'The O.C.': Rachel Bilson on dating Adam Brody, the storyline she and Melinda Clarke would kill

California – and everywhere podcasts are available – here we come.

Two co-stars of Fox's teen soap "The O.C.," Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke, are reuniting as hosts of a rewatch podcast, "Welcome to the OC, Bitches!" (now streaming), and it feels like Chrismukkah morning!

The four-season series debuted in 2003, centered on the drama-drenched lives of residents of a wealthy community.

The show reignited the reliable genre and kicked off a fascination with the SoCal county, where MTV's high-school reality drama "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" (2004) and Bravo's inaugural "Real Housewives" franchise (2006) followed.

In the series pilot, Bronx, NewYork-born public defender Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher) takes in Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), a kid with potential staring down a future of crime, having been born on the wrong side of the tracks. Ryan forms a deep bromance with Seth (Adam Brody), the nerdy son of Sandy and well-to-do Kirsten Cohen (Kelly Rowan), who is obsessed with Bilson's Summer Roberts.

The Cohens' neighbors include Kirsten's ex, Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan), a scheming stock broker/money manager, and his wife, shallow vixen Julie, played by Clarke. Their troubled daughter Marissa (Mischa Barton) becomes the object of Ryan's affection.

The series, created by Josh Schwartz, drew viewers: At its height, "The O.C." pulled in 12.7 million same-day viewers, according to Nielsen, several times that of Schwartz and "O.C." executive producer Stephanie Savage's next series, CW's "Gossip Girl" (2007-2012), which peaked at 3.7 million. (XOXO!)

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With their new weekly podcast, Bilson, 39, feels the pressure to satisfy fans. "I hope that we're not boring," she says in an interview. "I don't think we are, and we are having so much fun."

The "Hart of Dixie" star says the podcast features new behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with the cast and crew, including Gallagher and Donovan. Ahead of its premiere, USA TODAY chatted with the hosts, and just like the backside of then-popular velour tracksuit pants, the convo got juicy.

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The sting of Marissa's death

If they had their way, Clarke and Bilson would erase Marissa's fatal car accident from the Season 3 finale. "I would keep Marissa alive to see what happens," Bilson says.

Clarke, 52, agrees: "Killing characters is a huge thing. I'm just a little softie; I don't want anybody to die."

Barton wanted to pursue other projects, she claimed to The New York Times in 2019. “I felt like things were really heavily reliant upon me, and I was getting no time to do any of the other offers that were out there,” she said.

When Bilson is reminded of Ryan carrying a dying Marissa from the wreckage she gets the chills. "I'm really dreading watching that," she says. "For real."

Bilson's real-life romance with Adam Brody

Just like their characters, Summer and Seth, Bilson and Brody dated during filming but split before their characters tied the knot. (Brody has been married to "Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester since 2014.) Bilson says the two didn't hesitate about mixing their personal and professional lives.

"We were so young; I don't think we really thought about it much," she says. "I know people always say 'Don't date your co-star,' but in that sense, it was nice to go on this ride with someone experiencing it at the same time."

Bilson and Brody shared a memorable kiss in a Season 2 episode, "The Rainy Day Women," which she looks forward to revisiting for the podcast. During a downpour, Summer kisses Seth, who is dangling upside down after falling off the roof wearing a Spider-Man mask, an homage to the wet kiss between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in the 2002 movie.

Bilson and Brody's smooch was more choreographed and technical than tender. "It was super awkward and complicated (with) water just drowning Brody's nose," she remembers. "The placement of an upside-down kiss is not as romantic as it may appear."

Chris Pratt, Olivia Wilde and Shailene Woodley as guest stars

Some of today's brightest stars passed through "The O.C." on their way to making it big. Chris Pratt played Che, Summer's friend from Brown University. Olivia Wilde's Alex had romances with Marissa and Seth, and Shailene Woodley played Marissa's younger sister Kaitlin for a few episodes in the show's first season.

Bilson praises Pratt as "one of the funniest people I've ever come across. It was so much fun working with him, and he was always making me laugh."

Clarke recalls Wilde's "very strong presence" and Woodley's intelligence. "Shailene was super whipsmart," she says. "I wish we had a little bit more of her."

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Clarke retires her low-rise jeans: 'The crack is showing'

Clarke's "O.C." wardrobe collection – jeans and dresses – perplexes her co-star.

"I don't understand that because I have nothing" from the series, Bilson says. "I'm like, 'How did I wind up with nothing?'" In fact, to acquire Summer's toy pony, Princess Sparkle, she turned to Etsy. "You even had to buy the show on Amazon to watch it," revealed Clarke. "I did! I do!" admitted Bilson. "I’m buying it on Amazon." (All four seasons are now streaming on HBO Max.)

But as Clarke knows, mementos aren't all they're cracked up to be. While high-waisted jeans are celebrated now, when "The O.C." ruled, hip-bone baring denim was in.

"I actually do have some jeans that are way too low-cut," says Clarke. "I tried them on the other day, and I thought 'What? No. The crack is showing.'"

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The possibility of a reboot or reunion

Clarke says reunions and reboots are "all anyone's ever talking about," and Bilson concurs.

"There's definitely a version where all these babies happened at the end, and they would be in high school now, which is terrifying to think it's been that long," she says. "Personally, if there were to be one – and I always say this, that whatever Josh and Stephanie want to do I would do with them with my eyes closed, no question. (HBO Max is already readying a "Gossip Girl" remake, with a new cast.)

The assembly she's most hopeful for is a personal one. "I think we just need a reunion of all of us getting together and catching up," says Bilson. "That's what I'm looking forward to the most."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rachel Bilson, 'The O.C.'s Melinda Clarke on teen soap's big moments