Production

Where it all began…

Mark Schwahn originally planned to make One Tree Hill a feature length movie with the title Ravens, after the high school basketball team. However, he said that it would be more interesting as a television series. The title of the show and the name of the fictional town where the series takes place is derived from the song “One Tree Hill”, which is, actually, named after a landmark in New Zealand. Most of the episodes of the show are titles of songs, bands or albums.

Schwahn named the town “Tree Hill” because while he was writing the idea for the show he had been listening to the album The Joshua Tree by U2. At the start of the show, fans often asked Schwahn why the show was named One Tree Hill when the town was just called Tree Hill. The question is ostensibly answered when Karen tells Lucas in Episode 1.22 that “There is only one Tree Hill – and it’s your home.” 1, Tree Hill is also the address of Tree Hill High School.

How they set up each episode…

Episodes follow a regular structure. An episode usually begins with a recap of events relevant to the upcoming narrative; however this is sometimes dropped due to time constraints. During the first four seasons, the theme tune is played either immediately after the recap, or after the first few scenes. Whenever an episode features sensitive or violent subjects, or when an episode’s running length is close to the total allotted time, there are no opening credits but only One Tree Hill written on a black background. Since the beginning of Season 5, the theme tune was abandoned and only the single title shot is used.

One Tree Hill is known for its numerous voiceovers featuring either literary quotes, or characters reflecting on events of the episode. Most of them have been made by Chad Michael Murray’s character Lucas Scott. However, there have been several occurrences where other characters have done so. James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Bethany Joy Galeotti and Paul Johansson have narrated various episodes in their starring roles as Nathan Scott, Peyton Sawyer, Brooke Davis, Haley James Scott and Dan Scott, respectively. Guest stars Bryan Greenberg, Sheryl Lee, Torrey DeVitto and Ashley Rickards have given their voice to an episode each, playing the roles of Jake Jagielski, Ellie Harp, Carrie and Sam Walker. There have also been episodes that feature multiple narrators. Cast members Lee Norris, Antwon Tanner, Danneel Harris, Barry Corbin and Jackson Brundage voiced their characters Mouth, Skills, Rachel, Coach Brian “Whitey” Durham and Jamie respectively. Characters who interact with the main cast such as Bevin, Chase, Shelly and Glenda helped to narrate the joint episodes being portrayed by Bevin Prince, Stephen Colletti, Elisabeth Harnois and Amber Wallace. As the show progesses, more and more songs have replaced voiceovers. Starting with Season 7, Paul Johansson’s character, Dan Scott, has taken over the narrator’s role.

Over the years…

One Tree Hill’s timeline was set as complex by Schwahn in 2003. In the first season of the series, the main teenage characters are age sixteen. The first and second seasons equate to one year, and the third and fourth seasons equate to another year. Due to this, the main teenage characters are age eighteen at the end of the fourth season; but instead of the show’s timeline contrasting the real world, it corresponds to it with the real-world date of 2007. The timeline was further complicated in the fifth season of the series, where the show was “dramatically retooled and set four years into the future – after the characters [had] already graduated from college”. The fifth season began shooting on July 30, 2007 and premiered January 8, 2008. With this, the characters were stated to be age twenty two. In 2009, Schwahn decided to alter the timeline again, as the seventh season is set fourteen months after the show’s sixth season, helping to better explain the somewhat abrupt departures of series leads Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton.

Themes

One Tree Hill consists of various themes, such as love, friendship, rivalries, betrayal, forgiveness, and redemption. Its two most prominent themes have been basketball and romance.

Theme: The game of the show…

Basketball is a core aspect of the show, which helps to add a sense of masculinity and attract male viewers. TheCinemaSource.com said, “The only thing you might notice that’s strange is that the teen’s school lives are heavily focused on basketball and cheerleading. If they do happen to be in a classroom, the only teacher they have is Coach Whitey.”

Schwahn stated of the basketball element, “A lot of times, the basketball games for us are like the crimes, or it’s the courtroom, the police precinct, or the medical operating arena – it was like our home turf.” He said the other shows rarely focus on “the actual case or medical issue [being dealt with]” and are more about the people. “For us, that’s what basketball was. It was never about playing basketball, but it was about what was happening to the people when this game or tournament was approaching.”

In Season 2, the basketball drama was completely removed from the series, due to executive sentiment that the show was geared more toward a male audience. David Janollari, then-entertainment president at The WB, partly attributed the show’s sophomore success to it shifting its focus from a male-driven sports plot to expand the stories of its girls. He felt they had time to “step back and learn from audience response” and that Schwahn tailored the show toward the “core audience”. Schwahn said, “Girls watch the show in large numbers. [In the first season], the girls [on the show] were sort of appendages to the boys.” Show producer Joe Davola and Schwahn agreed with the “sex sells” and “skin to win” sentiments. Less time on the basketball court could afford One Tree Hill more time for plots fueled by sex and drugs. Lack of basketball drama, however, meant a decrease in male viewership. In a 2006 interview, Schwahn stated, “In the second TV season, we didn’t play any basketball, which was the rest of their junior year, and I felt that the show suffered a little bit.” For Season 3, the basketball aspect was added back, and has since continued to be a part of the series, though not to the same extent as Season 1.

Theme: Love is in the air…

The show features various couples which have contributed to the popularity of the series. Shipper fandoms have created portmanteaux for each, the most prominent being the Lucas and Peyton (Leyton or LP), Brooke and Lucas (Brucas or BL), Nathan and Haley (Naley or NH), and Jake and Peyton (Jeyton or JP) fandoms, complete with fan videos and fanfiction (on sites such as YouTube and Fanfiction.net). Nathan and Haley’s portmanteau “Naley” has been referenced in the show, and three of the pairings have motifs. For Lucas and Peyton, “I’ll be seeing you” (said by Lucas), “You’re always saving me” (said by Peyton), and “I’ll wait for you” (said by both) serve as their primary themes. Nathan and Haley use “Always and forever,” and Jake and Peyton use “Someday.” Brooke and Lucas refer to each other by the nicknames “Boyfriend” and “Pretty girl” to occasionally express their love for each other.

Of the Lucas and Peyton romance, Schwahn stated, “Here’s what I’ll say about that: From the pilot, we designed a world where Peyton and Lucas were meant to be together…” “I would say that, um, for me, the seeds were planted for him to pick Peyton in the pilot — in [that] first episode… When Lucas is at the Rivercourt at the end of that pilot, you know,” stated Schwahn, “I think we feel like this is the girl [who] is his soulmate. And, you know, the pilot ends with him saying, ‘I’ll be seeing you.’” To complete their dynamic, Schwahn applied a brooding theme. “They’re two kids that carry around the weight of the world quite a bit. Can they agree together to let go of that weight? The theme for Lucas and Peyton is, ‘How do you learn to be happy when you’ve spent so much time carrying grief around?’” He added, “Do you feel guilty for being happy? Is it OK to let it go?…” The couple was additionally given their own theme music to assist their second primary theme, Lucas often rescuing Peyton (from either despair, dangerous situations, or herself). First heard in the school shooting episode “With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept,” where Lucas strives to save a dying Peyton, the theme titled “Saving Peyton” was composed by John Nordstrom. The pairing have been referred to as star-crossed.

Making Lucas and Peyton the central love story created an intense fanbase rivalry between those who would rather he be with/end up with Brooke. “[These] are two very passionate camps. And don’t think I don’t know it,” acknowledged Schwahn. “I think sometimes one camp thinks they’re being ignored [in the name of the other].” Schwahn said that although he designed Lucas and Peyton to be together from the start, it did not necessarily mean that there was no chance of Brooke and Lucas having a genuine shot at ending up together, and that he was aware of their portrayers’, and real-life ex spouses (Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush’s), “great” chemistry. He was not stubbornly holding on to the idea of Leyton. Schwahn said the Peyton/Lucas/Brooke love triangle is also by intricate design, and became a staple of the show. “There is a huge fanbase dedicated to Brooke and Lucas, and sometimes [those people] feel a bit betrayed, just as the fanbase dedicated to Peyton and Lucas felt betrayed [in Season 2, and parts of Season 3],” said Schwahn. “That tells me that we’ve done things correctly — that’s the strength of a love triangle.”

The sentiment of “fanbase betrayal” first began with Season 2′s episode “Don’t Take Me For Granted,” where, after saying there is a girl that is “slipping away” and he needs to tell her he has romantic feelings for her, Lucas shows up at Brooke’s house instead of Peyton’s. Most viewers (including Lucas/Peyton and Brooke/Lucas fans) could not relate the “slipping away” line to Brooke, since Peyton had been the girl Lucas was in love with in Season 1 and had now sort of become a stranger to him. Fans pondered four specific questions: When was Brooke slipping away? Did Lucas just mean he did not want to lose her? Was it a plot device to make it seem like Peyton? Or was it Peyton? Speculation that Murray and Bush’s marriage affected Lucas’s sudden change of heart, including whether or not Brooke and Lucas would be together, was also rampant. Schwahn stated:

That’s a much debated line… ‘I feel like she’s slipping away.’ Obviously, I planted it there and specifically then cut from his words to a close up of Peyton because I wanted to tell the audience, “Well, he’s talking about Peyton. Clearly, he’s talking about Peyton.” As we know, that wasn’t ultimately where his journey led him and it’s been debated online and in certain circles that he never really said who it was. So there are camps that root for Lucas and Peyton and camps that root for Brooke and Lucas, and camps that root for others, which is all good for the show.

The other prominent pairing, Nathan and Haley, emerged as one of the show’s supercouples. “I think Nathan and Haley… Well [Mark] Schwahn always says that he had that sort of as an ‘ace in the hole’ the entire time,” stated James Lafferty, portrayer of Nathan. “As he was writing the pilot script, he was planning on doing that, he really didn’t know how it would pan out or what would happen. But, the fans have responded so passionately towards it, and I’m not really sure why.” However, Lafferty said there is a genuine relationship between Nathan and Haley. “…It started as something sort of based on betrayal and deceit. It then kind of transgressed over into something based on actual true love”, said Lafferty. “So, I think that it’s a transition that the fans really bought into, and I think that people really enjoy to watch.” Schwahn said, “I love Nathan and Haley, and most of our audience does as well.” He explained:

Nathan and Haley’s fan base is so strong, and there’s a reason for that. That couple is gold as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve felt that way since the very beginning. People always ask me about when I’m just going to let them be happy, and it’s always an interesting question because I feel like they’ve always been the most stable couple on the show. They have a lot of obstacles come their way… but I see them growing — especially with the jump ahead and aging them a little bit — I see them growing into some really great places, not only as individuals, but as a family.

The money behind the plot…

AT&T is prominently inserted into the show as a sponsor. Most of the characters on the show have AT&T Mobility (and earlier, Cingular) cell phones. The company has given One Tree Hill fans the chance to make several choices about the show’s plot. The first was whether or not Nathan and Taylor would kiss when they met at the ‘Swinging Donkey’ bar in Season 2; the fans chose for them not to. The second was what Nathan and Haley’s second wedding song would be in the finale of Season Three; the fans chose “More Than Anyone” by Gavin DeGraw. The company also allowed the fans to choose which band would perform at the senior prom in Season Four; the fans chose Within Reason, a band from Birmingham, Alabama.

Sunkist is another sponsor which can be spotted at concerts in episodes such as “When it Isn’t Like it Should Be” and “Just Watch the Fireworks”, in the characters’ fridges, and on the school’s vending machines. It held a contest to choose which town the characters would visit in “It Gets the Worst at Night”, and Honey Grove, Texas won. Nike makes multiple appearances in the show. The Tree Hill high school basketball team wore Nike jerseys and shoes. Almost all athletic shoes worn by Nathan during his basketball run were Nike shoes. The characters also make references to Nike athletes including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony. Nike also provided the film crew with their own sweater vests for season 5.

Nike makes multiple appearances in the show. The Tree Hill high school basketball team wore Nike jerseys and shoes. Almost all athletic shoes worn by Nathan during his basketball run were Nike shoes. The characters also make references to Nike athletes, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony. Nike also provided the film crew with their own sweater vests for Season 5.

In Episode 4.04: “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started”, Rachel took part in a Maxim photoshoot which mirrored a real life photoshoot for Danneel Harris, Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush, in stores on October 14, 2006, where Danneel wore the same outfit as her character. In Episode 4.07: “All These Things That I’ve Done”, America’s Next Top Model winner of a challenge, CariDee English got to play a small role as a model named Tia in a fashion show. Macy’s had a competition to win a walk-on role on the show. The winner would get to spend time with the cast, see the show in production, attend a charity event and appear in one episode. In Episode 5.17: “Hate is Safer Than Love”, Mia, played by Kate Voegele agrees to take part in both Rock the Vote and a Starburst funded concert.

Music, its always about the music….

Music plays a significant part in the plot and the movement of the scenes throughout an episode. Several scenes are tied together seamlessly at the end of each show and the song, which is usually played in its entirety and helps create a singular mood from seemingly unconnected events. A significant portion of One Tree Hill episodes are named after songs.

In addition to featuring popular indie music on the show, artists have guest-starred. The show has used the musical aspirations of two characters (Peyton and Haley) to integrate the guest storylines. The in-universe bar and dance-club ‘TRIC’ and ‘Karen’s Café’ have been the settings of most of the musical performances. The season with most performances is Season 3, which also saw the release of a second soundtrack for the show. The show has a long list of artists who have participated in the show; Gavin DeGraw, Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch, The Wreckers, Tyler Hilton, Jimmy Eat World, The Honorary Title, Fall Out Boy, Angels & Airwaves, Nada Surf, Jack’s Mannequin, Michelle Featherstone, Lupe Fiasco, Bear Lake, and Within Reason. Season 5 featured Kate Voegele in an important character role as Mia Catallano, The Honorary Title and Kevin Federline in another character role as Jason. Bethany Joy Galeotti who plays Haley James Scott, Bryan Greenberg who played Jake Jagielski and Tyler Hilton who played Chris Keller have also performed on the show. Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz appeared in an episode after the band’s performance as himself, in a storyline where he becomes a love-interest for Peyton. Other well-known bands whose songs have featured on the show include: Oasis, Radiohead, Stereophonics, Mclusky, Snow Patrol, Frightened Rabbit, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, Bon Iver, Keane, Starsailor, Travis, Feeder, Dashboard Confessional, Pink, The Cure, Switchfoot, Audioslave and Foo Fighters.

The show has released three soundtrack albums: One Tree Hill – Music From The WB Television Series, Vol. 1, Friends with Benefit: Music from the Television Series One Tree Hill, Volume 2 and The Road Mix: Music from the Television Series One Tree Hill, Volume 3. Proceeds of the second soundtrack go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to tie in with a storyline on the show involving breast cancer. On November 13 2008, iTunes published a soundtrack called “Music From One Tree Hill” that contained songs from the sixth season.

Schwahn has revealed that each episode title is named after a particular song that has something in common with the theme of the episode. For example, episode 1.02 (“The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most”) is named after a Dashboard Confessional song of the same name. In this episode, Lucas realizes that basketball, which had once been his safe place, is now the place that he has come to fear the most after joining the Ravens.

One Tree Hill made history by having Led Zeppelin’s song “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” in its Season 3 finale. Led Zeppelin has never licensed their songs on network TV (the only other time was on HBO’s cable series The Sopranos). One Tree Hill is the first non-cable network television series to ever have a licensed Led Zeppelin song on their show.

Syndication

On February 7, 2007, SOAPnet announced that it would be picking up reruns of The O.C. and One Tree Hill. The deal made with the show’s production company, Warner Brothers, states that SOAPnet holds on to the option of picking up the fifth season for syndication which SOAPnet did, airing fifth season episodes beginning in January 2009.

The plot thickens…

There were 22 episodes in Season 1, 23 episodes in Season 2, 22 episodes in Season 3, 21 episodes in Season 4, 18 episodes in Season 5, 24 episodes in Season 6, and 24 episodes have been ordered for Season 7.

The first season deals with the first half of Lucas’s, Peyton’s, Nathan’s, Haley’s and Brooke’s junior years (up to the first game of the State Championship). Major storylines include the rivalry between Nathan and Lucas, the blossoming of Haley and Nathan’s relationship, the set-up of the Peyton-Lucas-Brooke love triangle, the parent’s own love quadrangle and the basketball state championship.

The second season explores new romances between Lucas and Anna, Jake and Peyton, and Felix and Brooke. Also featured is the disintegration of Haley and Nathan’s marriage and the repercussions of Dan’s genetic disease Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – especially on Lucas. Karen goes back to school, beginning a relationship with her teacher, Andy Hargove, in addition to starting the Tric club. Also in this season, a troubled Deb struggles with an addiction, and recurring character Chris Keller is introduced.

Season three features the arrival of trouble-maker Rachel Gatina, who would stir drama in the Lucas-Brooke relationship. Peyton and Jake’s relationship draws to a close while Haley and Nathan reconcile and plan a wedding. Chris Keller exits the show permanently. Dan has a major subplot trying to solve the attempt on his life made during the previous season’s cliffhanger. A major episode involving most of the main cast in a hostage situation at Tree Hill High culminates with Peyton getting shot in the leg and Dan’s murder of his brother, Keith.

The fourth season features the second Peyton-Lucas-Brooke love triangle. Haley’s pregnancy is threatened by Nathan’s risky forays into gambling and loan sharks. Peyton is stalked by her fake half brother named Derek. Lucas and the real Derek come and save her. Lucas looks for the truth behind his uncle’s death, leading him to suspect Dan with different visions of Keith, at a time when Dan is rekindling his romance with Karen. It also sees the growing friendship between Rachel and Brooke. The season builds up to the group’s graduation from High School and Haley and Karen having their babies.

The fifth season jumps forward in time 4-plus years. The gap is sometimes shown in flashback as the character’s struggle with adulthood and return to the town of Tree Hill for various reasons. Lucas, a published author, is in a committed relationship with his editor, Lindsey, which becomes a triangle when Peyton returns from a failed music career in Los Angeles. The marriage of Haley and Nathan goes into crisis as Nathan faces major depression after being seriously injured. Brooke looks for life beyond success in her work life and helps Peyton launch a music label. Lucas, Skills and Nathan return to the Tree Hill Ravens as coaches.

Season six features the progression of the relationship between Peyton and Lucas as they plan a wedding and deal with Peyton’s dangerous pregnancy. Brooke takes in a foster child, Sam, and fights her mother for control of her company. A major storyline follows Lucas as his book is optioned for a movie, and Julian Baker is introduced. Mouth and Millie work on their relationship as Nathan and Haley reach for their individual dreams.

Season seven will be set one year into the future after the sixth season, without former co-stars Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton. It will introduce two new regular characters: Haley’s free spirited sister Quinn; and Nathan’s agent Clayton. Also, Danneel Harris who played Rachel is scheduled to reappear in a seven episode arc this season, starting with the second episode^. Austin Nichols, who portrays Julian Baker, has been promoted to full series regular after being a recurring star in the sixth season.

How we loved it…

Seasonal ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of One Tree Hill on The WB and The CW.

In its third season, The WB moved the show from Tuesday to Wednesday. After it was moved, the show suffered a ratings decline which many thought was due to the timeslot change. A landmark episode in the third season, “With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept,” which featured two tragic deaths, aired on March 1, 2006, raking in a 2.5/4 rating, which was the highest rating for Season Three. The May 3, 2006 season finale pulled in a 2.3/4 rating with a 1.4 rating for adults 18-49, the show’s biggest audience in that season with the exception of the episode on March 1.

With the announcement that The WB and UPN would be merging to create one network, The CW, rumors of cancellation soon surfaced. This was brought on by The CW executives stating that only the best shows from both networks would be back in the fall.

When we got to love it at home…

Seasons One through Six of One Tree Hill have been released on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4. DVD releases typically include commentary by cast and crew members on a select number of episodes, deleted scenes, gag reels and some featurettes. Information on DVD release is available in each individual season article.