Trivia
- Though being part of the “regular” cast, neither Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan) or Luke Ward (Chris Carmack) are in every episode, whereas Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson), who was billed as a guest star for the first half of season one has been in every episode.
- Due to labor union salary rules about filming outside of Los Angeles County, the show is actually filmed at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach (40 miles away from the actual Newport Beach) to reduce filming costs.
- The Cohen’s pool is only four feet deep, so the cast do the pool scenes on their knees.
- Was originally intended to be called “Orange County”, but a movie of the same name had recently come out (Orange County (2002)).
- Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) says in an episode “I’m not reading that, that’s like ‘The Ring’. I don’t wanna die.” Adam Brody appears in The Ring (2002).
- Adam Brody originally auditioned for the part of Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie).
- The entire cast (including newcomer Michael Cassidy, creator Josh Schwartz, and producer McG) was given the key to the city of Newport Beach, California by Mayor Tod Ridgeway on October 28, 2004 at The Historic Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach.
- In an early draft of the series, Ryan Atwood was going to be Sandy Cohen’s illegitimate child.
- Seth’s middle name is Ezekiel.
- Adam Brody (Seth Cohen) doesn’t like boats, so when he sails away in “The O.C.: The Ties That Bind (#1.27)” (2004) he is not in the boat at all. It is a 40-year-old stunt double in a wig that is actually sailing the boat.
- Chad Michael Murray was offered a role in the show, but he turned it down when he had the opportunity to play Lucas in “One Tree Hill” (2003).
- Josh Schwartz, the creator of “The O.C.” (2003), who went to school in Providence, RI at the Wheeler School often includes references to his former teachers and friends, including on episode in which he refers to “Schmidt’s bio”, Schmidt having been his biology teacher. Renee Wheeler is also named after the Wheeler school.
- Peter Gallagher and Mischa Barton were the first to actors to be signed to the show. The part that the producers had the most problems casting was Ryan, so the last actor to sign was ‘Benjamin McKenzie’ who got cast in the last minute.
- In the first couple of episodes, the Cohens have a maid and the Coopers have a dog. Somehow the maid and dog disappeared without a trace during the first season.
- Melinda Clarke and Rachel Bilson were only meant to be guest stars, but their characters became so integral to the show’s popularity that they finally got signed as regulars and appeared in the opening credits from season 2 and on.
- When Adam Brody tested for the role of Seth Cohen, he decided to improvise everything. That didn’t sit well with writer Josh Schwartz who told the producers afterwards that he never wanted “to see that kid ever again”. A month later, when they still had not found the right Seth, the producers called Brody back for another test. Despite Schwartz not liking the fact that Brody would not stick to the writing, he had to admit that there was something about him. Schwartz later confessed that Brody reminds him of himself in many ways – which in the end was perfect for the role of Seth, since it is based on he writer himself.
- The character Kaitlin Cooper left the show after the first season to go away on boarding school. When she returns almost 18 months later in season three, Ryan Atwood says that he hasn’t seen her since she was eleven. In the next episode the characters talk about Kaitlin leaving for boarding school when she was 12. A couple of episodes later Kaitlin celebrates her 15th birthday. 18 months after leaving for boarding school.
- When Ben McKenzie was cast as Ryan, the producers were amazed that he looked so much like a young ‘Russell Crowe (I)’. Later in the show, Ryan takes his girlfriend Marissa to the theaters, and upon leaving she says that she didn’t enjoy the film because “‘Russell Crowe (I)’ never did it for me”.
- In one scene the characters talk about Seth (played by Adam Brody) vomiting “like that girl from ‘The Sixth Sense’”. A joke, since Mischa Barton played that very girl in the film The Sixth Sense (1999).
- When Tate Donovan signed on to play Jimmy Cooper in the pilot, he was so afraid that the show would never get picked up because he had been in so many pilots to shows that never materialized, that he thought that he was possibly jinxing them. He was therefore relieved when the show became a huge international success.
- When they were casting for the role of Marissa Cooper, writer Josh Schwartz had written to the producers that Marissa was “the most beautiful girl you had ever seen”. They later said that they chose Mischa Barton because of her awkward beauty (meant in a good way), and as Barton herself later stated: “I was up against girls who looked liked your usual Californian beach blondes. Guess they decided to go against that.”
- In Season 3, every time someone bangs on the door of Julie’s trailer she always assumes it is her neighbor Gus.
- Kelly Rowan is only 14 years older than Adam Brody, who plays her son.
- Melinda Clarke Julie Cooper-Nichol, actually read for the part of the perfect mother, Kirsten Cohen. In The Pilot, there just wasn’t enough material for her to read as Julie, so she was brought in to read for the Kirsten part. The role of Kirsten eventually went to Canadian actress Kelly Rowan.
- The character name Taylor Townsend is eerily similar to the neighboring towns mention in Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights. One is Taylor, another is Townsend.
- Kaitlin was originally played by Shailene Woodley in Season One. When Kaitlin returns in season three, Willa Holland had taken over the role.
- Caleb’s wife and Kirsten and Hailey’s mother’s name was Rose Nichol. She, like Kirsten, suffered from alcoholism.
- Every episode title begins with “The”.
- Ryan and Seth only hug twice throughout the shows four season run. The first was in the Pilot and the second was in the series finale.
- Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, ‘Benjamin McKenzie’, ‘Adam Brody’ and Rachel Bilson are the only five actors to appear in all 92 episodes of the series.
- Seth Cohen is watching TV and Ryan Atwood asks what he is watching. Seth replies with, “Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley” which is the reality version of the fake TV show, The Valley. There is a reality version of The O.C. called, “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” (2004).
- The server in the Pilot and The Best Christmakkuh Ever is also the person who owns the Berkley house in the fourth season.