Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
When faced with the choice to “acknowledge The O.C. now or lose it forever,” Hulu chose the latter.
Josh Schwartz’s zeitgeist-piercing drama The O.C. (don’t call it that) is officially leaving Hulu on Wednesday, April 1. Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be a poorly-timed April Fools’ Day prank as the show’s Hulu page currently has the dreaded “Exp Wed” notification and the streaming service confirmed the popular program’s departure to Decider.
Premiering on FOX in August of 2003, this influential series followed the story of Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), a troubled teen from Chino (Chino? Ew!) who moves to Newport Beach after being adopted by the wealthy Cohen family. Also starring Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, Mischa Barton, Peter Gallagher, and Kelly Rowan, the first season of the series utilized a frenetic storytelling style that burned through plot (and characters) at a feverish pace. Multiple love triangles! Dramatic declarations of love! Tijuana! Oliver Trask! Luke Ward! Anna Stern! Rooney!
When The O.C. was at its best it was untouchable. Season 1 to Season 2’s mid-season finale (“Rainy Day Women”) remains the gold standard of teen dramas, as evidenced by this iconic moment.
Sadly, The O.C. will no longer be streaming for free. The series isn’t available on Netflix, but individual episodes and complete seasons are available to buy or rent on Prime Video.
Hey, at least we’ll always have the coffee cart, right?
