Holland) - 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 attending high school in Newport 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. In the finale, Kaitlin is shown congratulating her mother for graduating. She has a younger half-brother courtesy of Frank Atwood and Julie.

• Jimmy Cooper (played by Tate Donovan) - Season 1 - Season 2: Marissa's 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 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.

Popularity

U.S. television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of The O.C. on FOX.

Season	Timeslot (EDT)	Premiere	Finale	Rank	Viewers (m)
1	Tuesday 9:00PM (August 5, 2003 - September 16, 2003)	August 5, 2003	May 5, 2004	#53	9.7
	Wednesday 9:00PM (October 29, 2003 - May 5, 2004)
2	Thursday 8:00PM	November 4, 2004	May 19, 2005	#85	7.0
3	Thursday 8:00PM (September 8, 2005 - December 15, 2005)	September 8, 2005	May 18, 2006	#105	5.68
	Thursday 9:00PM (January 12, 2006 - May 18, 2006)
4	Thursday 9:00PM	November 2, 2006	February 22, 2007	#123	4.3

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." 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. An example of this was when the show earned a series high of 12.7 million viewers for the episode, The Rivals.

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 Thursday night ratings. 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 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, 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 O.C." webpage, containing a petition to be signed by viewers who wanted to keep the show alive.

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. Many fans, however, criticized the show after writing off the popular character Marissa Cooper, and some fans cite that as the reason for the ratings drop during season four.

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 penultimate episode of The O.C., titled "The Night Moves", which only received 3.63 million viewers.

In popular culture

The O.C. has also been referred to on several TV shows and books:

• MADtv had a recurring sketch in its ninth and tenth season called The B.S. (Big Store), which was a teen drama like The O.C., only it took place at a huge retail store similar to Wal-Mart. MADtv also had an O.C. parody with the real castmembers of The O.C. housing American Idol losers Justin Guarini (Jordan Peele), William Hung (Bobby Lee), and Clay Aiken (Ron Pederson).
• Jack McFarland on Will & Grace made a remark about "25 year old children and 35 year old parents" in the episode Christmas Break.
• In the British teen drama Skins, in the episode 'Michelle', Chris states "Its like an episode of The O.C. in here" when Tony is being attacked verbally and 'bitch slapped' in class.
• In the American sitcom Arrested Development, various characters shorten Orange County (the county that the show is set in) as "The OC," always prompting Michael Bluth, the main character, to reply, "Don't call it that."
• The following TV characters have revealed themselves to be fans of The O.C.:
  • Dr. Gregory House (House)
  • Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)
  • Bree Timmins (Neighbours)
  • Larry Gold (The War at Home)
  • Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons)
  • Roger "The Alien" (American Dad)
  • Ja'mie King (We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High)
  • Kenny Hotz (Kenny vs. Spenny) In episode 312 Kenny displays a cardboard sign with “What happened on the OC last night?” written on it. He presumably missed the show in order to live homeless during this episode.
• Conversely, Dr. Cox from Scrubs mentioned in the episode "My Old Friend's New Friend" that he could not care less about "The O.C."
• On the TeenNick show Unfabulous one of the characters added that he had to keep up with his reruns of the O.C. over the summer because of his crush on Mischa Barton. On another episode, "The Toot", Principal Brandywine remarks that "this is not another episode of the O.C."
• On Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, the teenagers are often seen watching episodes of The O.C. in their houses.
• 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. Alan Dale, who played Caleb Nichol on The O.C., played Jim Robinson, one of the core characters on Neighbours, from 1985 until the early '90s.
• On the British sitcom My Family, Michael is asked by his mother if he wants The O.C. recorded while he is on an army training course.
• The sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live had a skit entitled "Dear Sister", where a melodramatic shooting scene occurs, parodying the O.C. scene where Marissa shoots Trey. This skit has become a popular internet phenomenon, spawning many pop culture adaptations to various films and TV shows.
• In The Simpsons episode "Milhouse of Sand and Fog" there is a scene parodying The O.C., in addition to a cheating scene, it also involves the O.C. gang going to Knott's Berry Farm (along with a person dressed as Snoopy), with The O.C.'s theme song "California" playing (Snoopy then forces the O.C. kids to take out money from an ATM at gunpoint). Ryan Atwood, a main character on the show, once played Snoopy in a school musical. "California" is also played over the end credits.
• In The Princess Diaries series of novels by Meg Cabot, it is mentioned that Princess Mia Thermopolis is a fan of The O.C. She mentions attending boring state functions with people who have never heard of the show, let alone know what's going on between Seth and Summer's on-again-off-again romance. She also cites Sandy and Kirsten Cohen as one of the couples she would be totally bummed to find out were breaking up.
• On NBC's spy-comedy Chuck, in the episode "Chuck Versus The Sandworm," the scene where Chuck runs in dramatic fashion to the Halloween party parodies the end scene of The O.C. episode, "The Countdown," using the same soundtrack, slow-motion effects and similar placement of the characters. The O.C. and Chuck were both created by Josh Schwartz.
• On ABC's dramedy Ugly Betty, the episode "A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding", the character Bradford Meade suffers a heart attack. Bradford Meade is portrayed by Alan Dale who also portrayed Caleb Nichol. The scene mirrors when Caleb Nicol suffered an heart attack at the end of season two. When Bradford had an heart attack, the song "Hallelujah" is played, a song that The O.C. has used as a motif throughout the series.
• The band Cute Is What We Aim For released a song entitled "Newport Living", the name of Newport's magazine.
• In the 2007 documentary Punk's Not Dead about punk rock's status today, a scene with Marissa (Mischa Barton) saying that she has started listening to punk music because she's angry is shown as an example for the genre's position in 21st century popular culture.

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 Tom Vek 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 Five poster above his bed, as well as posters for various other bands including Death Cab for Cutie, The Ramones and Nirvana and a Rockstar North poster, creators of the Grand Theft Auto game. Additionally 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 Chuck Klosterman 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 and Grand Theft Auto in the Pilot episode. 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 of the greatest comic book authors of all time.

Seth's 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. 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. Seth is extremely surprised to find out that he and Marissa share an extremely similar taste in music and literature, sharing an interest in the aforementioned punk bands and Jack Kerouac novel. 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 Poison, 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 an 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 film called Yakuza Prep which is based on the Japanese movie Battles Without Honor and Humanity, 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 three finale, "The Graduates".

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.

The restaurant dubbed the Crab Shack on the show is actually local landmark The Crab Cooker. Scenes from the show were also shot at the landmark Wattles Mansion located in Hollywood.

"Save the O.C." webpage

Towards the end of 2006, FOX inserted a webpage on their website entitled Save The OC, asking people to sign an OC loyalty oath. 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:

I PROMISE to cancel dinner dates, skip night school classes, trade shifts with a co-worker, walk the dog after dinner and do whatever else is necessary to ensure that I am on my couch each and every Thursday night at 9pm. Or 8 central. And when I am on that couch at that time, I will do nothing but watch The OC. I vow to do this every week to show my support for Ryan, Seth, Summer, Sandy, Kirsten, Julie and all of those new people that I love. With my humble effort each week, I will help build a groundswell of support for one of the best shows on television, The OC. With this virtual signature, I THEE WATCH.

Although the oath had a humorous tone to it, few of the fans were laughing after the show was actually canceled. 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 leveling 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 on the air date of the final episode, when more than 18,000 signatures were brought in. FOX closed the SaveTheOC webpage on 11 July 2007; it had a total of 740,000 signatures just before closure.

Video games

In 2006, Gameloft released a mobile game based on the show.

Music

The series is also known for its music, specifically from indie rock and other related genres, mixed and supervised by Alexandra Patsavas. Patsavas comments that the emotional enhancement that music gives to a scene branches from Josh Schwartz' initial intention that music be a character on the show.

Mixes/Soundtracks

• Music from the OC: Mix 1
• Music from the OC: Mix 2
• Music from the OC: Mix 3 - Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah
• Music from the OC: Mix 4
• Music from the OC: Mix 5
• Music from the OC: Mix 6 - Covering Our Tracks

The Beastie Boys single "Ch-Check It Out" debuted on the show in the episode "The Strip" that aired April 28, 2004.Gwen Stefani debuted her single "Cool" on the show. Imogen Heap, a former member of Frou Frou, had her single "Hide and Seek" debut on the show, being featured twice in the episode The Dearly Beloved. The Shins also featured their song "Turn on Me" before their album was released during 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 artists

Many 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. The most notorious example of success afterward was that of Imogen Heap, whose song "Hide and Seek" immediately soared on the Download Charts after premiering in the US and UK.

• Rooney (The Third Wheel, 1.15)
• Jem (The Ties That Bind, 1.27)
• The Walkmen (The New Kids on the Block, 2.03)
• The Killers (The New Era, 2.04)
• Modest Mouse (The Family Ties, 2.07)
• Blue Foundation (The Family Ties, 2.07)
• The Thrills (The Ex-Factor, 2.09)
• Rachael Yamagata (The Second Chance, 2.11)
• Death Cab for Cutie (The O.C. Confidential, 2.20)
• T.I. (The Return of the Nana, 2.21)
• The Subways (The Anger Management, 3.07)
• Tom Vek (The Road Warrior, 3.16)

DVD releases

The Complete First Season
Set Details			Special Features
27 Episodes (1186 Mins.) 7-Disc Set 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)			Commentary on "Pilot" On-screen Music Track Guide Viewing Mode on Six Episodes Unaired Scenes Featurettes: Casting the O.C. The Music of the O.C. Inside the Real O.C. with Executive Producer McG Season 2 Sneak Peek
Release Dates
United States Canada	United Kingdom	Australia
October 26, 2004	October 18, 2004	February 2, 2005

The Complete Second Season
Set Details			Special Features
24 Episodes (1048 Mins.) 7-Disc Set 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)			Commentary on "The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't" * Beachy Couture: How O.C. Fashion is Made * The O.C. - Obsessed Completely: Retrospective TV Special * Gag and Goofs from Seasons 1 and 2 * Commentary on "The Rainy Day Women" Extended creator's cut of "The Rainy Day Women"
Release Dates
United States Canada	United Kingdom	Australia
August 23, 2005	August 8, 2005	September 7, 2005

The Complete Third Season
Set Details			Special Features
25 Episodes (1089 Mins.) 7-Disc Set 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)			The Party Favor: From Script to Screen" featurette * Pass the Remote: Selected Scene-Surfing Commentary * Gag and Goofs Reel * "What's in a Name?" Featurette "Making Of The Subways Music Video" Featurette
Release Dates
United States Canada	United Kingdom	Australia
October 24, 2006	September 4, 2006	September 6, 2006

The Complete Fourth Season
Set Details			Special Features
16 Episodes (727 Mins.) 5-Disc Set 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)			Unaired Scenes Josh Schwartz Commentary on the Series Finale The Magic that is Chrismukkah: Cast, crew and religious experts weigh in on The O.C.'s distinctive holiday celebration Summer Roberts - Beauty Meets Brown: The creation and evolution of one of the show's most lovable characters
Release Dates
United States Canada	United Kingdom	Australia
May 22, 2007	May 28, 2007	July 4, 2007

The Complete Series
Set Details			Special Features
92 Episodes (4050 Mins.) 28-Disc Set 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)			Season 1 remastered in Widescreen* Over 6 1/2 hours of Special Features 2 rare bonus discs Season 4 gag-reel 'Atomic County' excerpts Lavish "book" package
Release Dates
United States Canada	United Kingdom
November 27, 2007	November 19, 2007

* Region 1 Release Only

External links

• The O.C. Filming Locations
• The O.C. Comic Book Story
• Music From The O.C.
• News about the O.C. Cast!
• The oc-love - for us who love The OC