20 Years Later, The Teen Drama Continues. Josh Schwartz on The Book “Welcome To The OC”

Few teen dramas have stood the test of time than the groundbreaking and iconic The OC. The series broke the standard sanitized mould for teenage television with a grittier, yet melodramatic edge. It made garage bands famous and brought lines like “Welcome to the OC, bitch,” into the pop culture lexicon.
 
The TV series is based in sun-filled Newport Beach, Orange County (OC), California, and ran for four seasons from 2003 to 2007. The pilot episode begins with troubled, yet talented, teenager Ryan Attwood (Benjamin McKenzie) in a courtroom, narrowly escaping time behind bars for a crime committed by his brother, and then kicked out of the house by his mother. He winds up being adopted by his public defender, Judge Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher), and stays with Sandy’s wife Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) and son Seth (Adam Brody) at their luxurious Newport Beach home. Ryan’s challenges to adapt to life in this extravagant community begin here, as does his exploration of himself.
 
This set the scene for a drama examining divisive social issues such as identity, adolescence, class, friendships, poverty, addiction, and familial strife. Ryan falls in love with Marissa Cooper (Misha Barton), their wealthy neighbor from a family with opposing values to the Coopers. The OC mines the morals of the idealistic and philanthropic Cohens pitted against the conservative Coopers to generate conflict and engaging drama with a touch of soap.
 
Twenty years later, showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage published Welcome To The OC, the official oral history of The OC, to commemorate the show. Josh spoke with Creative Screenwriting Magazine about their new book.

What inspired you to create The OC?

The OC grew out of an initial conversation between myself and Stephanie Savage, who was partnered with the director McG (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Terminator Salvation). They were looking to develop a TV show set in the world of Orange County. I had gone to the University Of Southern California (USC) where many kids from Newport Beach attended, arriving there as a Jewish kid from the East Coast. The show was very much inspired by those experiences. At that moment, there hadn’t been a new teen drama on TV, especially on FOX, for a couple of years, and we felt the audience would be hungry for that kind of show again.

What made The OC part of pop culture rather than being  just another teen TV show?

I think a few things helped separate The OC from some of the other teen dramas of the day. One, we had a phenomenal cast who were exciting and engaging and people wanted to welcome into their homes. The world of Newport Beach and Orange County was unique and appealing, and at that time, you hadn’t seen it in a TV series.

The music that we used, indie rock that we could actually afford, was the music we happened to be listening to off screen, also gave the show a distinct soundtrack that allowed the audience to discover new bands. We were a show that cared as much for the adults as we did for the teen characters. And finally the tone of the show, which mixed old fashioned soap melodrama with an ironic humor, helped set it apart.

How did you research the story lines?

Research was largely drawn from our personal experiences, and our fantasies… the life we actually lived and the one we wished we had. We always tried to make our stories feel emotionally authentic, no matter how over the top they actually were.

What were the main themes you explored in the show?
 
At its core, The OC was always about outsiders… how everyone feels like an outsider. And it was a show about family — the family you’re born into and the one you choose as was the case with Ryan.

How does the OC compare to current YA shows?
 
Well, we had to do a lot more episodes! We did 27 episodes in Season 1… which is the equivalent of 3 seasons of Euphoria today… plus a couple of bonus episodes.

What compelled you to publish Welcome To The OC?

The 20th anniversary was really the catalyst for publishing our OC oral history, Welcome To The OC.  It felt like enough time had passed and perspective had been gained to have everyone tell their story.

What’s inside?

Inside the book is a very honest accounting — not just of making The OC, but of what it’s like to make a TV series… especially in that era.  It celebrates the things the show did well and offers analysis and insight into mistakes that were made, both on screen and off.

Is it a reference book, definitive guide, or a celebration of the show?

The book is an overview of the making show, a look behind the scenes, and an opportunity for everyone who worked on the series to share their experiences – warts and all. It’s also a helpful primer for anyone who wants to make a TV show, or enjoys watching one.

How long did it take to write?

The book took about a year to write, with Alan Sepinwall leading the interviews and organizing the story material into a coherent and entertaining read.

If you were to reboot The OC, what might it look like?

If I knew the answer to that, we would be making it! We are so grateful we got to make a series that audiences still want to talk about 20 years later and we’re just going to leave The OC story there…