A troubled youth becomes embroiled in the lives of a close-knit group of people in the wealthy, upper-class neighborhood of Newport Beach, Orange County, California.

Creator:

Josh Schwartz
Reviews
Popularity
288 ( 35)

Episodes

Seasons


Years



4   3   2   1  
2007   2006   2005   2004   2003  
15 wins & 21 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Series cast summary:
Peter Gallagher ...  Sandy Cohen 92 episodes, 2003-2007
Kelly Rowan ...  Kirsten Cohen 92 episodes, 2003-2007
Ben McKenzie ...  Ryan Atwood 92 episodes, 2003-2007
Adam Brody ...  Seth Cohen 92 episodes, 2003-2007
Rachel Bilson ...  Summer Roberts 92 episodes, 2003-2007
Melinda Clarke ...  Julie Cooper / ... 90 episodes, 2003-2007
Mischa Barton ...  Marissa Cooper 76 episodes, 2003-2007
Tate Donovan ...  Jimmy Cooper 39 episodes, 2003-2006
Alan Dale ...  Caleb Nichol 37 episodes, 2003-2005
Edit

Storyline

A troubled teen named Ryan is taken in by a public defense lawyer and his rich real estate developer wife in Newport Beach, California after he is kicked out and abandoned by his alchoholic and unstable mother. He meets their quick-witted son Seth and they soon become best friends.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

The O.C. Orange County, It's where all the beautiful people live See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an early draft of the series, Ryan Atwood was going to be Sandy Cohen's illegitimate child. See more »

Goofs

Throughout out the series, it's clear that the actors/actresses portraying teenagers are actually in their 20s+. This is done as to not interfere with the schooling of real teenagers and to give the general viewing audience who are teenagers themselves someone they can look up to. See more »

Quotes

Seth: [showing off his fake IDs to Marissa] Sievy Sebulsky of Menlo Park. It's nice to meet you. Have you met my associate, Marty Navis?
See more »

Crazy Credits

For the first half of season one, Rachel Bilson (Summer) and Melinda Clarke (Julie) were credited as guest stars, even though Rachel Bilson appeared in each episode. From the fourteenth episode on, they were credited on the theme song as regulars. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Will & Grace: Christmas Break (2004) See more »

Soundtracks

California
(main title)
Performed by Phantom Planet
Written by Jason Schwartzman, Jacques Brautbar, Sam Farrar, Alex Greenwald,
Darren Robinson (uncredited)
See more »

User Reviews

Better than it ought to be
20 November 2003 | by eirefaerieSee all my reviews

It is at times corny, melodramatic, predictable, unbelievable as hell and sugar-coated. And yet? It works.

This show, which by all accounts should have been written off as a redo of good ole' Bev Niners, is funny, quirky and absolutely delightful. Somehow, over the first few episodes, it turned from being a guilty pleasure to just a genuine pleasure. This is largely due to the combined talents of Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Adam Brody and Ben McKenzie. They work as a family. They're funny. They're sweet. And somehow, Peter Gallagher is hot!

Adam Brody's ad-libs, Ben McK's baleful glances, Kelly Rowan's endearing nature and Peter Gallagher's eyebrows all add up to a fantastic hour of television that I await all week. The writing is quick, the acting (for the most part) is great and the in-jokes crack me up. Despite its silly premise, this show is pretty smart. And endearing. And really, really funny.

Would a public defender ever adopt his young client? No. Would ador(k)able, funny, smart Seth Cohen ever be considered unpopular? Probably not. Does Tate Donovan even look old enough to drink, let alone have a teenage daughter? Nah. My advice? Get over all that, sit back, and enjoy being entertained.

Cause this is how we do it in Orange County.


249 of 292 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 318 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Hulu

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 August 2003 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

O.C. See more »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page



Recently Viewed