Eighteen years ago, The OC debuted and became our immediate TV obsession. The dramatic lives of California’s hopelessly rich elite became our must-watch, and gave us two style obsessions in Mischa Barton and Rachel Bilson. The show only lasted four seasons, its stars heading off to new climes in 2007. Since then, they’ve kept us entertained in new, less sunny ways.
So, in celebration of the show's arrival on All4, join us for a rendition of ‘California, here we come…’ and catch up with what the cast have been doing since waving goodbye to Orange County.
Mischa Barton
Mischa left The OC early during season 3, when Marissa was killed off. Honestly, we’re still upset about it. She followed things up with performances in films like You and I and Don’t Fade Away, with recent credits including Deserted and The Basement. Mischa also appeared in the music video for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds song Everybody’s On The Run and had her own handbag boutique in London.
Most recently, she appeared in the reboot of The Hills, with her arc seeing her return to the world of auditions and castings, but she announced that she would not return for a second season.
Rachel Bilson
Rachel broke our hearts when she and Adam Brody, who played Seth, broke up in real life. But she has also kept us riveted with her work. She starred in Jumper alongside Hayden Christensen – who she would later marry and divorce – as well as medical comedy Hart of Dixie. Since then, she has popped up in episodes of Drunk History, had a role in Take Two, had a daughter with Hayden and, most recently, was romantically linked with SNL star Bill Hader.
Adam Brody
After his relationship with Rachel ended, Adam found his way into another teen drama by falling for Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl. In 2015, they welcomed daughter Arlo. Adam counts Lovelace, Mr & Mrs Smith and Scream 4 among his film credits, but most recently he has been seen in horror flick Ready or Not and superhero film Shazam.
Ben McKenzie
Ben played Ryan, The OC’s brooding outsider with a love for white vests and punch-ups. He has had the greatest success of the core four when it comes to TV: he starred in Gotham for five years, even directing and writing some episodes. In 2019, he appeared in The Report, and 2020 saw him tread the boards on Broadway in a play called Grand Horizons. He is married to actress Morena Baccarin, and lives with her and their daughter in New York.
Peter Gallagher
Peter was The OC’s resident good dad. We loved his eyebrows and his bagel guillotine. We were actually already big fans, thanks to his performance in films like American Beauty and While You Were Sleeping, but we’ve kept an eye on him since through his recent appearances in Grace and Frankie and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. He is married to Paula Harwood and they have two kids – Kathryn and James. Kathryn is also an actress. And he still has magnificent eyebrows.
Kelly Rowan
Oh Kirsten. What a lovable mess. Kelly, a former model with credits in The Gate, Hook and Assassins, depicted Seth’s mum in every episode of the show, even though she’s only fourteen years older than actor Adam Brody.
Kelly’s most significant role since then was in TV series Perception, appearing in 39 episodes. She has a twelve-year-old daughter.
Melinda Clarke
Julie Cooper was The OC’s most devious, glamorous and irresistible mavens, and a participant in the show’s most soap opera elements. She reunited with Ben McKenzie in a few episodes of Gotham, popped up in The Vampire Diaries, played Tracey in the Dallas revival and was in one episode of a programme called Swedish Dicks that we are not going to Google.
Tate Donovan
Well, we obviously knew all about Tate Donovan long before he became the little bit useless Jimmy Cooper, thanks to his role as Joshua in Friends and a turn as the voice of Disney’s Hercules.
Since he sailed away from Orange County, he’s starred alongside Glenn Close in Damages, Elton John biopic Rocketman, Oscar-winning film Argo and TV series MacGyver.
Samaire Armstrong
Samaire only appeared in fifteen episodes of The OC – as Summer’s love rival Anna – but she made an impression. Arguably – and we’ll say this quietly – she and Seth really were more compatible.
Anyway, in recent years Samaire has appeared in TV movie Who Stole My Daughter – talk about a title that grabs you – and The Office Mix-Up, and is part of a collaborative film partnership. She keeps her fans up to date on her life via her Instagram.
Chris Carmack
Finally, to Luke (look, we couldn’t look at every single OC actor ever, could we?). Luke was the jock we all loved to hate until we warmed to his charms and loved to love him instead. He’s done pretty well for himself, with a five-year stint in TV hit Nashville and two years on Grey’s Anatomy. Diagnosis: job well done. He and his wife, Erin Slaver, have a three-year-old daughter.
READ MORE: The A-List Actors Who Started Out On The OC