‘The O.C.’ Cast and Creators Are Spilling All the Secrets for the Show’s 21st Birthday
Wanna feel old? The O.C. is now officially old enough to drink—legally, that is. And creator Josh Schwartz, executive producer Stephanie Savage, and star Rachel Bilson are celebrating the teen soap’s 21st birthday in classic Newport style—with a tequila party! (Season 1 Kristen Cohen would be so proud.)
The trio reunited on July 31 in Los Angeles, where they enjoyed a Bait Shop–themed Phantom Planet performance, to celebrate their new campaign with 21SEEDS, an infused tequila brand that’s all about “Serving Summer,” both literally and figuratively. The campaign, starring Rachel and produced by Schwartz and Savage, is a true homage to the original show, with the actor re-creating iconic moments from the show and even getting back into Summer mode with her character’s signature, “ew”—which Rachel tells Cosmo lives “naturally inside me at all times.” She even got to put her stamp on Chris Carmack’s iconic, “Welcome to the O.C., bitch!”
“It was really funny—the fact that it was so natural and that much fun even though it wasn’t my line,” Rachel says of claiming the line as her own. “I really felt like I was Chris Carmack, and I’ve always wanted to be, so that moment was very fulfilling. That’s the most iconic line of the show, so to be able to say it was an honor.”
In celebration of the new campaign, Bilson, Schwartz and Savage sat down with Cosmopolitan to talk about what it’s like to be going right back where they started from and what our favorite characters would be up to 21 years later.
I’m sure you’ve been asked many times over the last 15 years when or if you would ever return to The O.C. What made this campaign with 21SEEDS the right time to return?
Schwartz: When we learned that 21SEEDS’ tagline that they were working on was “21SEEDS serves summer,” we were like, “Wait a minute, we know a Summer who probably really likes infused tequila.
Savage:Yes, she would love a marg. It just felt like the perfect opportunity to work with Rachel again and to bring back the character and play off the show.
Roberts: I always say anything that Josh and Stephanie ask me to do, I’m there. It’s the 21st anniversary of The O.C. and they approached me with 21SEEDS and it just felt like the perfect timing. I love Summer, so why not? I was really happy to join.
If Summer, Marissa, Seth and Ryan were cocktails, what cocktails would they be?
Schwartz: Marissa would be a cosmo—she was a cosmo girl. Summer would definitely be a spicy marg because she’s a spicy one. Seth would have a lot of opinions about wine. He would just be a dry white or a full bodied red. And Ryan, I feel like he’s a bourbon guy.
That makes sense. He’s probably not into all the fancy cocktails.
Schwartz: No, definitely not. But that’s why Summer felt like the perfect character for this.
Bilson: Obviously, Summer would be a spicy marg with 21SEEDS Cucumber Jalape?o Blanco Tequila because she’s really spicy and also, she would really like a margarita.
This campaign uses the show’s opening credits song, “California” by Phantom Planet. And music was such a huge part of the series. What would be on an O.C. soundtrack today?
Bilson: I always say that now Summer’s grown up and she’s a total Swiftie. Let’s be honest, she has her finger on the pulse! But Josh probably knows the—I don’t want to say “cooler” because Taylor Swift is cool, but you know what I mean.
Schwartz: Well, now I’m just drawing a complete blank, but I will say this: I’m very proud of the fact that so many people still say that they still listen to their O.C. soundtracks or that they’re still going to see the bands they discovered on The O.C. today. I went to the Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service 20 year anniversary concert last year and saw some people wearing “Free Marissa” T-shirts. Music continues to be a great source of community and a great legacy for the show.
Rachel, what do you think is Summer’s favorite Swift song?
Bilson: “Ready for It” just because I feel like that’s so Summer. She’s just ready for it.
And yours?
Bilson: “Delicate.” Anytime “Delicate” comes on—my daughter knows this—I roll down the windows and we turn it up and sing. It’s a thing.
The O.C. was also politically inclined, especially with Sandy Cohen being a Berkeley liberal in the conservative Orange County. Now that Kamala Harris, a Berkeley native, is the Democratic nominee for president, do we think Sandy is out there knocking on doors for Harris?
Schwartz: Sandy is definitely politically active, definitely still living in Berkeley, and I think Sandy is a proud Jew, and Kamala having a Jewish husband would definitely get him excited. Living in Orange County, he was definitely a bit of a political outlier and the show. It was definitely very tied to that 2004 era of politics.
Savage: But there was also a lot of messaging on the show about how everybody could get along.
Schwartz: Yeah, just after a few fist fights—
Savage: And then focus on what you have in common.
Summer ended the show as a bit of a political activist—do you think she’d still be involved in politics today?
Bilson: Oh, yeah, especially today. She’d be all about it. She is all over Orange County trying to get people out to vote. She just wants to do good in the world.
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