The O.C. (TV series)

The O.C.
Series intertitle, seasons 3-4
Genre	Teen drama
Created by	Josh Schwartz
Starring	Peter Gallagher Kelly Rowan Benjamin McKenzie Mischa Barton Adam Brody Chris Carmack Tate Donovan Melinda Clarke Rachel Bilson Alan Dale Autumn Reeser Willa Holland
Opening theme	"California" by Phantom Planet
Composer(s)	Christopher Tyng Richard Marvin
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	92 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Dave Bartis (season 1) Bob DeLaurentis Doug Liman (season 1) McG Stephanie Savage (season 4; co-executive producer seasons 1–3) Josh Schwartz
Producer(s)	Loucas George John Stephens Mike Kelley David Calloway
Location(s)	Malibu Manhattan Beach Redondo Beach Torrance Brentwood Rancho Palos Verdes South Pasadena Chino, California
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	College Hill Pictures Wonderland Sound and Vision Game Over Films Warner Bros. Television
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	Fox
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV)
Original release	August 5, 2003 (2003-08-05) – February 22, 2007 (2007-02-22)
Website

The O.C. is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an abbreviation of "Orange County."

The series centers on Ryan Atwood, a troubled but tough young man from a broken home who is adopted by the wealthy and philanthropic Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. Ryan and his foster brother Seth, a socially awkward yet quick-witted teenager, deal with life as outsiders in the high-class world of Newport Beach. Ryan and Seth spend much time navigating their relationships with girl-next-door Marissa Cooper, Seth's childhood crush Summer Roberts, and the fast-talking loner Taylor Townsend. Storylines deal with the culture clash between the idealistic Cohen family and the shallow, materialistic, and closed-minded community in which they reside. The series includes elements of postmodernism, and functions as a mixture of melodrama and comedy.

The series premiered with high ratings and was one of the most popular new dramas of the 2003–2004 television season. It was widely referred to as a pop cultural phenomenon and received mostly positive reception from critics. However, ratings declined as the show went on. The low ratings led to its cancellation in early 2007, even after an online petition that gained over 700,000 signatures.