'The O.C.' Ended 14 Years Ago: Is a Reboot on the Horizon for the Teen Drama Series?

From 2003 to 2007, teen melodrama The O.C. that ran on FOX introduced viewers to loveable, angsty characters — both teen and adult — that fans will never forget. The primetime teen soap opera told the story of a not-so-bad boy from Chino, Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), who needed a home after discovering that his mother and her boyfriend packed up all their belongings and moved away. The troubled teen is forced to adjust to a new life after being taken in by the Cohens, a wealthy family from Orange County.

Instantly Ryan gets swept up in the rich kids' drama in the O.C. The drama unfolds continually throughout the series for Ryan, his new stepbrother Seth (Adam Brody), their gorgeous next-door neighbor Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), and her best friend Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). 

From romantic struggles to family problems, friendships, and long-held grudges, nobody was ever safe from the drama.

By the time the last episode of the show aired, they had all been through the wringer in some way, shape, or form. 

In the past few years, so many television shows have been remade or rebooted, including another teen drama, the CW’s Gossip Girl, developed by The O.C.’s creator and executive producer Josh Schwartz. The O.C. came to an end right around the time the original Gossip Girl started, and this summer, a Gossip Girl reboot is slated to premiere on HBO Max. Could a reboot be on the horizon for The O.C.?

Although there has been no official talk of bringing The O.C. back, it's pretty cool that Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke would want to reprise their roles as Summer and Julie Copper. While recently interviewing each other for Entertainment Weekly to promote their upcoming podcast, Welcome to The O.C., B---hes!, the actresses talked about a revival of their television series.

Rachel said, "I know we talked about definitely getting together personally, as a reunion, but a reboot would be awesome. I think that's in the hands of [creators and executive producers] Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. There's still a ways to go, so maybe they'll figure it out!"

Melinda joked, "Never say never." These two aren't the only cast members on board for a reboot of The O.C. Misha Barton told Entertainment Tonight, "I think there are ways it could happen for sure. I mean in this industry there's a way to do everything. 

"If you really wanna get The O.C. back, of course, we could, of course, there's a way. Characters can slightly change or diverge or come back as a cousin. Like, who cares?" 

She does make an interesting point! We guess only time will tell if The O.C. gets a reboot or not. 

For Rachel and Melinda’s podcast, the two will re-watch all 92 episodes of the teen drama series and give listeners behind the scene commentary and drop hints about their four years on the show. We can’t wait to see what they have to say when they come to the end of the series.

The series finale took place six months after the prior episode, in which the Cohens' home was destroyed in an earthquake. In their last scheme, Ryan and Seth try to get the owners of Sandy (Peter Gallagher) and Kristen's (Kelly Rowan) first home located in Berkley, Calif., to sell it so that they could raise their unborn baby in a home that meant so much to them. By some miracle, Sandy and Kristen are able to move into their old house again. 

Julie is supposed to get married, but instead of jumping into another marriage, she chooses herself. Seth goes off to the Rhode Island School of Design, and Ryan will attend school at UC Berkeley but will also help the Cohens settle in their home. As everyone goes their respective ways, Ryan reminisces one last time before leaving the Newport Beach house.

According to a Fandom page, "He thinks about the day they decided to adopt him and how that changed his life forever. Ryan then says goodbye to the house, [and] the last thing he thinks about is the first time he saw Marissa. After this, we see Ryan at Berkeley looking around the campus; Summer doing her part in activism; Seth at RISD collecting photos." 

The end of the show also gave viewers a glimpse into the future, too. Seth and Summer, who were destined to be together, got married in a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. Julie graduated with a Bachelor's in Education and had both Gordon Bullit (Gary Grubbs) and Frank Atwood (Kevin Sorbo) in her life.