Set against the backdrop of the fictional town of Tree Hill, One Tree Hill is a drama series that aired initially on The WB and then on The CW. The series premiered in September 2003 and began airing on The CW in September 2006.
Created by Mark Schwahn, the series had nine seasons with 187 episodes.
Cast
The story of One Tree Hill initially began with nine main characters. Chad Michael Murray as Lucas Scott, James Lafferty as Nathan Scott, Hilarie Burton as Peyton Sawyer, Sophia Bush as Brooke Davis, Bethany Joy Lenz as Haley James, Paul Johannson as Dan Scott, Moira Kella as Karen Roe, Craig Sheffer as Keith Scott, and Barry Corbin as Whitey Durham completed the show’s initial main cast.
In May 2009, Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton quit the show. One of the central love stories on the show, their characters bid adieu to the show after the sixth season.
After the initial cast members quit the show, the makers introduced new main characters in the series.
Premise
With the backdrop of a fictional coastal town of Tree Hill in North Carolina, the plot of One Tree Hill initially revolves around the lives of two half-brothers- Lucas and Nathan Scott.
Both being interested in sports, the brothers compete for positions on their school’s basketball team. Their respective romances also formed alternative storylines for the show.
The initial four seasons of One Tree Hill focused on the main characters’ lives during their high school years. The characters build up unexpected relationships while growing up in a small town.
Flashbacks from the college years supported the new storyline of One Tree Hill. In season five, the storyline moved four years ahead, focusing on their lives after college. The series took another leap of fourteen months at the end of season six to kickstart the storyline of season seven.
The eighth season revolved around Julian and Brooke’s marriage, Haley’s pregnancy, Quinn and Clay surviving a life-threatening attack, and Brooke losing her company.
The final season focused on Haley’s problems running her cafe, the kidnapping of Nathan, Julian, and Brooke adjusting to their parental life. The season ends with the entire cast, except Peyton and Lucas, celebrating Tric’s tenth anniversary.
Reception
The critics named One Tree Hill one of the greatest teen dramas.
The series premiere had a viewership of 2.5 million viewers, and the viewership rose to 3.3 million viewers in the show’s second week. One Tree Hill was one of the three shows to have an increased viewership in its second year in 2003-2004.
The average viewership of the first season was 3.5 million viewers. The series’ second season was the highest-rated in viewership, with an average of 4.3 million viewers.
Accolades
One Tree Hill received several award nominations for Teen Choice Awards, Image Awards, and Prism Awards.
The series won three Teen Choice Awards, including two for Chad Michael Murray and one in the Choice Throwback TV Show category.
One Tree Hill is the fourth-longest-running series on The CW, after 7th Heaven, Supernatural and Smallville.