Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History

by Josh Schwartz, Alan Sepinwall, Stephanie Savage

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This is a comprehensive look at all things The O.C., with behind the scenes photography, stories and content that will remind fans why they fell in love with this show in the first place. This book captures an entire generation of pop culture in a fascinating way, making it a unique and insightful read for fans and newcomers alike.

Welcome to the O.C., b*tch: it’s the definitive oral history of beloved TV show The O.C., from the show’s creators, featuring interviews with the cast and crew, providing a behind-the-scenes look into how the show was made, the ups and downs over its four seasons, and its legacy today. 

On August 5th, 2003, Ryan Atwood found himself a long way from his home in Chino—he was in The O.C., an exclusive suburb full of beautiful girls, wealthy bullies, corrupt real-estate tycoons, and a new family helmed by his public defender, Sandy Cohen. Ryan soon warms up to his nerdy, indie band-loving new best friend Seth, and quickly falls for Marissa, the stunning girl next door who has secrets of her own. Completing the group is Summer, Seth’s dream girl and Marissa’s loyal—and fearless—best friend. Together, the friends fall in and out of love, support each other amidst family strife, and capture the hearts of audiences across the country.

Just in time for the show’s twentieth anniversary, The O.C.’s creator Josh Schwartz and executive producer Stephanie Savage are ready to dive into how the show was made, the ups and downs over its four seasons, and its legacy today. With Rolling Stone’s chief TV critic and bestselling author Alan Sepinwall conducting interviews with the key cast members, writers, and producers who were there when it all happened, Welcome to the O.C. will offer the definitive inside look at the beloved show—a nostalgic delight for audiences who watched when it aired, and a rich companion to viewers currently discovering the show while it streams on HBO Max and Hulu.

The O.C. paved the way for a new generation of iconic teen soaps, launched the careers of young stars, and even gave us the gift of Chrismukkah. Now, it’s time to go back where we started from and experience it all over again. 

Includes exclusive interviews with: Ben McKenzie * Mischa Barton * Adam Brody * Rachel Bilson * Peter Gallagher * Kelly Rowan * Melinda Clarke * Tate Donovan * Chris Carmack * Autumn Reeser * Willa Holland * Samaire Armstrong * Alan Dale * Colin Hanks * Amanda Righetti * Navi Rawat * Shannon Lucio * Michael Cassidy * McG * Imogen Heap * Alex Greenwald * Ben Gibbard * Paul Scheer * Doug Liman * and many more! 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212700764
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	11/28/2023
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

STEPHANIE SAVAGE started her career as an executive at Drew Barrymore’s Flower Films, then formed Wonderland Sound and Vision with Director McG. It was here she met Josh Schwartz, and transitioned to writing and producing full time. She co-created the original Gossip Girl with Schwartz, where she served as showrunner for all six seasons. Together they formed Fake Empire and have since put over a dozen shows on the air, including six with first time creators.

Alan Sepinwall
has been writing about television for close to twenty years. Formerly a television critic for the Newark
Star-Ledger, he currently writes the popular blog What’s Alan Watching? on HitFix.com. Sepinwall's episode-by-episode approach to reviewing his favorite TV shows “changed the nature of television criticism” according to Slate, which called him “the acknowledged king of the form.”

JOSH SCHWARTZ became the youngest person in network television history to create and run a network drama when The O.C. premiered on Fox in 2003. He subsequently launched the original Gossip Girl for the CW with frequent collaborator Stephanie Savage. Over the next twenty years, Schwartz and Savage produced over five hundred hours of television via their Fake Empire Productions including Chuck, Looking for Alaska, Marvel’s Runaways, Nancy Drew, Dynasty, Hart of Dixie, The Carrie Diaries, Gossip Girl and, most recently, City on Fire.

Robert Fass is a veteran actor and twice winner of the prestigious Audie Award for the year’s best narration. He has earned many Earphones Awards and AudioFile magazine “Best of the Year” accolades.

Ewan Chung is an audiobook narrator and a film and television actor. A SAG-AFTRA member, he is best known for his work in Bones, Monday Mornings, and Desperation. Born in Washington DC and raised in Virginia, he currently resides in Los Angeles.

Andrew Eiden is an actor and winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award for narration. He has been acting since the age of four, working at regional theaters, in national commercials, and on numerous television shows.

Thérèse Plummer is an actor, award-winning voice-over artist, and counselor. She has won eighteen AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has appeared in a variety of television and film roles. As a counselor for adolescents, she spent five years using drama therapy techniques in individual and group settings.

Karissa Vacker is a multiple AudioFile Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator and actress. After graduating with a BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, she performed in regional theaters across the country before moving to Los Angeles. She has guest starred in network television shows and films and continues to work on screen and stage. Her audiobook credits include romance, young adult fiction, and mystery thrillers.

Alyssa Bresnahan is a dynamic dancer, actor, and audiobook narrator. She has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, has earned twenty Earphones Awards, and was named one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices. In 2009 she was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best fiction narration.

Michael David Axtell is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.

Kaleo Griffith is an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator and classically trained actor. He graduated cum laude from Franklin Pierce University with a BA in theater, holds an MFA in acting from Rutgers University, and is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He has appeared in such television series as Law & Order and Reggie’s Family & Friends, among others.

Soneela Nankani is an award-winning narrator with over three hundred titles in many different genres including Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Nonfiction. She has garnered sixteen Earphones Awards, nominations for Audie and SOVAS awards, and was recently awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. Her audiobooks have been featured in Best Audiobooks lists by AudioFile magazine and the Washington Post, among others. In her spare time, she loves to read (yes, really), learn languages, try new recipes, and travel. She lives in the DC area with her husband and two mischievous daughters.

Amy Landon, Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a voice artist and classically trained actress with numerous film, television, and off-Broadway stage credits. Her voice can also be heard on many television and radio commercials. She has an easy facility with dialects, which she also coaches and teaches, and she is happy to find her lifelong obsession with books pairing up with her acting and vocal work. Her narration of Texts from Jane Eyre placed as a finalist for the Audie Award for Best Humor Narration in 2016.

Hillary Huber is one of the most successful voice talents in Los Angeles. Recent books read for Blackstone Audio include Him, Her, Him Again, the End of Him by Patricia Marx, A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read, and A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart.

Eva Kaminsky is a New York–based actor and audiobook narrator with over 150 titles to her credit. She trained at Boston University and has acted in numerous productions on television and film, including Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Happyish, Ugly Betty, ER, Numbers, Law & Order, and others.

Josh Bloomberg, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a trained professional actor with extensive audiobook experience as a director and narrator. Having worked with some of the biggest publishers in the audiobook industry, he is used to performing at high standards. He speaks English, French, and Hebrew fluently and is a member of the Audio Publishers Association. He also records his voice for commercial spots and other types of voice-over. In his spare time, he loves making homemade almond milk.

Fred Sanders, an actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has received critics’ praise for his audio narrations that range from nonfiction, memoir, and fiction to mystery and suspense. He been seen on Broadway in The Buddy Holly Story, in national tours for Driving Miss Daisy and Big River, and on such television shows as Seinfeld, The West Wing, Will and Grace, Numb3rs,Titus, and Malcolm in the Middle. His films include Sea of Love, The Shadow, and the Oscar-nominated short Culture. He is a native New Yorker and Yale graduate.

Editorial Reviews

09/18/2023

In this juicy look behind the scenes of the television series The O.C. (2003–2007), creator Schwartz and executive producer Savage discuss with Rolling Stone editor Sepinwall (The Revolution Was Televised) the making of the popular teen drama. Tracing the show’s path to air, Schwartz and Savage recount pitching Warner Bros. a Romeo and Juliet-esque drama set in Orange County, Calif., about the “daughter of this rich family’s gardener” who falls in love with the well-off Ryan Atwood. At the studio’s request, they reconfigured the pitch to make Atwood a “kid from a rough-and-tumble neighborhood” and his love interest a privileged “girl next door.” Ben McKenzie, Adam Brody, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, and other key cast members chart the show’s rise and fall, beginning with a triumphant first season that earned the “core four” an immediate fanbase (Bilson recalls having to rescue then-boyfriend Brody from a mob of fans after they appeared on MTV’s Total Request Live). The interlocutors also expound on The O.C.’s missteps, with Schwartz expressing regret for killing off Barton’s character at the end of season three (“I very quickly realized, Oh my God, what have we done? I think we made a terrible mistake”). The insider perspectives are refreshingly candid and offer new insights into what went into making the much loved show. The O.C. fans won’t want to miss this. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Twenty years after the hit teen drama The O.C. first aired, its creators are taking us all for a romp down memory lane with an oral history of the series, featuring interviews with its stars, writers, directors, and more. It's a fascinating peek behind the making of a megahit, and a delightful bit of nostalgia for those of us who remember life before streaming TV.” — Town & Country

"Will most likely satisfy any O.C.-heads (Newpsies?) craving a glimpse into the backstage drama, network chaos, on-set romance, and, of course, the show’s iconic music. ... The riveting book features enthralling and often hilarious interviews with the entire principal cast, memorable guest stars, directors, producers, and even some big-name musicians whose work was featured on the show. The oral history is both a story about a once-in-a-lifetime hit...and the highly competitive landscape of network television in the early 2000s." — Daily Beast

"A splendid retrospective. ... A must-read for viewers of the show’s original run, but it works, too, for those meeting the Cohens and their fellow Orange County residents for the first time via streaming services." — Associated Press

“Fans of the series will devour. … The only thing missing from this definitive dive is Ryan’s trademark brooding.” — Paste Magazine

"Sepinwall talked to basically every important actor, creative person, and executive associated with the series. He also knows his O.C., having written about it extensively when it was on the air. ... I was blown away by how many new tidbits Alan uncovers." — Vulture

“The ultimate tell-all book.” — Cosmopolitan

"[A] juicy look behind the scenes of the television series The O.C. ... The insider perspectives are refreshingly candid and offer new insights into what went into making the much loved show. The O.C. fans won’t want to miss this." — Publishers Weekly

"A revealing oral history of the unlikely teen drama. ... Skillfully captures the show’s surprising sizzle without letting anyone off the hook for its many shortcomings." — Kirkus Reviews

"The perfect companion for any TV fan feeling a little nostalgic." — TVLine

"An oral history of the seminal teen drama (which, if we’re all being honest, has stood the test of time because it’s so much more than a teen drama). ... Happy early Chrismukkah." — InsideHook

"Packed with juicy, behind-the-scenes scoop about making the show, from the casting process to the way the stars behaved.” — Yahoo! Entertainment

“A comprehensive oral history of the addictive soap, featuring interviews with its creators, cast, and crew, revealing how a modern TV classic (barely) got made.” — Rolling Stone

"Breezy, entertaining." — Salon

From the Publisher

2023-09-20
A revealing oral history of the unlikely teen drama of the early 2000s that made stars of Ben McKenzie, Adam Brody, Mischa Barton, and Rachel Bilson.

In the hands of a lesser author, this story’s arc could have been problematic. After all, The O.C. went from pop-culture sensation to ennui, even among its stars, in less than five years. But Sepinwall, chief TV critic for Rolling Stone, manages to chronicle the show’s rise and fall without getting trapped in the implosion. His narrative entertains throughout, thanks to the author’s interesting revelations and a strong sense of pacing. He breaks up post-success years of struggle by focusing on the show’s role as a musical tastemaker, bringing indie bands like Death Cab for Cutie to broader audiences. Sepinwall had the support of creator Schwartz and producing partner Savage, who found lasting success together on Gossip Girl and Chuck, as well as all the series’ core actors. Their cooperation yields lighthearted revelations like the fact that producers passed on hiring Marvel movie star Sebastian Stan for the show, which Schwartz called “the worst thing to come out of this book.” The book also includes more substantive disclosures, including the fact that the producers regret killing off Barton’s character, Marissa, as a way to please network executives at the end of the troubled third season. “It had only been this inevitable march to Marissa’s demise, because of the creative exhaustion with the character,” say Schwartz. “And then all of these voices on the Internet and early Tumblr exploded, like a primordial howl from the early Internet into the night sky….I very quickly realized, Oh my God, what have we done? I think we made a terrible mistake.”

Skillfully captures the show’s surprising sizzle without letting anyone off the hook for its many shortcomings.

Kirkus Reviews