One Tree Hill star Chad Michael Murray notoriously made his exit from the show after season 6, but why did he make his departure? Murray was one of the biggest heartthrobs of the 2000s, largely thanks to One Tree Hill, but both Murray and his costar Hilarie Burton made the decision not to come back for the show’s seventh season. In the season 6 finale, Chad Michael Murray’s character Lucas quite literally drove off into the sunset with Peyton (Hilarie Burton) and their daughter Sawyer. It seemed like a fitting conclusion to their characters’ roles. However, it didn’t save audiences from the disappointment of realizing neither of them would be coming back for season 7.
By mid-May of 2009, a representative for the CW network had officially announced Chad Michael Murray’s One Tree Hill exit. At this point, the season 6 finale hadn’t premiered, and in the second to last episode of season 6, Peyton and Lucas had just gotten married. While enjoying their honeymoon, Peyton began bleeding and passed out on the bed. In an episode a few weeks prior, Peyton had recorded messages for her unborn baby. This, along with her perilous situation, created a great deal of buzz as audiences began to speculate what would happen to Lucas and Peyton now that neither character’s actor would be returning.
Many viewers have speculated that Murray’s choice to leave and exit One Tree Hill influenced Burton’s decision, but she has adamantly denied this. In “Give Me Moira,” an episode of the Drama Queens podcast (via Spotify), Burton stated that she was treated poorly, and when she began debating her continued role on One Tree Hill, costar Moira Kelly told her to “run.” While Murray – who had also been mistreated – defended her, he did not influence her choice and had his own reasons for quitting the show after season 6. Chad Michael Murray’s One Tree Hill exit was primarily due to contract disputes and negotiations. In a now-deleted video, Murray infamously said, "They're not bringing me back next year ... because they want to save money” (via E! Online). In the simplest terms, Murray chose to leave One Tree Hill, which ended after season 9 because he wasn’t being paid what he felt he deserved.
In February of 2009, the CW (formerly WB) announced One Tree Hill’s renewal for a seventh season without specifying which actors would be returning. Rumors immediately began to surface about Hilarie Burton and Chad Michael Murray’s One Tree Hill exit. In April of 2009, executive producer Mark Schwann was filmed telling a group of fans in Paris that Murray had been “offered great things,” and the show’s creators hoped he would choose to return (via Los Angeles Times). These statements became controversial, however, when Murray later revealed that producers weren’t willing to pay him what he deserved.
Thankfully for viewers, Chad Michael Murray’s character on One Tree Hill got a happy ending with his wife Peyton and their daughter Sawyer Brooke Scott. The show managed to send them off in a way that metaphorically represented the two actors’ departures from the CW network, now known for disappointing reboots. However, even after the conclusion to season 6 that spelled Murray’s official exit, audiences still got to see Lucas one last time when Chad Michael Murray decided to return in a guest appearance during the final season of One Tree Hill, purely for the benefit of long-time viewers.