The O.C. series creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage admit that one of their biggest “regrets” from the series is killing off Mischa Barton’s character, Marissa Cooper, during the season 3 finale.
Savage, 54, revealed that the decision came because they were under “tremendous pressure” to create “drama.”
“Killing a series regular came down from the top,” she recalled during an interview with Vanity Fair published on Monday, August 14. “If we wanted a season 4, we’d have to do something like that.”
Savage and Schwartz, 47, collaborated on the forthcoming book Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History — set to be released on November 28 — where they “quite bluntly” discuss the topic of Marissa’s death. In a now-iconic scene, fans watched as Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) carried Marissa away from a fiery car wreck as she died in his arms.
“It’s something that we regret, and looking back on it, we wish we could have come up with a different solution,” Schwartz added. “We didn’t see an alternative path at the time, which is why we went down that road.”
Looking back, they explained that there were “other ways” that they could have written Marissa out and “still would’ve allowed for that character to return” down the road. However, the character’s death was her final goodbye.
Schwartz compared Marissa’s death to another shocking moment from The O.C., noting their differences.
“When Marissa shot Trey (Logan Marshall-Green), everyone was very upset in a way that was fun to experience. … Ultimately it was the reaction you wanted to get out of the audience,” he recalled. “When we saw the reaction after Marissa died from that audience, it did not feel good. It did not feel like that audience had been served or respected in the way that we always wanted and aimed to. Immediately, we had regret at that point.”
Previously, Barton, 37, revealed that she had “fought tooth and nail” for Marissa to die, telling The New York Times in May 2019 that she didn’t think that “sailing off into the sunset’s the proper goodbye” for the character.
Earlier this year, Barton appeared on the “Welcome to the O.C., Bitches” podcast alongside former costars Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke, where they watched Marissa’s death scene for the first time.
“Poor Marissa. She really, really goes through it,” Barton shared at the time, watching as Bilson wiped away tears. “Oh no, I’m getting really sad too.”
The O.C. aired on FOX for four seasons, from 2004 to 2007.
