‘The O.C.’ Star Returning to Fox for New TV Show

A star from The O.C. is returning to Fox.

Deadline reports that Rachel Bilson will be starring in a new scripted drama from Gordon Ramsey.

Based on Kathleen Flinn’s The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry, the female empowerment series is in development at Fox. From Fox Entertainment Studios, the adaptation will be written by Stephanie Danler. Ramsay will be serving as executive producer with his Studio Ramsay Chief Creative Officer, Lisa Edwards, Flinn, and Olivia Allen.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry is Flinn’s debut book. It’s a self-autobiographical story about Flinn’s time at a cooking school in Paris. The book follows Flinn, “a recently laid-off middle manager who decides to cash in her savings and start fresh with a new beginning abroad in cooking school. Trading boardrooms for burners and office politics for high-pressure kitchens, Kathleen embarks on a funny, heartfelt journey of self-discovery, the logline reads.”

The series marks Bilson’s return to Fox and her first lead role on the network since starring on teen drama The O.C. as Summer Roberts from 2003 to 2007. She most recently appeared on Fox in an episode of the anthology drama Accused in 2023. Bilson is also known for her titular role as Dr. Zoe Hart in The CW’s Hart of Dixie, which ran for four seasons from 2011 to 2015. Additional credits include Lovestruck, Take Two, Nashville, How I Met Your Mother, The To Do List, New York, I Love You, Jumper, and The Last Kiss.

To celebrate the 21^st anniversary of The O.C. in 2024, Bilson reprised her role as Summer for a series of ads for tequila brand 21Seeds. She teamed up with O.C. creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage for their production company Fake Empire, and the ads even included the show’s iconic theme song, “California,” by Phantom Planet, as well as iconic catchphrases and look-a-likes of Ben McKenzie’s Ryan Atwood and Mischa Barton’s Marissa Cooper.

Additional information on The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry has not been released, but it will be exciting to see Rachel Bilson back on Fox, even if it’s not as Summer Roberts. The series is the only upcoming project that Bilson is working on that fans know of, but the wait will certainly be worth it.