With the return of shows like Saved by the Bell and Gossip Girl, fans of The O.C. have wondered if they’ll ever go back to Orange County and check-in with Seth, Summer, and Ryan. Actress Rachel Bilson has teamed up with her former co-star Melinda Clarke for the recap podcast Welcome to The OC, B—es!, and her on-screen boyfriend (and offscreen ex) Adam Brody stopped by for the most recent episode to reminisce about their time on the teen drama. During the episode, the possibility of a reboot of The O.C. was floated, but Brody shut that down pretty quickly.
“I kind of don’t think it can be done because socially we’re in a different place and we’re in a more conscious place,” Brody admitted. “While The O.C. claims to be — in a similar sense as a 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.”
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“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 this show? I don’t know,” Brody continued. “And is there a way to do both? There is, I suppose, but in my eyes, I probably want to torch it more than the fans would want.”
The former co-stars still had a great time remembering their past life on the show, and Bilson told Brody that he helped her become the actor that she is today. “You taught me how to act well,” Bilson said. “You made it so comfortable to just go for it and not be afraid, and everything you did and working with you really made me have the confidence to kind of do whatever I wanted and go for it… I want to say thank you, because it just brings that all up. I was like, ‘Dude, I was never better than when I was acting with you.’”
Brody is clearly moved, proving that there is no animosity between the exes. “What a lovely thing to say,” Brody replied. “Hey, it was my pleasure and it was such a joy.”
