Paul Dailly
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The creators of The OC are speaking out about their controversial decision to kill off Mischa Barton’s Marissa Cooper.
Barton was written out of the FOX teen soap at the close of its third season, forever changing the series and possibly paving the way for its cancellation one season later.
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage opened up to Vanity Fair about the decision in an interview promoting their new book, Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History.
Marissa was killed off when Volchok drove Ryan’s car off the road, leading to one of the defining moments of the series.
“It’s something that we regret, and looking back on it, we wish we could have come up with a different solution,” Schwartz says to the outlet.
“We didn’t see an alternative path at the time, which is why we went down that road,” he elaborated.
“But obviously in hindsight, there were lots of other ways we could have written the character off the show — and given Mischa the break that she needed and wanted — that still would’ve allowed for that character to return.”
The fourth and final season of The OC picked up months later, with the characters trying to pick up the pieces.
Savage revealed to Vanity Fair that there was “tremendous pressure” from the network to amp up the drama on the show, and killing off a series regular seemed the best foot forward at the time.
“If we wanted a Season 4, we’d have to do something like that,” she added.
Schwartz admitted that the reaction to the death was enough to let them know it wasn’t the right call.
“It did not feel like that audience had been served or respected in the way that we always wanted and aimed to,” he shared.
“Immediately, we had regret at that point.”
Barton, for her part, revealed in a 2021 interview with E! Online that she got the decision of being written out dead or alive and that there was a possibility she could return at some point.
“It just felt like it was the best thing for me and my health and just in terms of not really feeling protected by my cast and crew at that point,” she said of choosing the death route.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.