Magazines, News and Interviews #26

[vinni2]

I'm not sure if these have been posted.

Olivia Wilde GQ and Self Magazine scans.

http://theocblogger.blogspot.com/200...-magazine.html


The Last Kiss and Oh in Ohio make comingsoon.net's list of Terrible 25 of 2006.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=18187


Alan Dale casting rumor.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/ne...em.cgi?id=9271

There's a note on Ain't It Cool News that claims "Australian actor Alan Dale (known best for his roles on '24,' 'West Wing' and as the rich grandfather in 'The OC') is up for a role in 'THE DARK KNIGHT.' They don't know, however, which role Dale will be playing."

[iwantalexback]

The first picture is pretty hot.

[vinni2]

http://publications.mediapost.com/in...&art_aid=52986

DVRs Impact Viewership, Increase Live-Plus Ratings
by David Goetzl

Media buyers take note: Once is not enough. Just ask DVR owners. Season rankings for the most-watched shows with DVRs give rise to several conclusions: Upscale shows and programs in competitive time slots are heavily recorded, while high-profile sports events are almost always viewed live.

NBC's "The Office"--where a recent episode saw 23% of 18- to-49-year-old viewers watch with a DVR in the seven days after broadcast--is the show most heavily viewed with a DVR by this demo. Over the first three months of the season, an average 16% of these viewers watched "Office" episodes via DVRs in the week after broadcast.

The percentage represents the increase between the "live" rating and "live plus seven" rating. "Live plus seven" adds viewership via DVRs in the seven days after broadcast to the number of people that watched in real-time.

Fox's "The OC" is ranked second, with a 15% average of 18- to-49-year-old viewers watching with a DVR in the seven days after broadcast, while NBC's "Studio 60" and ABC's "Lost" are also in the top five with 14% averages.

At the bottom of the list is NBC's "Sunday Night Football," where a mere 1% average of 18- to-49-year-olds recorded it and watched it over the next week. Viewers eager to watch sports live have been augmented by ABC's "Saturday Night Football" scraping the bottom, with a 1.2% average DVR viewership.

Another wrinkle: The season's top-rated 18-to-49 show--ABC's "Desperate Housewives"--is ranked 34th in average percentage of viewers watching with DVRs (9%), suggesting that viewers hunger to watch it "live"--it's appointment television. The show also likely benefited from "Sunday Night Football" ending in the Pacific Time Zone before "Housewives" aired, weakening its head-to-head competition considerably and driving down DVR recording.

And both nights of the highly rated "Dancing with the Stars" posted very little DVR viewing (both in the 4% range) on average--suggesting that as with sports, viewers didn't want to wait for the results. (The show also airs live on the East Coast.) ABC's "Dancing" also has one of the highest median ages on television--53.1--and older viewers are not believed to be as DVR-savvy or pervasive as younger ones.

Among the possible reasons for "The Office" generating the highest DVR viewership are its upscale profile and competitive time slot against ABC's "Ugly Betty" and CBS' "Survivor," suggesting that viewers are watching one show live and recording another.

Similarly, "The OC" runs in the Thursday 9 p.m. power hour, where it competes against "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI." "The OC" also skews younger (median age is 32.3--12th youngest on TV by one measure). Its viewers probably have a higher percentage of DVRs than the public at-large. It also is a low-rated show, where even small DVR-aided ratings increases on average lead to a significant "live plus seven" boost.

"Studio 60's" higher level of DVR consumption is probably attributable to two factors: A high percentage of upscale viewers and time-period competition from big-time hit CBS' "CSI: Miami," which has only 7% "live plus seven" average increases. "Lost" falls into the same boat--an upscale skew and a time-period battle with CBS' "Criminal Minds," which has an 8% average DVR increase.

Also, both "Studio 60" and "Lost" are serials, suggesting that viewers would record them to avoid missing an episode and falling behind on developing story lines.

Another theory as to why some shows generate heavy DVR-aided viewing is their slots in the 8 p.m. hour (7 p.m. in the Central and Mountain Time Zones). In today's increasingly busy world, some viewers have trouble sitting down for prime-time viewing that early in the evening. That point was buttressed by NBC's recent announcement that it is exploring lower-cost programming in the prime-time entry hour.

Shows ranked in the top-10 most-watched with DVRs that air in the 8 p.m. hour include "The Office," Fox's "Prison Break" (13% "live plus seven" increase), NBC's "My Name is Earl" (13%) and Fox's "Bones" (12%).

Not surprisingly, CW shows with young-skewing audiences also had high percentages of DVR viewing: "One Tree Hill," "Gilmore Girls," and "Supernatural" (all 10%). "One Tree Hill" has the youngest median age on broadcast TV by one measure: 26.4.


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http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/26009/#


January 8, 2007 issue of New York Magazine

Why Did Viewers OD on ‘The O.C.’ ?
By Emma Rosenblum

Was it only three years ago that The O.C. premiered and became an instant phenomenon? The country went mad for the sunny teen soap: It was like 90210—but funny! And self-aware! The show launched a catchphrase (“Welcome to the O.C., bitch!”), a holiday (Christmukkah), and a barrage of imitators (The Real Housewives of Orange County and MTV’s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County). But now, The O.C. is in real danger of cancellation: In November, its fourth season debuted to its lowest ratings ever—a mere 3.38 million fans, and the numbers haven’t gotten better since.

To understand what went so wrong with the show, we should revisit what it once got so right. For starters, The O.C. had great timing; in 2003, there was a gaping hole in the market for smart teen dramas, as Dawson’s Creek had just gone off the air. The O.C. improved on Dawson’s formula of love-triangle angst set to an indie-band soundtrack, then added a smart mix of sarcasm and pop-culture knowingness that didn’t sound like adults writing for teens. (It helped that the show’s creator, Josh Schwartz, was a mere 26.) Not only was The O.C. the first teen drama that didn’t take itself too seriously, it was the first one that understood its audience had grown up watching soapy teen dramas.

There are concrete reasons for the show’s quick decline: Schwartz became distracted by other projects, and lead-character Marissa (Mischa Barton) was killed off last year. But in hindsight, these seem like symptoms, not the disease. The O.C.’s main problem—what took the show from phenomenon to failure—was that it became too cool too fast. Its hipster audience, initially seduced by the show’s self-referential wittiness, was repelled by its mainstream success. And mainstream fans, drawn in by the soap opera, were turned off by increasingly absurdist plot twists. Ironically, the super-hip O.C. failed where Aaron Spelling’s less-intelligent shows succeeded—it was too ironic to be a soap, but too soapy to be a parody. Take this season’s dismal debut: a clunky, dark hour in which hunky Ryan brooded, fought, and mourned the death of Marissa. He should have mourned instead the loss of the show’s last, best quality—an ability to make fun of itself. More recently, Ryan fell into an It’s a Wonderful Life–like coma, dreaming that his character had never arrived in the O.C. If only such a do-over were possible.

Write to the editor:
letters@nymag.com

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Just my comment:
The article is dated January 8, but aside from the Chrismukkah reference, it looks like most of the information for the article was gathered around November-early December of last year. But it only saw print now.

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Related article on DVR viewing:

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/search/a..._id=1003522783

Time-Shifted Viewing Figures Offer Dramatic Reality Check

DECEMBER 18, 2006 -

By Jim Edwards

NEW YORK -- Television product placement's growth has mirrored that of ad-skipping digital video recorders. Marketers responded by focusing on reality shows with their big audiences and flexible formats.

But new numbers from Nielsen Product Placement indicate that if marketers want to reach audiences watching in time-shifted mode on DVRs like TiVo, they're placing their brands in the wrong shows.

That's because people who watch on DVR favor scripted shows like Fox's The O.C. and House, NBC's The Office, Studio 60 and 30 Rock, and ABC's Lost.

Some numbers: In the third quarter of 2006, the show with most brands in it was CBS' Rock Star Supernova, with 1,609 prop-shots. But the show with the largest portion of DVR viewers in the fall season was The O.C., with 2.9 million viewers in total, 14.5% of whom are watching later on DVR.

The same thing is true for audience size. CBS' CSI got 19.1 million viewers this fall, according to Nielsen, making it the most-watched show by all viewers.

CSI is a scripted drama, so perhaps you're thinking it was popular with DVR users? Wrong. It isn't even in the Top 10 for those watching on DVRs. In fact, CSI is only the 24th most popular show among those watching on DVRs.

And it isn't in the Top 10 for placements either (unless you count the entire show as an infomercial for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority).

The difference in viewing habits is almost certainly explained by the fact that reality shows, like sports, are only relevant at the time they're being played. After the fact, who cares who got voted off the island?

But hook a viewer into the saga of a bunch of misfits held captive on a creepy desert island and they'll make appointments—if not at the convenience of the network—to watch it later in the week.

While the numbers don't indicate that reality shows are losing their audiences, they do indicate that as viewers increasingly transition to watching shows downloaded at their convenience, reality shows—and those whose brands are integrated into them—are likely to lose out.

And it's not just a question of whether anyone is actually watching. "It's also a problem when you look at the demographics you're trying to reach," said Johan Liedgren, the head of branded entertainment at Digital Kitchen in Seattle.

Fox's "24 on DVR will reach a different viewer than the one that watched it on real-time television," he said.

There's also a looming problem for those on the production side. As Liedgren pointed out, if you watch 24 on a tiny iPod screen and a villain gets shot, you can find yourself staring at a stick figure inexplicably falling over.

"I'd like to see shows shot two ways, or some scenes shot two ways," one for each medium, he said. That would create production headaches. Aaron Lenzini, vp at the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, Calif., noted that "scripted TV has [already] become a battleground" because the various interests of the writers, producers, networks, directors and talent all have to be taken into account before a brand can appear. "It's not like in reality where any brand or any product will do," said Lenzini, who represents General Motors.

And there are consequences for the way products appear, also. Already brands like Cold Stone Creamery are increasing their logo sizes so they will show up on regular TV screens ( (Brandweek, 'The Tracker,' Nov. 6). How much bigger will they have to be to appear on a mobile phone interface?

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[vinni2]

http://x17online.com/celebrities/rac...y.php#comments

X17online.com

X17 Exclusive. Rachel ends relationship, ends year with family

Our photogs spotted Rachel Bilson packing up and moving out of the place she shares with Adam Brody last week, in the final days of 2006....

(more of the article and photos in the link.)

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Hollywood Reporter

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...6afd48e2d4918e

NBC welcomes cops, spies, bionic woman
By Nellie Andreeva

Jan 3, 2007

The pilot pickup season began in earnest Tuesday, with NBC greenlighting three one-hour pilots, a cop show from "Law & Order" veteran Michael Chernuchin and "Rescue Me" creators Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, a spy dramedy from "The O.C." creator Josh Schwartz and a new take on "The Bionic Woman."

..."Chuck," written by Schwartz and Chris Fedak, is described as a high-concept action dramedy about spies and twentysomethings in the vein of "Grosse Pointe Blank."

Warner Bros. TV is producing the pilot with Schwartz executive producing and Fedak co-executive producing.

Schwartz, whose "O.C." is in its fourth season, has been busy this development season. In addition to "Chuck," which originally was picked by the network with a put pilot commitment, he wrote and is executive producing "The Gossip Girl," which is expected to be picked up to pilot by the CW.


More on Josh Schwartz's new project.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1

NBC pilots 3 dramas
Net greenlights 'Pit,' 'Chuck,' 'Bionic'
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Peacock execs were still in a holiday mood on Tuesday, handing out nicely wrapped drama pilot orders to Denis Leary, David Eick and Josh Schwartz.
The trio's pilots -- "Fort Pit," "Chuck" and "Bionic Woman" -- helped kick off what will likely be a flurry of greenlights at all five broadcast nets over the next few weeks.

...Meanwhile, "Chuck," an action comedy about twentysomething spies, is written by Schwartz and Chris Fedak. Warner Bros. TV is producing.

Schwartz ("The OC") will exec produce "Chuck," while Fedak is on board as a co-exec producer. Project is said to be in the vein of the quirky late '90s feature "Grosse Pointe Blank," which starred John Cusack as an assassin-for-hire with a sense of humor.

"Chuck" was originally a put pilot with penalty; Tuesday's order officially means the project will be shot.

[vinni2]

OC TO END FEB. 22.

Official Press Release from Fox.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.a...=20070103fox02

THE SUN SETS ON THE O.C. WHEN THE SERIES FINALE AIRS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, ON FOX

The sun will set for the last time on THE O.C. when the series ends its four-season run Thursday, Feb. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The countdown has begun, with all-original episodes airing from Thursday, Jan. 4 through the last episode on Feb. 22.

THE O.C. stars Peter Gallagher (Sandy Cohen), Kelly Rowan (Kirsten Cohen), Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan Atwood), Adam Brody (Seth Cohen), Melinda Clarke (Julie Cooper), Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts), Autumn Reeser (Taylor Townsend) and Willa Holland (Autumn Reeser).

Set in Orange County, California, THE O.C. premiered in August 2003. It follows a group of friends and families whose lives were changed by the arrival of an outsider Ryan Atwood to their ocean-side community of Newport Beach.

THE O.C. revived the teen drama genre while including humorous and heartfelt adult storylines. Shortly after its summer premiere, THE O.C. was a pop culture phenomenon its actors are household names and its indie music (and subsequent six soundtracks) and hip California wardrobe are sought-after in stores. The shows Newport Beach locale also has become a popular tourist attraction as fans visit the real locations featured in their favorite episodes.

"THE O.C. Season Four finale will also be the series finale. This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close, said Josh Schwartz, creator and executive producer of THE O.C. Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top. It has been an amazing experience and a great run. For a certain audience, at a certain time, THE O.C. has meant something. For that we are grateful."

From Wonderland Sound and Vision and College Hill Pictures and in association with Warner Bros. Television Production, THE O.C. is executive-produced by Josh Schwartz, Bob DeLaurentis, Stephanie Savage and McG. Ian Toynton and John Stevens are co-executive producers.

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...8eff856db87283

Hollywood Reporter

Sun to set on Fox's 'O.C.' in Feb.
By Kimberly Nordyke

Jan 4, 2007

Fox has pulled the plug on "The O.C."

The network said Wednesday that the series will end its four-season run next month. New episodes will air in the show's 9-10 p.m. slot every Thursday through the series finale Feb. 22.

Creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz said the show has had a "great run."

"This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," he added. "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top."

"The O.C." got off to a promising start when it debuted in August 2003, with a strong first season and lots of buzz. But at the start of Season 2, Fox moved the show to Thursday nights, where it faced an uphill battle and never recovered. Before this season began, Fox revealed that it was cutting back on the number of episodes it was ordering.

The show, which follows a group of friends and families whose lives were changed by the arrival of an outsider (Benjamin McKenzie) to their ocean-side community of Newport Beach, recently saw some cast changes, with Mischa Barton departing at the end of last season when her character died and Autumn Reeser and Willa Holland coming on board as regulars. The other original cast members who are still on the show include Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Adam Brody, Melinda Clarke and Rachel Bilson.

During its four seasons on the air, "The O.C." also generated buzz around the indie music featured in its episodes and spawned six soundtracks.

"The O.C.," from Wonderland Sound and Vision and College Hill Pictures and in association with Warner Bros. Television, is executive produced by Schwartz, Bob DeLaurentis, Stephanie Savage and McG. Ian Toynton and John Stevens are co-executive producers.

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Kristin/Eonline

http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristi...1-a2b5bf8767ac

Breaking: The OC Cancelled. Will it move to CW?

Somewhere, Mischa Barton is smiling.

Or, well, that's just my guess anyway. But I know one thing for sure: Those of us who've been watching The O.C. this season know the news that is about to be confirmed any nanosecond by Fox—that The O.C. indeed has been canceled—is nothing short of heartbreaking.

According to my sources, Fox will air the last episode of The O.C. Feb. 22, and then the four-season-old series will go off the air for good.

Sadly, despite The O.C.'s creative uptick this season (and the addition of Autumn Reeser, aka Taylor, who breathed new life into the show), the ratings have not been strong enough for Fox execs to justify a fifth season. Of course, the true tragedy is that the once Nielsens-robust series was plopped onto Thursday nights (first 8 p.m., then 9 p.m.), facing off against the likes of NBC's comedy lineup, CSI and Grey's Anatomy. I don't care how ripped and raw Ryan was this season (see photo, wipe drool), that was nobody's fight to win.

On the bright side, I'm told by sources at the CW network that head honcho Dawn Ostroff is "extremely interested" in picking up The O.C. for the following season. Of course, the real matter is whether the fledgling network can afford the series. (Personally, I hope so.) And of course, all the actors involved would need to stay on board, including the allegedly recently split Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson, and Josh Schwartz, who just landed a deal for a new thriller drama pilot on NBC.

Hmmm...Seems to me the cards may be stacked against us seeing The O.C. after Feb. 22, but this O.C. fan isn't giving up hope yet. How about you? Comment below.
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Ausiello/ TV Guide.
OC Creator Previews Series finale.

SPOILERY.

http://community.tvguide.com/forum.j...umID=700000049

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What's Alan Watching?
Alan Sepinwall Blog

http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2007/0...-try-veal.html

End of the OC. Try the veal?

....Not a shock, and if I'm doing the math right, all 16 episodes will have aired by Feb. 22. Josh was always a "Seinfeld" fan, so I suppose there's some (very) small satisfaction in knowing he's going out on a high note.

UPDATE: Just heard from Josh, who wanted to add this:

Part of my quote from the press release that didn't make the cut was "There has been some speculation about a Season 5 on another network but this feels like the best time to bring the story to an end". I felt better to go out now with the run we're having then try and move the show, etc etc. and maybe not be able to deliver the same level of quality. Teen dramas have a shelf life. We've had a lot of parties on the show, and so I've learned, best not to stay too late.

The ending will be fun and bring real closure to the series.
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Zap2it.com

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-th...,5282415.story

FOX Beaches 'The O.C.'
Popular soap will reach its conclusion on Feb. 22

January 3 2007

After bursting onto the scene in an inferno of hype in the summer of 2003, FOX's teen soap "The O.C." will fade quietly into the sunset this February after four eventful seasons.

FOX made the not-so-surprising announcement of the demise of "The O.C." late Wednesday (Jan. 3) afternoon. Starting this Thursday, "The O.C." will begin a stream of new episodes culminating in the series finale on Thursday, Feb. 22.

The move was hardly unexpected given that FOX only ordered 16 "O.C." episodes this season, a major dip for a series that had delivered over-sized runs of 27, 24 and 25 episodes in its first three years. In addition, FOX held "The O.C." back for a November premiere and launched it in a brutal Thursday time period opposite "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI," two of TV's most popular shows.

The results have been easy to observe. Through its first seven Thursday airings, "The O.C." has averaged fewer than 4.06 million viewers per episode, off from last year's 5.75 million per episode. Critical raves suggesting that the show's quality was at its highest point since the first season did little to bring viewers back to the fold.

Talking to Zap2it in October, the show's creator Josh Schwartz was practical about the potential end of the show's ride.

"Obviously it's out there," Schwartz said. "Definitely when you're in this time slot and you've only been ordered for 16 episodes, you're aware that that's a possibility. Right now, we're just focused on making these 16 episode as good as we can and we'll see what happens. We'll have an answer before we're done breaking the episodes."

With that answer finally known, Schwartz seems to have shifted gears from practical to philosophical in the network statement announcing the finale.

"'The O.C.' Season Four finale will also be the series finale. This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," Schwartz says. "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top. It has been an amazing experience and a great run. For a certain audience, at a certain time, 'The O.C.' has meant something. For that we are grateful."

There had been limited speculation about moving the series over to The CW in some modified form, but ultimately producers felt it was better to end "The O.C." on a creative high note.

In its four years, "The O.C." helped kick-start the careers of young leads Benjamin McKenzie, Adam Brody, Mischa Barton and Rachel Bilson, while introducing a whole new generation to Peter Gallagher and his eyebrows. The show won Teen Choice Awards by the barrel, was nominated for a Television Critics Association award for outstanding new show and even earned Schwartz a Writers Guild of America nod for scripting the pilot.



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Justjared.com

http://www.justjared.com/2007/01/03/...lled/#more-882

The O.C. Officially Cancelled!

We’ve been hearing this for many months now (perhaps longer) but word on the street is that Fox has “officially” pulled the plug on The O.C. in its fourth (and final) season. Big surprise because just yesterday, the pilot pickup season kicked off and a spy dramedy from The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz was given the green light by NBC. Josh, 30, will be delivering a high-concept action dramedy about spies (in the vein of Grosse Pointe Blank) called Chuck.

Josh will also be executive producing The Gossip Girl, which is supposedly going to be picked up by the CW. He’s going to be a busy guy, that Josh. But without The O.C. on his plate. At this point, we can only wish for great acting gigs for the cast. All of them.

Other pictures include The O.C. star Benjamin McKenzie arriving at LAX airport with friends on New Years Day.

UPDATE :: It’s official! FOX just sent out a press release. The O.C. will air its season finale on Feb. 22, so that’s 8 new episodes to go with new episodes starting tomorrow. Read the full text after the jump!

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Rope of Silicon:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/news.php?id=5004


Well, we can only wonder if it is the lack of storylines before "The O.C." heads firmly into soap opera territory, if Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson's real life romantic break up or something extra terristrial is the cause but the popular teen drama on Fox is calling it quits after four seasons.
In a press release just sent out it looks like the fourth season finale will also be the series finale when it airs Thursday, Feb. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. For fans of the show it will be a nice finish as Fox will air all-original episodes from Thursday, Jan. 4 through the last episode on Feb. 22.

RopeofSilicon journo, Laremy Legel, is a huge fan of the show and had this short eulogy:

This is a real blow to the fans of the show as this season has been a comeback story. Season four has featured all the great laughs and drama that the first two seasons showed off, and it looks as though a Seth - Summer wedding might be the final bow of a short lived but culturally significant series.
One question; why again did they put it on Thursday nights where Grey's, CSI, The Office, Earl, and CSI roam?

Set in Orange County, California, "The O.C." premiered in August 2003. It follows a group of friends and families whose lives were changed by the arrival of an outsider – Ryan Atwood – to their ocean-side community of Newport Beach.
"'The O.C.' Season Four finale will also be the series finale. This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," said Josh Schwartz, creator and executive producer of "The O.C." "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top. It has been an amazing experience and a great run. For a certain audience, at a certain time, 'The O.C.' has meant something. For that we are grateful."

Personally I have always enjoyed the show and am anxiously awaiting the fourth season DVD set, which will most likely be a late summer release.


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http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....e_sun_and.html

Chicago Tribune

No more sun and fun in 'The O.C.'
Say goodbye to the beach, the Bait Shop and Seth Cohen’s witticisms: “The O.C.” is history.

Ratings for the Fox show have tumbled in recent seasons, especially after the teen soap moved to Thursdays, where it faced tough competition from the likes of “CSI” and, this season, “Grey’s Anatomy.” Most media observers expected the once white-hot show to end its run this year, but that ending is approaching very quickly: The show’s fourth season finale, which will serve as the series’ swan song, will air Feb. 22.

The final batch of Season 4 episodes start airing Thursday.

“For a certain audience, at a certain time, ‘The O.C.’ has meant something. For that we are grateful,” creator Josh Schwartz said in a statement.

In that spirit of gratitude, let us not spend this moment nitpicking about “The O.C’s” plots, which were often repetitive and meandering when they weren’t annoying and predictable (hello, Oliver). Let’s use this moment to remember that, in its heyday, “The O.C.” was a delightful bit of escapism.

It mocked the conventions of soap operas even as it aped them with the usual array of love triangles, paternity tests, lesbian kisses, unrequited loves and so forth. Then there was the epic Ryan-Marissa merry-go-round (by the third season, it got to the point where I could never remember whether they were apart or together, not that it seemed to matter much overall).

Still, so what? Creator Josh Schwartz and his writers knew that playing Boys II Men’s “The End of the Road” during one of Seth and Summers’ relationship crises was the perfect thing to do. The writers made Seth and Summers’ toy horses, Captain Oats and Princess Sparkle, recurring characters. They gave us the wonderful Sandy Cohen and his ultra-WASP wife, Kirsten Cohen (and holla to Alan Dale, who was perfect as the sketchy billionaire Caleb Nichol in the first couple of seasons). The show helped make indie bands such as Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse household names. It made reading comic books -- sorry, graphic novels -- and watching anime and digging taciturn, musclebound guys from Chino cool.

I’ll miss Peter Gallagher and Kelly Rowan as Sandy and Kirsten (and I’ll try to forget Kirsten’s ill-conceived trip to rehab). I’ll miss Melinda Clarke, who was never less than delicious as Julie Cooper, no matter what kind of kooky plot the writers threw at her (don’t start me on Kaitlin. Just don’t). I won’t miss Marissa, because, well, they already killed her off and, unlike some of the show’s hardcore fans, I still say that’s one of the best things they ever did.

Still, it was obvious that the show needed a fork stuck in it. It was done (and clearly Fox was thinking that, since the network only ordered 16 episodes for the season).

The cast was never less than competent, but they’ve been going through the motions for some time now. Even so, the most recent Chrismukkah episode showed a little of “The O.C.’s” patented magic – Ryan brooded darkly, Seth quipped awesomely, Summer was, well, silly and adorable as only Summer can be. And there’s no way I’m going to harsh on a show that gave Chris Pratt a role as a hemp-wearing environmentalist – or any role, of any kind, really.

So, see you later, “O.C.” Thanks for all the fantastic tunes –and by the way, the latest “O.C.” CD compilation, “Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks,” is great (I can’t get Lady Sovereign’s version of “Pretty Vacant” out of my mind).

Thanks for the witty dialogue, for Seth Cohen’s ability to make nerdiness seem cool, for the tortured love affair between Ryan and Marissa, which did suck me in for the first couple of seasons.

Thanks for the quoteworthy dialogue, for the fisticuffs at parties and for the weekly opportunity to mock Marissa’s clothes.

At a time like this, it’s easy to forgive “The O.C.’s” sins. Because after Feb. 22, we won’t have it to kick around anymore.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16459382/

Plagued by low ratings, ‘The O.C.’ gets cancelled
Final episode will air Thursday, Feb. 22
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:35 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2007

LOS ANGELES - “The O.C.,” the once-hot teenage soap opera that saw its ratings plummet like a delinquent student’s grades, has been canceled.

The final episode of the drama will air 9 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 22, Fox TV and Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. said Wednesday.

The finale “will deliver real closure to the series, to the story we began telling four years ago,” series creator Josh Schwartz said in a statement. “It will be fun and emotional and I think really satisfying. It is the finale we always planned to do.”

Based in the affluent Orange County, Calif., city of Newport Beach, “The O.C.” caught fire in its first season, 2003-04, as the top-rated drama among advertiser-favored young adults and with a total audience of nearly 10 million.

The show’s story lines revolved around Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie), an outsider thrust into a heady new world of money and sex, and rich high school kids including Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) and Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) and their families.

“The O.C.” didn’t sustain its momentum, dropping to about 7 million weekly viewers during 2004-05 and then to fewer than 6 million last season. This year, returning in November after Fox wrapped its postseason baseball coverage, “The O.C.” has only drawn about 4 million viewers.

The third-season finale’s high drama, in which Marissa was killed in a car crash, didn’t turn the series around. This year found Ryan confronting the death of his one-time girlfriend and the man who caused it.

Fox ordered 16 episodes for the 2006-07 season and all will have aired when the series concludes in February, a network spokesman said Wednesday.

Others in the show’s cast include Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Melinda Clarke, Rachel Bilson and Autumn Reeser.

Despite its brief heyday, the show helped establish cast members including Brody, Bilson and Barton as fan and tabloid favorites.

A replacement for the series was not immediately announced by Fox.

______________

More reports. Very similar to the others.

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...005368,00.html

http://www.tmz.com/2007/01/03/orange...ancels-the-oc/
(nice picture. ouch.)

http://www.onelocalnews.com/chandler...39707&source=2

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stor...n2329156.shtml

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/200...c_departs.html

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11297

[vinni2]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1

Fox bids farewell to 'The OC'
Pop culture phenom could not survive Thursdays

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Farewell to "The OC," bitch.
The show that made it OK to be a Newport Beach teenager with a jones for Death Cab for Cutie's early work will call it quits next month, Fox announced Tuesday.

Net will air the series finale of "The OC" on Thursday, Feb. 22, in the show's regular 9 p.m. slot. Fox had ordered just 16 episodes of the show this season, its fourth.

Fox plans to promote the remaining episodes of "The OC" (which returns with new segs tonight) as a "countdown" to the finale.

"This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," said "The OC" creator and exec producer Josh Schwartz. "For a certain audience, at a certain time, 'The OC' has meant something. For that we are grateful."

"The OC" premiered in August 2003 and quickly turned into a pop culture phenom, spawning six music soundtracks and pumping up the tourism industry in the real-life Orange County.

The county's "OC" nickname didn't even come into vogue until after the TV show debuted. At one point, a county official even seriously suggested renaming John Wayne Airport "the OC Airport."

"The OC" itself, however, saw its ratings steadily decline as Fox moved the show to a rough Thursday night slot at the start of season two. The show later hit some creative rough patches, further hurting its numbers, although this season it has earned some fresh critical praise.

At its height in season one, "The OC" averaged 9.8 million viewers and a 4.4 rating/11 share in the adults 18-49 demo. So far this season, the show has posted a 1.7/4 in the demo and 3.8 million viewers overall.

"The OC" launched as the tale of a Chino hoodlum (Ben McKenzie) who winds up moving into the affluent Newport Beach home of his lawyer (Peter Gallagher), stirring up the neighborhood in the process. Kelly Rowan, Adam Brody, Melinda Clarke, Rachel Bilson, Autumn Reeser and Willa Holland currently also star.

Schwartz exec produces "The OC" with McG, Stephanie Savage and Bob DeLaurentis. Warner Bros. TV produces, along with Wonderland Sound & Vision.

______________


Hollywood Reporter/ Reuters

http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...1_%5BFeed%5D-1

Sun setting on "The O.C." next month
Wed Jan 3, 2007 10:33 PM ET

By Kimberly Nordyke

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox has pulled the plug on "The O.C," which collapsed in the ratings this season.

The network said Wednesday the teen soap will end its four-season run next month. New episodes will air in the show's ultra-competitive 9-10 p.m. slot every Thursday through the series finale February 22.

So far this season, the show is averaging about 4.1 million total viewers, less than half of what it garnered during its debut season, according to Nielsen Media Research. Last season it averaged 5.7 million.

"The O.C." got off to a promising start in August 2003, garnering plenty of buzz with its attractive cast. But at the start of Season 2, Fox moved the show to Thursday nights, where it faced an uphill battle and never recovered. Before this season began, Fox said it was cutting its order of episodes.

The show, which follows a group of friends and families whose lives were changed by the arrival of an outsider (Benjamin McKenzie) to the chic California community of Newport Beach, recently saw some cast changes. Mischa Barton's character was killed off at the end of last season, and Autumn Reeser and Willa Holland came on board as regulars.

The other original cast members still on board include Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Adam Brody, Melinda Clarke and Rachel Bilson.

During its four seasons on the air, "The O.C." also generated buzz around the indie music featured in its episodes and spawned six soundtracks.

"This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," said creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz. "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

_______________

Associated Press

http://www.heraldnewsdaily.com/ViewA...39732&source=2

Fox‘s once-hot ‘The O.C.‘ is canceled
2007/1


By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer 1 hour, 10 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - "The O.C.," the once-hot teenage soap opera that saw its ratings plummet like a delinquent student‘s grades, has been canceled. The final episode of the drama will air 9 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 22, Fox TV and Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. said Wednesday.

Based in the affluent Orange County, Calif., city of Newport Beach, "The O.C." caught fire in its first season, 2003-04, as the top-rated drama among advertiser-favored young adults and with a total audience of nearly 10 million.

The show‘s story lines revolved around Ryan ( Benjamin McKenzie ), an outsider thrust into a heady new world of money and sex, and rich high school kids including Seth Cohen ( Adam Brody ) and Marissa Cooper ( Mischa Barton ) and their families.

Observers have pointed to a variety of possible reasons for the slump, including inconsistent quality, the fickleness of younger viewers and a time-slot change.

Fox ordered 16 episodes for the 2006-07 season and all will have aired when the series concludes in February, a network spokesman said Wednesday.

Others in the show‘s cast include Peter Gallagher , Kelly Rowan, Melinda Clarke , Rachel Bilson and Autumn Reeser.

A replacement for the series was not immediately announced by Fox.

______________

Moviehole.net

http://www.moviehole.net/news/200701..._gets_kod.html

_____________

EW.com popwatch blog

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007....html#comments





Aggggghhhhhhh! Fox cancels 'The O.C.'!

Taylor Townsend (pictured) is here to blood-curdlingly let you know that Fox has officially canceled The O.C. Its last episode -- the 16th of Season 4 -- will air February 22.

Ah, O.C. My love, my life, my adorable but at times disobedient pet. I'm conflicted. Yes, Season 4 has been great -- the humor's back, Ryan and Taylor are doin' it, Seth and Summer are for some reason engaged. But let's face it: it had to end eventually, and we fans pretty much knew this was coming. Did we really want to see a senile Julie Cooper terrorize the other patients in her nursing home, which she had to live in because her 17th husband, Rich Oldman, whom she poisoned for real this time, left her only Riverside-rich? (Actually, yes.) I don't know -- I'm torn between devastation and a philosophical attitude of genuine appreciation that it ever existed at all. I like Josh Schwartz's comment in Fox's press release: "For a certain audience, at a certain time, The O.C. has meant something. For that we are grateful."

And so are we. Let's all wear our "Save Marissa" shirts, leather wristcuffs, and hoodies tomorrow in mourning. (I only own a hoodie, but whatever.) Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth begin...

UPDATE: This just in from the Schwartzinator himself, via e-mail: "Yeah, this season will indeed be the last. There was some speculation about a Season 5 on another network but we are having a really fun, great run and I feel like better to go out now then stay too long at the party... and after 4 seasons of the OC, I know a lot about parties..."

Drunken pool parties featuring occasional hookers? Ah, yes, I remember them well...

________________________

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-...uary-2814.aspx

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/...f-ef7da88758d7

________________________

More blog reports. Basically the same information, although if you have a sense of humor about this, some of the titles(and articles) are funny.

http://www.tvgasm.com/newsgasm/news/...els-the-oc.php

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31140

http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/01/03/it...-be-on-feb-22/

http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.c...ancelled.shtml

http://teamsugar.com/97116

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/fox...ven-225905.php

http://televisionary.blogspot.com/20...w-said-to.html

http://seriouslyomgwtf.blogsome.com/...he-oc-is-over/

More blogs:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2...d_of_the_.html

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/chang...s_last_so.html

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/2007/01/ocya_later.html

http://thetvaddict.com/?p=1265

http://www.thestranger.com/blog/2007...s_canceled.php

http://www.ibabuzz.com/unscripted/20...e-oc-is-o-ver/

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_10924.html

The Nikke Finke column is interesting, but don't agree with her assessment of Mckenzie.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.co...ed-for-feb-22/

a few more blog comments:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01042007...hael_starr.htm

http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com/2007/...x-cancels.html

http://www.niquehappy.com/blog/2007/...inally-canned/

http://rawkblog.blogspot.com/2007/01...-to-close.html

http://mustytv.blogspot.com/2007/01/oc-ya-later.html

http://www.theocblogger.com/2007/the...lly-cancelled/

http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2007/01/oc-is-doa.html

http://cisforcodycat.blogspot.com/2007/01/rip-oc.html

[vinni2]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...8eff856db87283

Schwartz busy with 2 pilots

By Nellie Andreeva and Kimberly Nordyke

Jan 4, 2007

It has been an eventful week for Josh Schwartz.

He has inked a new rich three-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television and CW has given a pilot order to his drama "Gossip Girl," Schwartz's second pilot order in two days.

Meanwhile, his first series, "The O.C.," is set to bow out after four seasons. Fox said Wednesday that it will air new episodes of the teen soap Thursdays through the series finale on Feb. 22.

"Gossip," from Warner Bros. TV and Alloy Entertainment, is based on Alloy's popular book series about privileged teenagers attending elite private schools in New York.

Schwartz and "O.C." executive producer Stephanie Savage penned the project, which originally was picked up by CW in the summer with a put pilot commitment (HR 8/21). The two are executive producing with Alloy's Leslie Morgenstein and Bob Levy.

In addition to "Gossip," Schwartz received a pilot order from NBC on Tuesday for the action dramedy "Chuck" (HR 1/3).

As for "O.C.," Schwartz said the show has had a "great run."

"This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," he added. "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top."

"The O.C." got off to a promising start when it debuted in August 2003, with a strong first season and lots of buzz. But at the start of Season 2, Fox moved the show to Thursday nights, where it faced an uphill battle and never recovered. Before this season began, Fox said that it was cutting back on the number of episodes it was ordering.

The show, which follows a group of friends and families whose lives were changed by the arrival of an outsider (Benjamin McKenzie) to their oceanside community of Newport Beach, Calif., recently saw some cast changes, with Mischa Barton departing at the end of last season when her character died and Autumn Reeser and Willa Holland coming on board as regulars. The other original cast members who are still on the show include Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Adam Brody, Melinda Clarke and Rachel Bilson.

During its four seasons on the air, "O.C." also generated buzz around the indie music featured in its episodes and spawned six soundtracks.

"O.C.," from Wonderland Sound and Vision, College Hill Pictures and WBTV, is executive produced by Schwartz, Bob DeLaurentis, Savage and McG.

Schwartz is repped by Endeavor, manager Mikkel Bondesen and attorney Joel McKuin.

____________________________


http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1

CW gives Schwartz some good news
2nd pilot picked up for show creator

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

For Josh Schwartz, the TV gods giveth and taketh all in the same week: "The O.C." may be history, but the show creator has scored his second pilot pickup in as many days -- and just signed a rich overall deal with Warner Bros. TV.
The CW has greenlit "Gossip Girl," from Schwartz and fellow "O.C." alum Stephanie Savage, repping the Green net's first-ever scripted pilot order. Hourlong teen drama is based on the popular book series of the same name.

The "Gossip Girl" thumbs-up comes a day after NBC ordered "Crumbs," a drama pilot from Schwartz and Chris Fedak. That means Warner Bros. TV's three-year, seven-figure pact with Schwartz is already paying off for the studio.

Pact keeps Schwartz at Warner Bros., where he created "The O.C." as one of the industry's youngest showrunners. Warner Bros. TV prexy Peter Roth has long considered Schwartz a homegrown success story.

"I've had a wonderful experience working with Peter Roth and his love of storytelling," said Schwartz.

"Gossip Girl" is about the world of New York teens and their parents, as told through the eyes of an anonymous blogger. The book series' 10 editions have sold more than 2 million copies and an 11th is in the works.

Warner Bros. TV pacted with "Gossip Girl" publisher Alloy Entertainment to adapt the books for TV; Schwartz was then brought in and re-teamed with Savage.

"It speaks to the culture that we live in now and the way that kids communicate," Schwartz said.

Schwartz and Savage will exec produce "Gossip Girl" along with Alloy's Bob Levy and Leslie Morgenstein.

Schwartz said the week's news was "bittersweet."

"It's an exciting time for me, but it comes with some sadness," he said. " 'The O.C.' was my first."

From comingsoon.net

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=18249

[vinni2]

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgri...hrismukka.html

Guardian UK

The OC axed: so long, Chrismukkah

By Jason Deans / Television 03:00pm

We've been on the run, driving in the sun, looking out for number one, California here we come... well not any more. Fox has cancelled The OC. No more festive Chrismukkah episodes, then.

To be honest, it's not a huge surprise. The OC's ratings on the Fox network in the US have been heading down the toilet ever since the splendid first series. Creatively the show has gone the same way - a great premise, but it had no legs and ended up rehashing the same situations and storylines as the second and third seasons progressed.

However, let's rewind three years. It's hard to overestimate how much I loved the first series of The OC, which began on E4 and Channel 4 in the UK in early 2004. I avidly watched repeats, got the DVD, and the soundtrack CDs, with their mix of indie tracks you knew and loved, and those you didn't but came to love. Death Cab for Cutie, anyone?

At the time, I got as much stick for my obsession with this trashy teen drama as I now do for banging on about Battlestar Galactica.

But the great trick OC creator Josh Schwartz pulled off was a show that had its cake and ate it. Viewers could gawp slack jawed at the disgustingly rich, pampered Orange County lifestyles depicted in The OC. But at the same time The OC ripped the piss out of this Beverly Hill 90210-style glamour and wealth through Seth and Sandy Cohen, the characters played by Adam Brody and Peter Gallagher.

In its early days The OC was hailed as replacing Sex and the City as TV's leading fashion barometer. I wouldn't know about that.

Yes it's trashy, cheesy, melodramatic. But the first series was bloody fab trash TV, satisfyingly self aware and tongue in cheek. What I loved about The OC's first series was the irony and self-deprecating humour provided by Seth and Sandy, the Seth-Summer-Anna love triangle, the Nana, the pop culture references, the soundtrack.

After the first season, well... it was downhill. Fast. Series two had its moments - Rainy Day Women, Julie Cooper-Nichol's porn video shame, Seth and Zach competing for Summer's affections, Seth's whipped cream-covered spring break. And then Series three - bobbins, except the belated masterstroke of killing off Mischa Barton's whiny bore Marissa.

Still, some great moments to remember, like when lawyer Sandy is helping Julie deal with the guy trying to blackmail her over the porn vid. Julie: "I'm so screwed." Sandy: "I know. I saw the footage." More Sandy quotes here.

On Tuesday at 9pm, when The OC fourth season starts in the UK on E4, I'll be watching Battlestar Galactica on Sky One. Though I may just catch the T4 repeat the following Sunday afternoon - just for old time's sake.

____________________

Mediapost.com

http://publications.mediapost.com/in...&art_aid=53362

Pink Slipped: 'O.C.', 'Megan Mullally' Get Cancellation Orders
by Wayne Friedman, Thursday, Jan 4, 2007 8:00 AM ET
FOX'S "THE O.C." AND NBC Universal syndication talker "The Megan Mullally Show" will leave the airwaves.


"The O.C." has been a young-teen cult hit since it arrived on Fox in August 2003. But the show never lived up to its fuller potential after its move to Thursday night in 2005--an effort to give it a broader TV audience.

This season, Fox waited until after the Major League Baseball playoffs in November to start "The O.C." in a 9 p.m. time slot. But all that gave ABC's new 9 p.m. show "Grey's Anatomy" a running head start, since it had been on since September.

"They had the same audience as "Grey's Anatomy," says Bill Carroll, vice president and director of programming for Katz Communications. "Since then, they have been struggling."

Fox tried to save the show by moving it off Thursday night. It will air new episodes starting tomorrow, running through Feb. 22, when it airs its series finale.

___________________________

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...t_index_31.asp

Teen steam doused: Fox bids adios to 'The O.C.'

Nearly a year after Mischa Barton’s shocking death on “The O.C.,” the rest of the cast is following her out the door. Fox has canceled the fourth-year teen drama after a dramatic dip in ratings this year. The finale will air Feb. 22. “O.C.” has averaged a 1.8 in adults 18-49 this year, down a third from last season’s 2.7 average. Speculation began almost immediately after its debut over whether it would last a full season. During an interview late last year, Fox scheduling guru Preston Beckman told Media Life the network wanted to give the show a few months to find its footing before making a decision, despite the disappointing ratings. “Even though it did not come back to the levels we wanted it to, do we want to see lower ratings if we put something else on? There’s no guarantee they’d improve,” he said. Fox has not yet announced what will take the show’s place in the Thursday 9 p.m. timeslot, where it faces brutal competition from ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and CBS’s “CSI.”

[jillian]

at this point i just hope that the cast members get good roles in new movies and shows.

[iwantalexback]

Don't series finales air in May?

[BenBrazilianFan]

Season 4 was not a full season. And we won't have repeats, so that's why the end in february

[vinni2]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/06/ar...ts&oref=slogin

NYTimes
The OC’: A Fast Start, a Faster Finish

By EDWARD WYATT

Published: January 6, 2007

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 5 — The end was in sight for “The OC” by at least last summer, according to Josh Schwartz, the wunderkind creator of the show that, with its glamorous locations, beautiful actors and hip soundtrack, defined new trends for music, fashion, celebrity and, of course, television.

After a stunning debut on Fox in 2003, in which the series drew nearly 10 million viewers each week and a particularly high number of adults between the ages of 18 and 34, according to Nielsen Media Research, the show’s ratings fell in each of the last two seasons.

It entered the fourth season without its most recognizable face, the pouty rich girl played by Mischa Barton, who was killed off at the end of the previous season. Fox, meanwhile, demonstrated its lack of confidence by leaving “The OC” in its 9 p.m. Thursday time slot to face off against “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI.”

Fox ordered only 16 episodes, down from more than 20 in each of the first three seasons, and its budget for promoting the show’s return, Mr. Schwartz said, made clear that hopes for the series this year were not high.

“We tried to be realistic about it,” Mr. Schwartz said. “Few shows get to have their last season be their best. So if this was going to be the last season, we wanted to write the show we wanted to do and the show the fans wanted to see. It was creatively liberating.”

Fox, for its part, declined to address its reasons for ending “The OC.” No network executives were quoted in the news release, issued on Wednesday, announcing that this season would be the show’s last, and a spokesman for the network said Friday that no one would comment for this article.

When “The OC” had its premiere, it was quickly compared to “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Dawson’s Creek” and other series that drew raves for their chronicles of teenage angst. But while “90210” lasted 10 seasons, “The OC” will not even make it to the 100-episode milestone, considered a benchmark for profitable syndication.

It did, however, influence the culture. Orange County’s Newport Beach community became a tourist destination for young fans. At least two reality-based television series drew on the fame of “The OC”: “Laguna Beach,” an MTV series that billed itself as “the real Orange County,” and “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” a Bravo reality show that follows a gaggle of women from their tennis lessons to Botox sessions.

Thanks to its heavy use of mood music from emerging rock and alternative-music groups, “The OC” became known as a showcase for new bands, and it produced a half-dozen soundtrack albums featuring groups like Death Cab for Cutie and vocalists like Imogen Heap.

For all of its focus on good-looking rich kids, the show was also about adults, winning praise for developing parental characters with their own storylines and concerns. The show also created what were arguably the first Jewish heartthrobs on television: Sandy Cohen, played by Peter Gallagher, a public defender married to a wealthy gentile developer; and his son, Seth Cohen, played by Adam Brody, who dealt with his mixed religious heritage by promoting the family’s adoption of Chrismukkah as its winter holiday celebration.

Reviewing the show’s second-season premiere, Virginia Heffernan, a New York Times television critic, wrote: “In tone, diction, fashion and music, Mr. Schwartz knows just how to keep it credible with its swooning fans. But he is also mindful of the strict rituals that define television drama, and his discipline in tightening the world he has created — rather than giving in to impatience and blowing it apart — is admirable.”

In the end, however, the weakness of “The OC” might have been that it was too much the product of one person, conceptually, if not in practice. Just 26 when Fox agreed to broadcast the show, Mr. Schwartz was the youngest person in network television history to create and produce his own one-hour series.

He worked furiously, writing or revising every episode of the first season and several in the first part of the second year. After that, he cut back, and while other longtime collaborators like Stephanie Savage continued to work closely on the show, many fans expressed the opinion that the second and third seasons did not match the originality of the first.

Mr. Schwartz disputes that. “I really believe in my colleagues,” he said, citing his particularly close association with Ms. Savage and Robert De Laurentiis, a show-business veteran who has served as an executive producer since the first season.

In fact, Mr. Schwartz will be producing a new series with Ms. Savage. The CW network has signed the pair for “Gossip Girl,” an hourlong teenage drama set in New York City and based on the book series of the same name. NBC, too, has signed Mr. Schwartz for a series, a dark comedy-drama titled “Chuck,” which Mr. Schwartz has developed with Chris Fedak.

For now, Mr. Schwartz, who grew up in Providence, R.I., not on the California coast, said he was focused on “delivering the most satisfying finale we can” for “The OC.” The remaining episodes will feature an unexpected pregnancy and more of the show’s familiar love-triangle tussles. All of which could work to raise the size of the audience from the fewer than four million who have tuned in for each episode this season, according to Nielsen. But it is unlikely that the series will win any reprieve from what, for such early promise, could be viewed as an early death.

__________________


http://tv.ign.com/articles/753/753067p1.html

Ign.com

The O.C. Is Cancelled
Seth, Ryan, Summer and the rest of Newport go off into the sunset.

by Eric Goldman

January 4, 2007 - Having taken quite a strange road from out of the box pop culture hit to ratings also-ran, The O.C. will be ending its run next month. It had been widely speculated that this would be the last season, but FOX made the official announcement this week, confirming that the February 22nd broadcast of the series will be the final episode.

After its debut in the summer of 2003, The O.C. became a major hit with a much sought after young audience, and made instant teen idol stars out of cast members Mischa Barton, Ben McKenzie, Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody. However, the ratings began to dwindle after a move to Thursday night, and the third season was highly criticized for not being up to par quality wise, for a series that had received unexpected initial acclaim for its sharp and witty writing.

The cancellation will no doubt make for mixed emotions for fans, because the show is believed by many to be having its best season since the original, having been revitalized after last season's surprising death of Barton's character Marissa, and the addition of two well received new cast members, Willa Holland and Autumn Reeser. However, the ratings have been lower than ever, as the show has faced huge competition from Grey's Anatomy and CSI this season. Fans can be glad that the show is at least going out on a dramatic high note, but of course many viewers wish the series would continue for another season.

O.C. creator Josh Schwartz has a busy development slate, with possible series in the works for both NBC and The CW. In the press release FOX released, Schwartz said, "The O.C. Season Four finale will also be the series finale. This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close. Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top. It has been an amazing experience and a great run. For a certain audience, at a certain time, The O.C. has meant something. For that we are grateful."

There had been some talk that The O.C. could be picked up by The CW, if FOX let it go. However, Schwartz has nixed those rumors, saying the show will not be moving to another network.

___________________________

[vinni2]

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...a-news-comment

LATimes
For O.C., life goes on

Fox may have canceled the series that made Orange County hip, but the real O.C. remains elusive.

January 7, 2007

IN A SENSE, there never would have been a real Orange County without the fictional O.C. Or at least the reality soaps "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" and "The Real Housewives of Orange County" never would have been approved by television executives or mattered to audiences until Peter Gallagher and his teen co-stars on Fox TV's "The O.C." accomplished the impossible: They made Orange County hip.

Those are words that impel us to stand back and admire. Within three years, Orange County was transformed by a TV show from, well, Orange County to "the O.C." The county once best known for white-bread suburban conservatism and best loved for Disneyland was now the destination of travelers worldwide who couldn't wait to walk where Marissa, Ryan and Summer had placed their expensively shod feet. The venerable Crab Cooker restaurant hasn't been the same since.

At the height of the soap's popularity, a county supervisor suggested renaming John Wayne airport "The O.C. Airport." Good thing the change never flew. "The O.C.," Fox announced last week, has been canceled; its last episode is scheduled to air next month.

It's a double blow to tony Newport Beach, where the series is set. Last year, Fox put an early end to "Arrested Development," a satirical Emmy-winning comedy about a family of home developers that was truer to certain aspects of Orange County life (witness the repeated shots of a lone McMansion on a ruthlessly bulldozed hillside) than any of the above-mentioned shows. Now Laguna Beach and the foothills of Orange County, where the housewives live, will present their glossy, shallow and mostly white version of Orange County to the world. But even they will inevitably fade from prime-time popularity.

Will there be a real Orange County after the TV versions are gone? Of course. The county has never been well-represented by its fictional doppelgangers. In a case of truth being more dramatic than drama, the O.C. has long been far more diverse ethnically, economically and philosophically than any of the shows reflect. Some of its school districts are more than 90% Latino. It reliably elects Democrats to Congress. At UC Irvine, almost half of the students are of Asian descent.

The county may miss the money from all those TV-loving tourists. But if "Dallas" is any indicator, the glamour and interest will continue through the magic of reruns — in which wealthy, fashionable teenagers and their hip homes need never age or die.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...l=chi-news-col

Unsurprising `O.C.' demise devoid of drama


Published January 7, 2007


A product is white hot. Then it's not cool. Then it goes away.

You want to learn from its mistakes, but at the very least it's like watching a meteorite burn bright and burn out as it streaks across the night sky, mesmerizing even if it's inevitably followed by more shooting stars.

The imminent demise of Fox's "The O.C.," announced last week, was both predictable--and predicted.

The program, once popular enough to support a line of Chrismukkah products such as the yarmulke/Santa hat combo "yarmuclaus" for interfaith fans, has had its audience dwindle to about 4 million viewers this season.

That's down from an audience of around 10 million back in 2003-04, the soap's first season. Both Fox and marketers valued it then for its mix of older and younger viewers, including close to 2 million teens, conferring a certain hipness upon it.

Its brief shining moment was fueled in part by Fox's decision to run it behind "American Idol" for the second half of its rookie season. It hemorrhaged 3 million viewers in Season 2, another million in Season 3 and 2 million more this season. When the show exits Feb. 22, its teen audience looks to be less than one-fourth what it once was. So how did it fall so far so fast?

"It's half a business thing, half a creative thing," said Alan Sepinwall, the sharp-eyed TV critic of New Jersey's Star-Ledger and author of "Stop Being a Hater and Learn to Love `The O.C.,'" a paperback rushed onto shelves after the first season and apparently remains, to his great surprise, in print.

If "The O.C." was a beneficiary of a post-"Idol" slot its first season, it suffered in its second from being moved to Thursdays, where Fox was last modestly successful six to seven years earlier with counterprogramming such as "Martin" and "Living Single."

Emboldened by CBS' successful incursion on NBC's vaunted Thursday lineup, Fox made its own play for a cut of the movie-studio ad cash floating around and thought the youth-friendly "O.C." was the show to pry it loose.

"They got cocky and decided they were going to use it as a beachhead," Sepinwall said. "The rhetoric you heard out of Fox, even as viewership fell, was: `Look at what we had there before. We're doing fine.' ... They said they were making money, but at the same time they were devaluing [the show] because they put it somewhere very few people were going to find it."

Whatever the network was saying publicly, privately it was getting anxious, and business concerns quickly became creative concerns.

Josh Schwartz, who, in dreaming up "The O.C." at age 26, was said to be the youngest creator of an hour-long broadcast network series, threw everything he could think of into the first season. But by the second, he began to realize why most shows milk a juicy story arc like a love triangle for a full season rather than just two weeks.

"There are only so many cotillions that can be interrupted by a fistfight, so then they tried to introduce new characters people didn't necessarily like," Sepinwall said. "Then the third season was a complete mess. [Schwartz] said he bowed too much to ratings pressure, listening to the network too much in terms of doing sensational stories that were supposed to goose the ratings but didn't."

That third season culminated last spring in the death of Marissa Cooper, played by Mischa Barton, a polarizing figure. Teen girls seemed to love Marissa. Many grown-ups cheered her demise, loudly.

When "The O.C." returned this season in the 8 p.m. Thursday slot that had become the toughest on television, it got clobbered by ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," NBC's "Deal or No Deal" and virtually tied the CW's "Supernatural." A Wednesday tryout the next week fared little better, sealing its fate.

"The shame is it's been really good this year," Sepinwall said. "Because [Schwartz] tried all those things last year to goose the ratings and none of it worked, he's decided to do what he likes. ... It's been one of the best dramedies on TV.

"It didn't matter how good it was this year. People talk about the resurgence of `ER' in the ratings. It's not that it's up much over the last few years or that it was ever that far down. It was still a relatively successful show. It's just that when you're pulling 12 to 14 million, that 2 million difference is not that big a deal. When you're pulling 6 million and you lose 2 million, that's huge."

It's a law of nature that what goes up will come down. But not everything does so spectacularly as falling stars.

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philrosenthal@tribune.com

Note: The author made an error when he said the OC was in the 8 p.m. timeslot.

[vinni2]

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20008247,00.html

'The O.C.' Wipes Out

Fox's teen drama went from watercooler hit to washed up in barely four seasons. What went wrong?

''I don't know that shows like [The O.C.] are necessarily designed to run forever, but just to be a blast while they're on,'' says creator Schwartz

By Jennifer Armstrong

It spawned one of the stickiest TV catchphrases of the last few years, introduced ''Chrismukkah'' to the national lexicon, and made comic-book geeks suddenly sexy. It revived the dormant teen-soap genre, brought emo to the masses, and helped make irony so cool that it wasn't. And now, in fewer than four years, Fox's once-signature drama The O.C. has gone from pop-culture-permeating phenomenon to cancellation.

When Fox announced on Jan. 3 that The O.C.'s Feb. 22 episode would be its series finale, there was one question to be asked: How did a show whose first season was so hot flame out so fast? The answer lies in the nature of the modern TV landscape, where new series come and go in one episode and big buzz is often followed by big backlash. The O.C. debuted to impressive numbers in August 2003, drawing 7.5 million viewers and turning its mostly unknown cast into bona fide stars. Soon came a supersize 27-episode season order, along with an insatiable fan appetite for the show's fast-paced action. ''We burned through a lot of story [in season 1],'' says creator-exec producer Josh Schwartz. ''We wanted to put it all out there on screen, and that's why the first season was so fun.'' Adds Craig Erwich, Fox's exec VP of programming, ''The show just hit a nerve — [they had] to go for it.''

But then came the hangover: Massive media attention meant that by season 2, some fans decided that The O.C. was no longer too cool for school. ''It's like being a band,'' Schwartz says. ''The cool kids discover you, then you become super popular, and that audience goes, Oh, I can't like it.'' It didn't help that with only four core teen characters — who'd already fought and made up ad nauseam — Newport Beach started to feel awfully claustrophobic. ''I don't know that shows like this are necessarily designed to run forever,'' Schwartz explains, ''but just to be a blast while they're on.''

The O.C.'s unique blend of comedy and over-the-top melodrama was a blast — at least most of the time. ''When it worked,'' says Schwartz, ''it was something you hadn't seen before.'' When it didn't, an audience-infuriating nut named Oliver materialized, as did gratuitous girl-on-girl action. And in a semi-shocking development last May, the lead female character died in a car crash. ''We were trying to keep pace so as to not get canceled, and it got overcooked,'' admits Schwartz. Yet he defends those widely derided story lines. ''People still talk about them, for good or ill. When we didn't do anything, people would be like, 'Why hasn't anyone gotten drunk or gotten in a fight?''' Adds Benjamin McKenzie, who broke out as punch-happy bad boy Ryan Atwood, ''At some point you're going to have feelings about doing the same thing over and over again. Around the third season, we reached a slow point. That was hard.'' Even harder were three time-slot changes — the most fatal being a switch from American Idol-driven Wednesday to ultra-competitive Thursday. Once Grey's Anatomy moved onto its block last fall, says Schwartz, ''we kind of knew what was going to happen.''

One bittersweet coda: The O.C. is now enjoying a creative — though not a ratings — resurgence. (It's currently averaging only 4.1 million viewers weekly.) ''I wanted to remind people of the first season,'' says Schwartz of lighter plots like Seth and Summer's on-and-off engagement and the surprisingly sweet romance between Ryan and Taylor Townsend. ''It was really creatively liberating, not worrying about ratings.'' Cast members agree — especially 28-year-old McKenzie, who's spent four years playing a teen. ''It feels like a natural death,'' says the actor. ''We're surrounded by family and friends, and we've said all the nice things we want to say to each other.'' But could The O.C. be resuscitated on The CW, as rumored? Not likely. ''You don't want to stay too long at the party,'' quips Schwartz, who's now developing the teen soap Gossip Girl at The CW, and the spy comedy Chuck for NBC. ''Because somebody might start a fistfight.''


Another article:

"Chino greets the cancellation with a shrug"

http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_4990806

[maalibu]

Looks like Mischa's got a new Fran

Mischa Barton has kept her fans guessing with her on-again, off-again relationship with grunge rocker Cisco Adler.

But an insider says she has also found time to get cozy with a co-star on her upcoming film, "Don't Fade Away."

The lucky young man is actor Fran Kranz, an old high school buddy of Jake Gyllenhaal.

"They hooked up on the set in North Carolina," says a pal. "But I wouldn't say they were dating. It's more casual than that, even though it's ongoing."

Play safely, kids!

Source: New York Daily News - News & Views - Ben Widdicombe's Gatecrasher: Kim-Ray J tape seen as hot seller