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50 Surprising Things You Never Knew About 'The O.C.'

Some of the cast would knowingly mess up their lines...

By Rachel Epstein

Oct 18, 2017

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Maybe 2003 was an alternate universe, or maybe we were just too into debating Seth vs. Ryan to realize half of the crazy sh*t that happened throughout the four-season series. Either way, this August marks 15 years since The O.C. first premiered, and we're pretty nostalgic. From Mischa Barton's huge spoiler to how the cast really felt about the series, ahead 50 juicy deets about The O.C. that will totally blow your mind. Cue the intro music: 🎶 "Californiaaaaaa." 🎶

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Chad Michael Murray was almost offered a role on the show.

He read for Ryan, but turned it down for One Tree Hill.

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Peter Gallagher was the first person they cast.

Creator Josh Schwartz “wanted to make it very clear that the adults were going to be just as important in this world as the kids,” according to The Daily Beast.

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Seth's character is based off of creator Josh Schwartz's real life.

Schwartz grew up in a Jewish household, went to USC, and wrote the show's script based off of his own experiences.

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Schwartz was only 27 years old when the show premiered...

...making him the youngest primetime TV creator at the time.

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Adam Brody wasn’t sure he even wanted to be on the show.

A big reason why Schwartz hated his first audition because he didn’t take it seriously and “didn’t really bother to learn the lines.”

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The network wasn’t originally a fan of Seth's character.

Schwartz told TV Guide, "When we cast Adam Brody he was somebody who had so much charisma and was so funny and obviously adorable for the ladies, and the network felt much more at ease with him in the part."

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The cast didn’t always get along.

There was a “a complicated chemistry with the cast,” according to Schwartz.

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Summer was only supposed to be a guest star (!!!)...

...but then she became a series regular by the seventh episode.

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Melinda Clarke was also originally a guest star.

She played Marissa’s mom, Julie Cooper.

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Seth and Summer AKA Adam and Rachel dated the entire (!) run of the show.

One of the on-screen couples we love the most.

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Kelly Rowan is only 14 years older than Adam Brody.

Even though they played mother-son.

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The Cohen’s were supposed to have a different last name.

Say it with us: Seth Needleman.

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Adam Brody wasn’t even on the first poster they premiered...

...because people didn’t think he was a main character. (Poor Seth. 😓)

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Ben and Adam had great chemistry.

It’s no wonder they looked so believable as brothers.

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When the show first premiered, it didn’t do well.

“If you missed it, you kind of were screwed, so the idea that they were able to run it a couple times additionally each week, kind of like a cable show, really helped,” said Schwartz. The horror!

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It wasn't until five episodes in they knew it was a hit.

There were screaming fans wanting pictures and autographs when they arrived at a viewing party in Manhattan Beach...and the rest is history.

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Shailene Woodley originally played Marissa’s little sister on the first season...

...and she was only 11 years old. Talk about a #TBT.

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They totally made up the term, “Chrismukkah.”

Schwartz told The Huffington Post, “There were also a lot of people who said, ‘Oh! I celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. My parents are interfaith and now, I can call it Chrismukkah.’ So it gave name to something a lot of people were experiencing, but they didn’t really know what to call it.”

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Schwartz wished they “could’ve kept Olivia Wilde for longer.”

She played Alex Kelly, and dated both Seth Cohen and Marissa Cooper on the show.

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The network pushed Wilde off because of the controversial lesbian scenes.

“The only thing I’m bummed about that is that they made us write Olivia Wilde off the show much, much sooner than we had planned,” Schwartz revealed. “I wanted her to stick around. I love Olivia Wilde. I think she’s terrific. I wanted to keep that character on. But they told us, 'People are worried about this episode and this storyline and blah blah blah.'” So 2004.

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If they could re-do any scene over, it would be Johnny’s death.

“I think, for a lot of us, the Johnny storyline was probably one we’d like to have a do-over on,” Schwartz admitted.

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There's still not a definitive answer why Marissa was killed off the show.

Schwartz says it was “a hundred percent a creative decision” and not due to Barton wanting to leave the show.

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But Barton still portrays it like it was her decision.

"I think I just got to the point where I was like, 'I'm not sure I'm enjoying this anymore,’" Barton revealed to ABC in 2016. "I just felt like I was in a machine and I couldn't really get off. So it was time to step back. So I went back to England and it was just a year of real self-exploration.”

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Tate Donovan, who played Marissa’s dad, said the teen actors had a “bad attitude” while filming.

“By the time I started to direct, the kids on the show had developed a really bad attitude. They just didn’t want to be doing the show anymore. It was pretty tough; they were very tough to work with,” Donovan told Vulture. “The adults were all fantastic, total pros. But you know how it is with young actors—and I know because I was one of them once. When you achieve a certain amount of success, you want to be doing something else.”

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Despite what people may think, Barton doesn’t hate the show.

In a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair she revealed, “I’m never annoyed by it. It was just so long ago: it really had its time and place. It changed pop culture. It’s amazing all the things that kind of spawned out of it. So, no, I’m not annoyed by it, but I’m just like...people love to talk [about it].”

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“Welcome to the O.C., bitch” wasn’t an original line in the script.

But it was still iconic, along with the rest of the pilot episode script.

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Ben McKenzie A.K.A. Ryan still binge-watches the show.

In 2014 he admitted, “Every year I sit through and watch four seasons. Bizarre? No.” 😍

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Arcade Fire refused to appear on the show.

Because they didn't want to license any music. They did get Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers, and Coldplay, though.

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There’s a book published on the show called 'An Unofficial Guide to the Stars and Styles of The O.C. '

And a book based on the actual show called, The O.C.: The Outsider.

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Olivia Wilde almost played Marissa.

It was between the two, but Schwartz decided Wilde was “too strong.” “She’s such a tough smart strong girl. That was a version of Marissa that did not need saving," he said. "And we had in mind a character with a little more of a doe-like energy and somebody who was lost and trapped and needed someone like Ryan to come in and help them be free—the princess in the tower."

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The Phantom Planet song in the credits, you know the song, (🎶“Californiaaaaa”🎶) was brand new at the time.

Schwartz thought everyone heard it on the radio and would recognize it on the credits, but to his surprise people had never heard it before. (And now we just want to pretend we're driving along the Pacific Coast Highway jamming to it all day.)