The O.C. – Production

Conception

In 2002, creator Josh Schwartz met with Joseph „McG” McGinty Nichol and Stephanie Savage of production company Wonderland Sound and Vision. They told Schwartz they wanted to create a television show based in McG’s hometown of Newport Beach. Savage suggested producing a police or extreme sports 21 Jump Street-style show, but Schwartz knew little about the genre. Having had experiences with people from Newport Beach during his time at the University of Southern California, Schwartz came back to them with his own characters.The show was pitched to Fox and Warner Bros in August 2002. Fox targeted a summer launch for the show,and Doug Liman was brought in to direct the premiere after McG withdrew due to his scheduling conflicts withCharlie’s Angels 2. The show was confirmed for the 2003–2004 schedule in May, and an August 5, 2003 broadcast date was selected in June.

Schwartz, said that inspiration for the show came from being a fan of Larry Sanders, Cameron Crowe and other „quirky character-driven shows like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and My So-Called Life„. Schwartz went to college at the University of Southern CaliforniaSchool of Cinema-Television, and later said that The O.C. was „very much based on sort of the experiences I had when I was in college”. He also stated that Cohen family in season one resembles his own family life, adding that „The dynamic between Sandy and Seth is very much based on me and my dad.”

Filming locations

Manhattan Beach was one of the primary filming locations for the show.

Although the show is set in Newport Beach, financial penalties imposed for filming outside the studio zone meant much of the show was filmed in the Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County region. Many of the beach scenes were also filmed in Redondo Beach and Torrance. Sites in Los Angeles County were used for many different on-screen locations, which include Ryan’s hometown of Chino, Luke’s father’s Portland home, Johnny’s fathers Indio office andTijuana.

For the first episode, „Premiere„, the Cohen family home was shot on location in Malibu. A mock pool house was built for use in the pilot, and taken down after filming completed. The Cohen’s home was recreated on a soundstage at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach for filming during the rest of the series; the pool was only 4-feet deep meaning that the cast had to act on their knees. External shots of the original house remained in use throughout the show. The pilot was shot on 35 mm film stock, while subsequent episodes used digitally post-processed 16 mm in order to reduce the cost of production.

The Harbor School is the local school that the show’s adolescents attend. Based on Newport’s real-life Corona del Mar High School which executive producer McG attended, the filming location was actually Mount St. Mary’s College, a private woman’s college in Brentwood, Los Angeles. The University of California, Los Angeles was the location used to represent Berkeley, and the University of Southern California was used to represent Brown University. The FAA First Federal Credit Union building in Hawthorne was used to depict the Newport Group in season two. Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes was used three times on the show—twice for a wedding and once for a funeral. The Cohen’s original home in Berkeley, which they return to in „The End’s Not Near, It’s Here” was shot in South Pasadena.

Music

The Bait Shop which was the fictional concert venue that staged performances in the second and third season.

Alexandra Patsavas, who had previously worked on shows including Roswell and Carnivàle, was appointed as music supervisor on The O.C.. Patsavas worked alongside creator Josh Schwartz, in selecting the music to be used. Schwartz said that he had „always intended that music be a character on the show” The O.C. made indie rock a „main focus of the series” and also its marketing plan, releasing six soundtracks throughout the series. In the second season, a fictional new night club and concert venue, called The Bait Shop, was introduced. Bands including The Walkmen, The Killers, Modest Mouse, The Thrills, Rachael Yamagata, Death Cab for Cutie and The Subways all made guest appearances on the show performing at the venue. In addition to having guest artists perform on the show, it also premiered many new music singles from artists including the Beastie Boys, U2, Beck, Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, and The Shins.

Many bands gained exposure through the show which caused increase in sales of their music. Rooney, who were the first band to guest appear on the show, experienced a „200 percent increase in sales” after their appearance. Even artists who just had their songs featured benefited: Imogen Heap became „a household name stateside”, and Youth Group, who recorded a song specifically for the show, had „more than 5,000 iTunes downloads [of that track] in its first week” following it being played. However, not all bands were keen to feature on the show. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were asked to perform, but they turned it down because they were worried that it could diminish their credibility. Some fans and critics echoed that sentiment by stating that such appearances and mass marketing techniques are creating sell-outs.

Generally the music was well received. Ben Spier from Entertainment Weekly described the show as a „mixtaper’s dream” and Rolling Stone commented that the soundtrack was the reason people kept watching the show. However, Karyn L. Barr from Entertainment Weekly stated that using acts like U2 on a show that dedicated time to indie bands was „selling out.” Noah Davis of PopMatters.com criticised the show for neglecting plotlines and replacing them with „the gang’s countless trips to the Bait Shop”.