The OC star Adam Brody explains why he thinks the show wouldn’t succeed in today’s world. Airing on Fox from 2003 to 2007, The OC was a teen drama created by Josh Schwartz. Taking place in Orange County, California, the series focused on the character of Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) as a troubled teen from a broken home that’s eventually adopted by Sandy (Peter Gallagher) and Kirsten Cohen (Kelly Rowan). And, upon moving into the couple’s opulent home, Ryan bonds with the couple’s son Seth (Brody). He also develops feelings for Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton).
The show became a huge hit with critics and audiences. It turned the young cast, including Rachel Bilson, into worldwide celebrities. It’s also been credited with influencing popular music and fashion trends. Given its reach, and the fact that The OC has seen a recent resurgence, thanks to streaming on HBO Max, questions have persisted about whether it would be the right time for a reboot of the seminal drama. While many of the actors associated with the series have said that they’d be open to reprising their old roles, Brody has offered a compelling reason for why an updated version of The OC wouldn’t work.
Appearing as a guest on the Welcome to the OC podcast, hosted by Brody’s former co-stars Bilson and Melinda Clarke, the actor was asked about the viability of a reboot. In his response, Brody expressed doubt that the series would work as well today as it did in the early aughts. He noted that while the show occasionally attempted to position itself as a critique of wealth and affluence, it was actually a celebration of it. Brody felt, given the increased awareness of income equality and other societal inequities, the main focus of The OC may not land with viewers today. His quote is included below.
“I don’t think it can be done. Because I feel like, socially, I think we’re in a different place. And I think we’re in a more conscious place. I feel like The OC, while it claims to be, in a similar sense of Gossip Girl, while it would sort of say it’s a critique—it’s not. It’s a celebration, it’s a celebration of affluence, in my opinion, you know, and obviously, like, in the heart of it, there’s people who are lovely, it’s a family, you know, is at the heart of it, too. You know, there’s people who love each other and care for each other and sacrifice for each other. So, it’s not a pure celebration of money. It’s a celebration of, you know, love and romance and being in high school. It’s not just that. But I guess my point is like, for me, in a post-Donald Trump America to go ‘let’s go back to Orange County!’ I feel like you have to have a real reckoning, politically and socially. And is that what people want to see with the show? I don’t know.”
From a purely narrative perspective, there are avenues for an OC revival to explore. In comments from earlier this year, Bilson noted that she imagines Summer and Seth having children of their own now. A revival could easily pull on that thread. But, from a wider standpoint, Brody is correct in saying that The OC never seriously examined the class differences between Ryan and his new, adoptive family. It did gesture in that direction, particularly in its early episodes, but it was far more invested in romantic and familial angst than offering any actual critique.
Brody, who will next reprise his role as the adult Freddy Freeman in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, is also right to point to Gossip Girl. The original series, which starred Brody’s wife, actress Leighton Meester, didn’t much care to interrogate the wealth and privilege of its protagonists. The reboot of Gossip Girl, by contrast, feels an obligation to make half-baked references to class differences and other serious issues like police brutality. The result is that the reboot is neither thoughtful enough to engage viewers nor frothy enough to count as escapism. Instead, as reviews and audiences have both noted, the new Gossip Girl just isn’t fun. It’s likely that any reboot of The OC would be bogged down by the same problems.
Source: Welcome to the OC