When the news that One Tree Hill was making a comeback broke, my brain instantly started screaming: ‘I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately.’
The opening lyrics of what is undoubtedly Gavin DeGraw’s biggest hit was made famous by the high school drama and is as synonymous to my youth as a Spice Girls anthem or Tracy Beaker.
So, to say I’m more than just a little bit excited for the return of one of my favourite comfort shows – and one of my ultimate fictional inspirations, Brooke Davis – is an understatement.
The TV series originally ran during a special era where we’d been fed a new series annually, and each offering would be around 22 episodes long – statistics we can only dream of occurring in 2024.
Each week, the characters would find their way into my living room (and my heart) at such regular intervals that it was only natural that I’d become attached.
And despite the show ending more than a decade ago, my love for OTH has been unwavering ever since. Even the TikTok algorithm knows that I’m in it for the long haul as a good chunk of the videos on my FYP are clips of the series or recordings of the cast discussing their roles.
For those not initiated or needing a reminder, the show is set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina and initially focuses on the rivalry between the Scott half-brothers – Nathan (James Lafferty) and Lucas (Chad Michael Murray).
However, it wasn’t long before the world continued to expand to follow the exploits of Hayley James Scott (Bethany Joy Lenz), Brooke (Sophia Bush), Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton) and more.
There’s everything from teen pregnancy and dramatic basketball games, to friendship breakups and makeups, romances to aspire to (team Nayley forever!), tragic deaths, and a large dosage of soppy, teachable moments.
The return will reportedly pick up 20 years after the original though, and this time it will be centred on Peyton and Brooke as they navigate being parents to teenagers. They are ‘facing challenges not unfamiliar to what they tackled in the original series like love, insecurities and grief’ Deadline reported.
While my love for the series is everlasting, the show that ran from 2003 to 2012 is not without its issues. Here is what I’d like to see change in the reboot.
Not everybody needs to be famous
Tree Hill High School’s ability to produce famous people needs to be studied.
Basically every character gained recognition for their talent – Hayley became a singer (but also managed to hold down a job as a teacher), Brooke was a fashion designer, Nathan was a basketball player, Lucas made it as an author, Dan Scott [Paul Johansson] had his own talk show, Mouth McFadden [Lee Norris] was a sports commentator, Julian was an established film director – the list goes on.
While we salute them all for getting so far in their respective fields, it feels kind of unrealistic that a whole friendship group would be in celebrity magazines. Nothing wrong with a few characters not having national notoriety, and being a little more relatable with some more common 9-5s.
More empowering storylines for the women
The women of the show were often made fun of for their sexuality – there were regular slut-shaming jokes about Brooke’s bedroom choices, but the same couldn’t be said for Nathan, who was a proud player before Hayley.
Even Lucas, whose indecision when choosing between Brooke and Peyton was frustrating, got off lightly. He walked, so that Emily in Paris’ Emily, Gabriel and Lucas could run.
Personally, I think it’s about time we saw the women judged less, and more accountability for the men.
It goes without saying that the female stars need to feel comfortable with everything in the script. They’ve spoken openly about how that wasn’t the case on the first run, and how they often felt overly sexualised. There have also been allegations of sexual harassment made against the show creator, which must have made filming extra difficult.
Now the women are in the driving seat and have the chance to reclaim the show, and we hope this is clear in each scene including the intimate scenes, which should be shot from a female gaze.
More Rachel
Although we came for the Scott brothers, we stayed for Brooke, Hayley and Peyton, so I’d like to see that they get the most airtime. It’s not been confirmed who else will and won’t be returning, but if there’s one character whose arch we’d like to see built upon it’s Rachel Gatina (Danneel Ackles).
Back in the day she made some iffy decisions – causing a car accident after being broken up with her much older lover (who was also, coincidentally, Nathan’s uncle) – but she also took the fall for stealing the answers to a maths test so Brooke didn’t get into trouble, and was a pretty excellent friend.
She deserves a better ending than being dumped by Dan Scott and we envisage her returning as president of the parents’ committee at Tree Hill High School. A role that could see her bring back the ultimate frenemy-ship with Brooke.
Jake and Peyton are endgame
This might be an unpopular opinion but Lucas and Peyton were toxic. Peyton and Jake Jagielski (Bryan Greenberg) however, had the kind of quiet love you only appreciate on your rewatch as an adult.
Someone is going to need a divorce for the plot, and Peyton and Lucas – it’s got to be you, which will make way for a sweet reunion.
Mum and daughter goals
A big part of the original series is that Brooke and Peyton never got present mother figures during those pivotal high school years, but the reboot gives them the chance to be what they didn’t have.
I want to see mother-daughter bonds so strong they make Lorelai and Rory Gilmore look estranged. I also want to witness them being tested with fun hijinks, such as their sprogs sneaking out to attend house parties, and skipping classes.
Mostly, I need former cheer captain Brooke to teach her protege (and me) the moves to Kung Fu Fighting.
Less pantomime villains
Finally, One Tree Hill’s biggest villain, Dan Scott, will (for obvious reasons to OG viewers) not be making a return after he was killed protecting Nathan. But before the heroic act he was a nuisance to say the least and by the end of the series, the pantomime villain got a little tiring.
In life it’s rare someone is just evil, there’s usually a more grey area, and I’d like to see that in the characters. Instead we could have people with redeeming qualities making mistakes. But definitely no Nanny Carrie.
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One Tree Hill has done three kidnap plots and we think it’s time they retire the narrative device. We’ve all served our time with it.
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