Marissa Dies, Fans Rejoice, and The O.C. Moves On

Thank goodness life gets better after high school.

Unfortunately, this rule does not apply to TV shows, where the quality tends to decrease post-graduation. Think about it-Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, 90210, even Boy Meets World changed for the worse when the protagonists grew up and moved out. Since the main characters of The O.C. are finally leaving the Harbor School behind, it makes sense that the show's fans are worried about season four. Is it possible for O.C. mastermind Josh Schwartz to get it right when so many others have gotten it so very, very wrong?

Well, he's certainly trying. In a phone conference with college journalists, Schwartz was confident about the upcoming season. He emphasized the new possibilities that come with moving the characters out of high school and promised a return to the classic O.C. style.

"I just feel like the heart and humor of the show are really back," Schwartz said. "It's exciting. You've never seen this version of the show before. I just think these characters are all off in really different directions."

He's definitely right about the last part. The O.C. has not resorted to the Boy Meets World approach to the college problem-viewers won't find Summer, Seth, and Ryan at the same school, spending ridiculous amounts of time relaxing in the student center. Instead, Schwartz has opted for something closer to the Dawson's Creek approach, in which all of the protagonists start off on different paths, only to reunite as the season progresses.

The season premiere takes place five months after queen bee Marissa's (played by Mischa Barton) sudden death. Summer (Rachel Bilson) has left Newport to attend Brown, Seth (Adam Brody) is spending the semester at home, working at a comic book store, and Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) has moved out of the Cohens' house and is earning money cage-fighting (yes, seriously) and bartending. Needless to say, Ryan is still smoldering over the death of Marissa, which is important since nobody smolders quite like he does. But it's not hard to convince the audience that Seth is nerdy and Ryan is brooding-we've known that since the first episode. Schwartz's challenge for the new season is to make the newest aspects of the show, especially Summer's transition to college, feel authentic.

"We certainly want it to feel true to the college experience," Schwartz said. "I mean, I don't know that you'll see every exam that she takes. But I definitely think the idea that college is a place that you go to reinvent yourself-and that you go there and nobody knows who you are, nobody knows your past necessarily, and that it's a real opportunity for growth-is something we're really exploring."

In her short time at Brown, Summer has indeed reinvented herself-she's become the nature-loving protege of her new friend Che (Chris Pratt), whom Schwartz described as Summer's "environmentalist Svengali." She is eager to campaign for animal rights causes and global warming awareness, a far cry from her former Valley Girl self. Since Seth has yet to go to college, he grows jealous as Summer starts to change and bond with these friends who are so unlike anyone in Orange County.

"It's been really fun to write the stuff at Brown with Summer ... and to see Seth have to interact with that world," Schwartz said of the new dynamic. "And I think for Ryan to be out on his own ... I've really enjoyed, [and] I know the actors have really enjoyed, being able to allow these characters to grow up."

As much as Schwartz may enjoy writing the new and improved O.C., though, his efforts won't matter if no one is watching-a serious concern, considering The O.C.'s time slot. Not only will The O.C. face off against the mega-hit C.S.I., it has a new competitor this year: Grey's Anatomy, which has become the number one show on television. Since the soapy plot lines of both Grey's and The O.C. cater to similar groups, the ratings-challenged O.C. will probably lose even more viewers to Grey's.

Schwartz is well aware that many of the same TVs that used to be tuned to The O.C. on Thursdays are most likely tuned to Grey's. "I think everybody is realistic about the show in terms of the time slot that we're in, but everybody's kind of approached it with renewed energy and having a lot of fun ... That stuff's out of our hands, and we're just trying to have a great season and focus on every episode," he said.

Despite the competition from Dr. McDreamy and company, Schwartz hopes that the major changes on the show-both behind the scenes and on screen-will woo back viewers who used to love The O.C.

"I really wanted to come back to the show full time and really focused on doing just that, on reinventing the show. Having had a few years on the air and feeling like it was time to make some changes, and kind of reboot the show," he said. "And obviously with the death of Marissa Cooper at the end of last season, the show is kind of hurtling in a whole new kind of unprecedented direction."

And no matter how successful Schwartz is-or isn't-at overcoming the college problem, if the prospect of a Marissa Cooper-less season of The O.C. can't win back some former fans, nothing will.