Arguably the most iconic scene of “The O.C.” is the one that the show’s creators regret the most.
After 20 years, the cast and creators of “The O.C.” are opening up about their experiences on set with Rolling Stone television critic Alan Sepinwall in his new oral history, “Welcome to the O.C.”
The O.C., which ran for four seasons between 2003 to 2007, starred Ben McKenzie, Adam Brody, Mischa Barton and Rachel Bilson. The new book speaks to the show’s cast and crew about their time on the show.
Series creator Josh Schwartz and his longtime producing partner Stephanie Savage spoke on their biggest regrets while writing the show. Both of them agree that killing off Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) was something they would change if given another chance.
“If you told me I could do one thing over again for the show, [killing off Marissa] is the one thing that I personally would choose to do differently,” Schwartz told The Post. “It made sense at the time, and there were a lot of reasons for it both on screen and off, but it is definitely the most divisive thing that we’ve been a part of.”
In the third season finale of “The O.C.” titled “The Graduates,” Marissa died in a car crash caused by her ex-boyfriend Kevin Volchok (Cam Gigandet). Her main love interest Ryan Atwood (McKenzie) pulls her out of the car and holds her as she draws her final breath.
“We did not expect the fan reaction to be what it was. The level of emotional devastation really took us by surprise,” Savage told The Post.
Schwartz’s obsession with reading harsh reviews of “The O.C.” made him believe that killing off Barton was the right move, however.
Television Without Pity, a website that recapped TV shows with discussion boards, was one the show’s biggest critics and consistently called the character entitled and annoying. Schwartz told The Post that he thrived off reading any feedback and reading Television Without Pity appealed to “both my narcissism and my self-loathing.”
“It was a good lesson about the vocal minority on social media. Back then, chat rooms and Television Without Pity and message boards were not representative of the larger audience that was watching the show who had felt very differently,” Schwartz said.
By Season 3, network executives at Fox felt that Marissa had hit a “wall” and the character had nowhere to go. It also became evident that Barton wanted to leave the show.
“There was a feeling from Fox and this new regime that the show needed to do bigger, crazier, more shocking things to stay relevant and boosting the ratings. And it was also a feeling that maybe if we let Mischa off the show, it would be better for her in the long run, just as a human being,” Schwartz said in the book.
Throughout the oral history, Savage and Schwartz lament on how they were not creative enough in crafting storylines for Marissa. Schwartz, who was a first-time showrunner at age 26, claimed that shooting so many episodes caused exhaustion among the writing staff.
“Season 3, in particular, was probably the most creatively challenged. And obviously, the departure of Mischa was a huge part of that story, creatively, onscreen and off and needed to be told and reckoned with,” Schwartz said.
Working on the book allowed the producing pair to come to terms with how they could have better handled their relationships with Barton, who was only 17 when she began shooting the drama.
Additionally, executive producer Bob DeLaurentis said in the oral history that he regrets casting such a young actress, as Barton would often be found sitting alone and reading a book because she allegedly couldn’t relate to her older co-stars.
Savage and Schwartz ultimately were too afraid to tell Barton that she was being killed off.
“Instead of talking to her about it as adults, we were like, ‘Well, we think that would work out great for her.’ And then just made this decision,” Savage said in the book.
Savage wishes she made an effort to connect with Barton, who she believed was “too cool” to hang out with the rest of the cast.
“Originally, we did a lot of things together, but as she got her different boyfriends, and was going to nightclubs with Paris [Hilton] and Nicole [Richie] and being on Perez Hilton, she was more her own island,” she explained in the book. “We had the ability to give her a little tugboat to go back and forth. And we didn’t do that, and I regret that.”