After a summer of moviemaking with Zach Braff on The Last Kiss, some have wondered if Rachel Bilson would grow disinterested in the teen drama that made her a star. But chatting during her walk to lunch on The O.C.‘s set, the 25-year-old laughs off such reports, giving a candid explanation on her future plans and how she really feels about her Newport residency. “I had such an amazing time [doing The Last Kiss],” she raves. “It definitely made me realize that ultimately I would love to have a film career. But I love doing the show, as well, and it is my first priority.”
Next on that list of priorities, it seems, is an undeniable faith in the sunny series — despite the fact that it’s coming off a season universally regarded as weak. Even creator and writer Josh Schwartz fesses up to the failings of Season 3. “The most shocking aspect of this season might be that it’s good,” he quips. “We realy made the decision this year to do the show for the fans.” Bilson agrees with her boss, and believes that, even given the Thursday-night competition of two little shows by the names of CSI and Grey’s Anatomy, the fans will appreciate the effort. “I think we have our audience, and I feel like they’ve been true to us the whole time we’ve been on, so I don’t think we’ll lose that,” she says. “I know we have tough competition, and they’re some great shows, but we each have our own audience.”
It might sound a little like Bilson is just putting the company spin on things, but when she starts talking about some of the situations we’ll be seeing in the show’s upcoming fourth season, premiering Nov. 2 on FOX, it’s with genuine excitement. “I had to do my own stunt last night, where we get pushed into a pool,” she reveals. “That was actually fun! I always joke around like, ‘I do my own stunts!'”
She’s tight-lipped about any juicy plot spoilers, but what she will say is that we’re going to see a whole new side of Summer in Season 4. Having gone off to college at the decidedly un-O.C. Brown University in Rhode Island, Summer will be worrying less about Gucci than granola. “She’s turned a little eco-trendy,” Bilson laughs. “She’s taken on that role to distract herself from the grief and her feelings about losing her best friend.”
With the loss of a character as pivotal as that best friend, Schwartz knew that the show had to recognize and honor the absence of Mischa Barton’s Marissa Cooper, but “without letting the show become depressing and mopey.” To that end, Schwartz and co. used Marissa’s death as a way to return to the heart and soul of the drama and humor that originally made The O.C. such a success. “The idea is that people grieve in very strange ways. Tragedy brings out the best and worst in people. Several of our characters have lost their minds a little bit in the aftermath of Marissa’s death,” he says. “There’s a lot of humor in these episodes — even though that idea might seem incongruous with the circumstances.”
Humor that manifests itself with Ryan, perhaps? Word is, his fists of fury have returned, this time as a cage fighter. Schwartz assures us, though, that we’re not talking UFC territory, here. “I don’t want to make too huge of a deal out of this. It’s not like on his tax return he would write CAGE FIGHTER under ‘occupation.’ He has found an outlet for the internal pain he’s feeling.”
As it happens, Summer and Ryan aren’t the only members of the O.C. family feeling the pain of losing Barton. “We still have our family — just one member’s missing,” Bilson says. “It was really hard, especially for my dogs, because they always played with Mischa’s dogs. They walk by her dressing room [like], ‘Hey, where’d they go!?'”
Helping to fill the void are a few familiar faces, plus some new Newpsies. Joining the gang as regular castmembers are Willa Holland (Kaitlin Cooper) and Autumn Reeser (Taylor Townsend), both of whose characters the fans have gotten to know and love/hate, depending on the episode; and R&B star Chris Brown turns up as a band geek who befriends Kaitlin at Harbor High.
Keeping summer company in Rhode Island is Che, her Svengali and partner in crime with “the whole left movement thing. “Chris Pratt, who was on Everwood, plays [Summer’s] friend at Brown,” Bilson explains. “It’s been so much fun working with him. Chris is just such a great guy — he’s hysterical.”
Hysterical, sure, but does he play well with dogs?