https://bleedingcool.com/tv/one-tree-hill-sequel-series-eyed-by-netflix-bush-burton-returning/
Okay, so a sequel to One Tree Hill that stars Hailie Burton and Sophia Bush but none of the rest of the original cast, yeah I’m thinking it’s no for me. I used to be a fan of the OG show, despite it being pretty ridiculous and very much a product of it’s time, but revisiting the show while leaving out other leads is not something I’m interested in. It ruins the send -offs and ending we were given.
The show started as the story of the Scott brothers, Lucas and Nathan. The OG already let showcasing the brother relationship fall to the wayside too much when the OG main cast was all still on the show. So no, we already know CCM won’t be back. My guess is that they kill Lucas off with a heart attack due to his HCM. Hilarie and Sophia are like two mean girl besties who used to talk over Joy on their Drama Queens podcast when they hosted it together, and there is speculation that Hilarie and Joy are on the outs in particular. So, say goodbye to Hailey. With no a Hailey, say goodbye to Nathan (and Jamie). Aaannd new i have lost my reason to give a crap a boy this potential show. If the characters I cared most about aren’t on it, I’m not interested.
But, we might get Danneel back playing Rachel! Yay! By all means, let’s bring back, and probably redeem, one of the meanest, most stereotypical, shallow and shitty recurring characters (who literally married a murderer who happened to be one of the abusive parents on the show for money) instead of the OG mains. Rachell was, quite literally, the worst, but with Chaos Machine producing, I think it’s clear her character will show up.
Still, if there is one thing all of these actresses love to do, it’s to attribute the worst motivations to all of the male characters in the show, while excusing and justifying all of their own characters' bad behavior or wrongdoing. If the attitudes they show towards characters on the podcast Drama Quedns is any indication, I’m going to dislike anything they have a hand in creating on this new show.
My prediction: is Brook and Peyton will fall in love … because just as opposite-sex characters could not just be friends in media around 15 years ago, now it’s same-sex ones that can’t just be supportive friends. I’m not against representation or LGBTQ+ characters in shows at all. What does bug me is contrived rewriting of characters to earn points. They are going to kill off Luke, break-up Brooke and Julian, they won't include or mention Hailey and Nathan, despite them being Peyton's in-laws and Brooke's friends. They will find supporting characters from the OG show, that we were already sick of during its runtime, to make appearances even though it often won't make sense because they were closer to other main characters that are not on the sequel. Worse than all that though, is the Pollyanna effect I can already see happening with Peyton and Brooke's characters.
Maybe I’m wrong and it does justice to all of the characters who were on the original. Maybe the story is compelling and not stereotypical. Maybe, but I doubt it