The
O.C.'s long-suffering Marissa
(Mischa Barton) will be getting a girlfriend next month, says
series creator Josh Schwartz.
In
a new interview
with Out.com, series creator Josh Schwartz indicates that
the storyline, which was planned "before the show ever
premiered this year," is not a ratings stunt, but a real
relationship.
A
drama about the trials and tribulations in the personal lives
of a few wealthy families in Orange County, California, The
O.C. revived the nighttime teen-soap genre when it
burst onto the scene last season and instantly became a ratings
blockbuster for Fox. It also made stars out of its cast, which
includes Barton as poor little rich girl Marissa, Benjamin
McKenzie as reformed bad boy Ryan, and Adam Brody as the quirky
geek Seth. The O.C. dealt with a gay storyline in
its first season when the father of Marissa's ex-boyfriend
was outed, but this is its first lesbian storyline.
Marissa
is coming off a bad year, which included
her parents divorcing, new friend Oliver stalking her, and
her mother trying to institutionalize her after an "accidental"
drug overdose. Not to mention Marissa's love of all things
alcoholic, which frequently leaves her passed out on someone's
lawn after a party.
Now
that a new school year has started, Marissa can't seem to
reconnect with Ryan, her mom is driving her crazy, and her
summer fling with DJ the gardener has left her unsatisfied.
"The DJ thing was kind of a bust," admits Schwartz.
"It wasn’t resonant and earth-shattering, but this
relationship [with the girl] is." Lonely and in search
of something to piss off her mom, Marissa unexpectedly finds
herself developing real feelings for a girl: Alex,
played by Olivia Wilde, who was initially introduced as Seth's
love interest.
"Marissa
is at a point in her life where she’s trying to find
herself and her true identity," says Schwartz. "There’s
another character who she really connects with. It’s
a girl, which is not something Marissa may have anticipated.
But she’s willing and game to explore and experiment
with that."
Mischa
Barton has played a lesbian before, in a small but memorable
role as the love interest of teenager Jessie (Evan Rachel
Wood) on ABC's drama Once
and Again. Jessie and Katie's relationship was
deftly and sensitively explored over the course of the show's
final season beginning in 2002, and remains one of the best
portrayals of a teenage lesbian relationship on TV. Many
gay teens attribute that storyline with giving them the
courage to come out themselves, and fan sites and fan fiction
devoted to the couple remain active even today.
Barton
has also starred in numerous indie films, including Lost
and Delirious, as a boarding school student who
is witness to the tragic love affair between her two female
roommates.
No
word yet on how long the relationship with last,
but it's unlikely to be as low-key as her lesbian relationship
on Once and Again, since everything's grist for
the drama mill on The O.C. Expect Schwartz
to avoid the usual overblown, afterschool-special reaction
when Marissa's friends and family find out about her relationship,
though. "It’s my experience that the fluidity
of sexuality with younger people is more accepted,"
says Schwartz.
Since
relationships on The O.C. come and go faster than
you can say "Chrismakkuh," this one isn't likely
to last more than a few episodes, so be sure to tune in
when the storyline begins in January if you want to catch
it.
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to our new O.C. section
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