Ben McKenzie would be “up for” a reboot of his beloved TV show The O.C.
The actor found fame playing Ryan Atwood in the US programme, which ran from 2004 to 2007 and launched the careers of stars including Rachel Bilson and Mischa Barton.
Appearing on a radio show on Australia’s KIIS 1065 station on Friday (04.09.26), Ben was asked about the possibility of bringing the series back - to which he admitted he isn’t averse to the idea.
He said: “I don’t know that there has ever been serious talks, but I’d be up for it. Yeah, I think so, under the right circumstances.
“It was a great show. We had a great time. I learned a lot. I was so young, we were all young.”
It’s not the first time the possibility of a reboot of The O.C. has been floated.
Mischa, who played Ben’s love interest Marissa Cooper until she was killed off at the end of season three, also hinted there could be a reboot on the horizon during an interview with RTL, as she said: “There might be a reunion coming up; we’ll see.”
Pushed for more details about the possibility, she added again: “We’ll see!”
While Rachel, who played Summer Roberts in the show, told Variety back in June 2024 that she would “always be up” for revisiting the role.
However, she mused: “But it’s also this thing that people still watch and are still discovering. So do you just leave that special moment as it is?”
Rachel continued: “You weigh both sides because obviously it would be fun and I love everybody and it would be awesome to go back and we need to somehow bring Marissa back to life and do the whole thing if we do it.
“But also leaving it for what it was and how special it kind of was, is also a positive.”
Not everyone is on board with a reboot, however, with Adam Brody - who played Seth Cohen on the show - saying he thinks that “socially, I think we’re in a different place”.
On the Welcome to The O.C., B******! podcast back in 2021, he added: “I feel like The O.C., while it claims to be in a similar sense of Gossip Girl, while it would sort of say it’s a critique [of affluence], it’s not.
“It’s a celebration. It’s a celebration of affluence, in my opinion.”
