The O.C. and One Tree Hill both premiered in 2003. They are currently celebrating their 20^th Anniversaries. There are a lot of similarities between both shows besides airing at the same time. They were both teen dramas and they were both hugely popular. The O.C. aired on FOX and lasted four seasons. One Tree Hill aired on the WB which became the CW and lasted nine seasons.

There are Major Spoilers for Both Shows.

The O.C. premiered on August 5^th, 2003. It starred Benjamin McKenzie, Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, Melinda Clarke, Tate Donovan, Chris Carmack, Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowen. Benjamin McKenzie played Ryan Atwood who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and was getting into trouble and fistfights. He moves in with Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher) and gets a new family with the Cohens including Sandy’s wife Kirsten (Kelly Rowen) and their son Seth (Adam Brody. Ryan and Seth would eventually become best friends. The series saw Ryan adjusting to a new life in a new town and in a new school. Ryan also met and fell in love with Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton). They had an on again and off again relationship throughout the run of the show. Marissa had a best friend Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) who was also the love of Seth’s life. Summer never gave Seth the time of day. Eventually they got together and also had an on again off again relationship. The first season was a huge hit on FOX. Season 1 was also supersized with 27 episodes. A lot of drama happened on the first season. Halfway through the season Rachel Bilson went from a recurring role to a series regular. The same thing happened with Melinda Clarke who played Julie Cooper, Marissa’s mother. Chris Carmack played Luke Ward who was Marissa’s boyfriend at the start of the series. Eventually they broke up and Marissa and Ryan got together. Luke and Ryan started out as enemies and eventually became friends. Luke also had the iconic line “Welcome to the O.C. bitch” which was said at the start of the series after he and Ryan had a fight. Luke was written off halfway through the season. After his personality changed, it seemed the writers were having trouble knowing what to do with him. After breaking up with Marissa and becoming part of the group Luke had an affair with Marissa’s mother Julie. By this point Julie was separated from her husband Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan). After Luke got in a car accident, he decided to go live with his father who had moved away.

One Tree Hill premiered on September 23, 2003 on the WB. Season 1 consisted of 22 episodes. It starred Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Hilary Burton, Sophia Bush, Bethany Joy Lenz, Craig Sheffer, Paul Johansson, Moira Kelley, Barbara Alyn Woods, and Barry Corbin. Season 1 did well in the ratings. The O.C. had bigger ratings but it was also on different networks. FOX always had a bigger audience than the WB. One Tree Hill saw Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) deal with high school and basketball in the small town of Tree Hill. Lucas lived with his single mother Karen Roe (Moira Kelly). Lucas had a half brother Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) who got the life that Lucas and Karen could have had. Nathan lived with their father Dan (Paul Johansson). Dan left Karen and Lucas to be with Deb (Barbara Alyn Woods) and Nathan. The Scott family grew up in a wealthy household and were well off financially while Lucas and Karen had to fend for themselves. They had help from Keith Scott (Craig Sheffer) who was Lucas’ uncle and Dan’s brother. For the first time in years both families were more involved in each other’s lives after Lucas joined the basketball team which was the same team that Nathan was on. At the start of the series Nathan was dating Peyton Sawyer (Hilary Burton) who Lucas had a crush on. Nathan and Petyon ended up breaking up and eventually Petyon and Lucas got together. While that happened, Nathan met Haley James (Bethany Joy Lenz) who was Lucas’ best friend. Haley started tutoring Nathan and they eventually became a couple which caused issues amongst Dan and Lucas for different reasons. There was also more drama when Lucas and Brooke (Sophia Bush) started dating. Brooke and Peyton were best friends and for several seasons there was a love triangle between the three of them. Barry Corbin also starred on the show as Coach Whitey Durham. He coached Dan and Keith back when they were in high school and was the coach for Lucas and Nathan.

The O.C. and One Tree Hill both had cast changes over the course of their runs. Since The O.C. lasted four seasons, there were not as many cast changes compared to One Tree Hill which went on substantially longer. The O.C. promoted Alan Dale who played Caleb Nichols, the father of Kirsten Cohen in season 2. By the end of season 2 Caleb was killed off. He had a heart attack. Alan Dale has a tendency to play characters who get killed off. His character died of a heart attack a few years later on Ugly Betty. The biggest casting change came after season 3 when Marissa Cooper was killed off. Some believe that is why season 4 wound up being the final season. Jimmy Cooper was reduced to a recurring role throughout the rest of the series after leaving within the first set of episodes of season 2. Season 4 promoted Autumn Reeser who played Taylor Townsend as a series regular. Willa Holland took over the role of Kaitlyn Cooper, the younger sister of Marissa in season 3. She got promoted to a series regular in season 4. Shailene Woodley played Kaitlin in the early years of the show before being sent off to boarding school.

One Tree Hill was fairly consistent during the high school years which were seasons 1-4. Lee Norris who played Marvin “Mouth” Macfadden was promoted to a series regular in season 3. Daneel Harris played new student Rachel Gatina in season 3. She was promoted as a main character in season 4 as was Antwon Tanner who played Antwon “Skills” Taylor. Season 3 killed off Keith Scott who was murdered by his brother Dan, who was also the mayor at the time. Keith was shot during a school shooting. Craif Sheffer appeared on the show after being killed off usually as a ghost haunting Dan. Season 5 jumped over the college years which brought major changes. All the adults were written off the show except for Dan. Karen, Deb, and Whitey went on to guest star. Rachel Gatina was written off as a main character as well. She would guest star on a few episodes of season 5 and recur in season 7. Season 6 ended with the exits of Lucas and Peyton. Whereas the O.C. lost Mischa Barton, One Tree Hill lost two of its leads. Season 7 added new characters who remained on the show till the end. Chad Michael Murray made one final appearance in the final season.

Between both shows, One Tree Hill probably was a little more over the top than The O.C. One Tree Hill had explosive finales as did The O.C. It seemed that One Tree Hill’s finales were over the top. In season 1 of One Tree Hill, Dan Scott had a heart attack, and his fate was left up in the air. It also revealed that Nathan and Haley got married. Season 2 ended with Nathan and Haley separated. Someone poisoned Dan at the car dealership and set it on fire. His fate was once again left in the balance. Season 3 ended with Dan learning who tried to kill him. Nathan and Haley renewed their wedding vows, and a drunk Rachel ran off with the limo and crashed it while in the car with Nathan’s Uncle Cooper (Michael Trucco). Nathan went to save the day leaving Haley devastated. The O.C.’s first season finale ended with Ryan leaving the Cohens to be with Theresa (Navi Rawat). Seth ran away from home. Season 2 got more explosive when Ryan had a fight with his brother Trey (Logan Marshall-Green). Marissa tried to stop them, and she wound up shooting Trey to save Ryan’s life. Season 3 ended with the gang graduating high school. Ryan was driving Marissa to the airport when Volchok (Cam Gigandget) crashed into them. Marissa died in Ryan’s arms.

The O.C. and One Tree Hill also had some notable guest stars. The O.C. had Chris Pratt and Chris Brown in the final season. This would have been after Everwood but before Parks and Recreation and Guardians of the Galaxy for Chris Pratt. Chris Brown was at the start of his music career when he did a stint on the show. The final season also saw Ashley Benson and Janel Parrish Long as classmates of Kaitlin. This was before both actors would go on to play Hannah Marrin and Mona Vanderwall respectively on Pretty Little Liars. A pre Vampire Diaries Paul Wesley guest starred in an early episode of the show.

One Tree Hill had rapper Kid Cudi and Fall Out boy on the show. There was even a story arc with Pete Wentz. Kevin Federline did a few episodes. Daphne Zuniga joined the show in season 5 as Brooke’s mother. Daphne Zuniga was known for starring in Melrose Place, another over the top soap opera. James Van Der Beek best known as Dawson Leery of Dawson’s Creek guest starred as a film director. It was a bit of a reference to the fact that Dawson Leery was an aspiring film director on Dawson’s Creek.

Both shows used a lot of music. One Tree Hill had a tendency to use a lot of indie type music. The playlists usually featured artists that not many people knew of. They did also feature current music such as Fall Out Boy and Gavin DeGraw. Adele’s song Rolling in the Deep was featured in an episode when that song was big. Gavin DeGraw’s song I Don’t Wanna Be was the theme song for One Tree Hill. One Tree Hill had club TRIC which was a hangout spot for the characters. They brought bands and artists to perform there, which is how they got a lot of music guest stars. Peyton was a lover of music and collected all kinds of records. She went on to work in the music industry for a while. Haley became a singer discovered by Chris Keller (Tyler Hilton) who was a pompous musician. Chris Keller was a major thorn in Nathan’s side. Chris Keller became a series regular in the final season. Eventually Haley and Petyon launched a record label together and discovered artists.

The O.C. featured plenty of music. Its theme song was California by Phantom Planet. California is most associated with The O.C. similar to the association of I Don’t Wanna Be for One Tree Hill. One major difference is that The O.C. kept its theme song for the whole run of the show. By season 5 of One Tree Hill after the high school years, the theme song was removed. It was reinstated in season 8 and was removed again in the final season. The O.C. also featured the song Running Up That Hill, a cover by Placebo. Kate Bush did the original song that came out in the 80s.

I only just recently finished watching The O.C. I watched One Tree Hill when it aired. I started One Tree Hill halfway through season 3. I bought the DVD sets and caught up on the episodes I missed. Both shows have lasting legacies. It would have been nice to see The O.C. go on a little longer but it makes sense why it didn’t. The show’s tone was a lot different in its final season after Marissa was killed off. One Tree Hill had multiple changes. The high school years were probably the show’s peak for a lot of fans. Once they did the five-year time jump, the show was different since the characters were adults and closer to the actors’ real age. Season 5 felt like a new show in a way. Season 6 morphed into a more dramatic and over the top show similar to earlier seasons. There was a psycho nanny and Dan Scott was facing life and death again. After Lucas and Peyton exited the series, the show changed again. Season 7 had new characters and had a lighter tone. Season 8 had a mix of light and darkness. The final season went a darker route. It would have been nice to see One Tree Hill make it to a season 10 but it had a nice lifespan and is one of the longest teen shows in television. Both shows did well for their respective networks. Both sets of casts went on to remain active. It is weird to think that it has already been twenty years since both shows first premiered. Time really does fly.