Jake Jagielski

One Tree Hill is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons.

The show began with nine main characters in its first season. After that, characters from that first season left the show, with new main characters having been both written in and out of the series. Originally, it followed two half-brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott who started out as enemies but later formed a close bond as brothers. It also followed the brothers' various relationships with other female leads during their high-school years and in their early twenties. The series ultimately spanned nearly fifteen years across nine seasons, with various time jumps taken into account.

Chad Michael Murray was the first person to be cast for One Tree Hill. The producers were originally unsure as to who Murray would play. Series creator Mark Schwahn wanted him to play the character of Nathan Scott since Murray had played a bad guy several times before, he felt it was only natural to give him this role. Murray, however, wanted to portray Lucas due to a connection he felt with the character. He felt that he could inhabit the character as the two share several similarities. Murray's mother left him when he was young, and Lucas was abandoned by his father . Murray's passion for the role led the producers to cast him as Lucas. Murray had turned down the lead role of Ryan Atwood in The O.C. to accept the role of Lucas Scott.James Lafferty was later cast in the role of Nathan as he was a great basketball player.

Hilarie Burton, auditioned for the part of Ed Harris's daughter in the film Radio. She was encouraged by subsequent callbacks, but did not land the role. However, the casting department remembered her and asked her to send an audition tape for One Tree Hill, and producers promised her a character that she could sink her teeth into – Peyton. "[Burton] is an old soul," said Mark Schwahn, the series' creator. "She's great. She's always just thrilled to do the job, even though she's kind of new to acting. She's just a joy to be around." Burton said, "I've never studied acting or anything because I've been so lucky with MTV. I'm convinced I got the chance to be on One Tree Hill because I did a guest thing on Dawson's Creek as myself, when the cast appeared at the MTV Beach House." She added, "And my only scene was with Chad Michael Murray (Lucas Scott). So, now The Chad and I are reunited. How bizarre is that?"

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