Twenty years ago, The O.C. graced our screens and—arguably—changed television forever. From chaotic storylines to perfect Y2K outfits and troubled rich kids, the teen drama really had it all. First airing on Fox on August 5, 2003, Josh Schwartz’s show set the pace for all of our favorite primetime fixtures that followed. As I stormed through Season 1 (27 episodes for a first run is ridiculous, by the way), everything became clear: this beach-loving, riotous bunch really were the blueprint.
But how does Season 1 fare in 2023? Here are my thoughts as a first time viewer.
A brief scene-setter for those who don’t know: The O.C. focused on the rich high society of Newport Beach, in Orange County, California. As viewers, we are introduced to this world alongside the main protagonist, Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), an outcast from the wrong side of the tracks taken in by his lawyer, Sandy Cohen. By the end of the third episode, Ryan is legally adopted by the Cohens and is living in their pool house. Ryan’s foray into Newport’s elite social scene ends up with him attending private school and on/off dating the show’s It girl, Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton).
Marissa Cooper is the original Serena van der Woodsen
Marissa is the surf town’s sweetheart. She starts off as one half of the school’s power couple (her boyfriend being Luke Ward, the head jock and local bully, of course). She’s the daughter of a picture-perfect couple, lead debutante, and is every inch as beautiful as her life seems on the surface. But Marissa is damaged. Substance abuse problems, teenage rebellion, mommy issues, the innate desire to run away at the slightest inconvenience… sound familiar? Marissa and Gossip Girl’s Serena are cut from the same cloth: they grew up privileged inside families whose seemingly happy image was carefully constructed by their mothers, but the façade eventually cracks and then they both end up evading therapy and ruining pretty much every relationship they have. Marissa also starts dating the local outcast (the aforementioned Ryan Atwood), which is similar to Serena’s romance with Dan Humphrey.
The casting is perfect, actually
I’ve heard a lot of chatter about how it was obvious that the main cast was made up of 25-year-olds portraying 16-year-olds. And, in fairness, Ryan Atwood does look like a grown man with bills and a mortgage. But he’s also had a hard life, growing up in a turbulent household with a brother in jail, so it’s no wonder that the man has wrinkles. He’s been going through it.
Honorable mention: it’s always fun to see big names in their early, random roles. Shout out to Paul Wesley playing the bad boy who carries a gun.
The show is full of all the classic tropes
Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts display my favorite relationship trope: enemies to lovers. Well, kind of. It’s more like “popular mean girl hates dorky aloof guy who has a huge crush on her” (naming your boat after a girl you’ve never spoken to is very creepy, FYI), and after a long and slow burn, they end up together. It’s like Geek Charming, The Proposal, or even Bridgerton Season 2. Perfect viewing.
Also, in these teen dramas there’s always a character you hate at the beginning but end up with a soft spot for. I present to you: Luke Ward. Portrayed by Chris Carmack, Ward is The O.C.’s resident bully, Prince Charming lookalike, and initial boyfriend of Marissa. Naturally, you have to hate him. He’s always starting fights, picking on Seth, and flirting with his girlfriend’s mom (more on that later…). But, as the season progresses, and he faces heartbreak and family troubles, his personal growth is undeniable. When an even more unlikeable character—Marissa’s new, suspicious friend Oliver—is introduced, we start to see Luke in a new light. A tale as old as time.
I can’t keep up with the family tree
By the end of Season 1, the Cohens and Coopers are so intertwined that I had to draw a family tree to get my head around it. Julie Cooper (Marissa’s mother) marries Caleb Nichol, after a brief romance with her daughter’s ex-boyfriend Luke. Caleb is the father of Kirsten Cohen and Hayley Nichol. Julie’s daughter, Marissa, is on/off dating Ryan Atwood who, as we know, is under the guardianship of Kirsten and Sandy. And Hayley is dating Jimmy Cooper, Julie’s ex and Marissa’s father. So, in just one episode, Caleb has become a stepdad to his adopted grandson’s girlfriend, and father-in-law to his new wife’s ex-husband. Oh, and is on the verge of bankruptcy. Normal stuff.
The storylines were chaotic
Let’s not get bogged down in the details of what’s realistic or not. For ease, we are going to assume that rich families do take in troubled 16-year-olds from the wrong side of the tracks after they find themselves in juvie. We will also assume that these 16-year-olds do party hard every night, and make it to school on time and don’t fail their classes. And we will also assume that mothers do get romantically involved with their daughters’ 16-year-old ex-boyfriends and suffer little to no consequences (where is Julie Cooper’s jail time?).
Quite frankly, The O.C. walked so the likes of Gossip Girl could run. It’s got the messy plots, the fashion, and the soundtrack that all teen dramas need to thrive. Of course, it has its pitfalls. There are plenty of flinch-worthy moments in the script (Sandy egging on his son to get with Summer because “she’s hot”) and diversity is, unsurprisingly, lacking within the cast. The one character of color in Season 1, Theresa Diaz, is given a terrible storyline—lying about having a miscarriage is pretty unforgivable stuff—that makes us resent her. Then there’s also the fact that the show could have handled subjects around mental health, especially those seen in Oliver Trask’s storyline, in a more delicate manner.
Nevertheless, I’m a fan—ultimately, the teen dramas of today could really use a bit of the unhinged 2003 spirit that The O.C. brought to the beaches of California all those years ago.