‘The O.C.’ How Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke’s ‘Welcome to the O.C., B*tches!’ Podcast Got Its Name
Cue Phantom Planet’s “California.” The O.C.’s getting the podcast treatment. Rachel Bilson, or Summer Roberts to fans of The O.C., is teaming up with Marissa Cooper’s (Mischa Barton) mom, Julie Cooper, as played by Melinda Clarke, for a podcast. Welcome to The O.C., B*tches! will debut in spring 2021 but how did it get its name?
Melinda Clarke and Rachel Bilson will rewatch every episode of ‘The O.C’
It’s unclear whether or not Bilson’s watched The O.C. before but she will definitely be watching it for her and Clarke’s podcast. The two O.C. alums will watch every single episode — that’s 92 episodes spanning four seasons — and talk about each one.
According to Deadline, the podcast will include more than 100 episodes. There will be a variety of guests. Former O.C. cast member, Peter Gallager, who played Sandy Cohen, will drop by. So will series creator Josh Schwartz. Clarke and Bilson will also hear from sociologists on the show’s legacy and why it became a hit show.
‘Welcome to The O.C., B*tches!’ isn’t inspired solely on Luke Ward’s famous line
Grey’s Anatomy fans know him as Link but anyone who watched The O.C. knows Chris Carmack as Luke Ward. He played Marissa’s boyfriend water-polo playing boyfriend. In one of the show’s most iconic moments — a scene from the pilot — Luke got in a fight with Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) and Seth Cohen (Adam Brody).
Luke famously said, “Welcome to the O.C., b*tch.” It became a memorable moment and an often-quoted line from the series. The new O.C. podcast clearly makes a nod to Luke’s line but there’s a little more to it than that. Bilson gave some insight into the podcast’s name during an April 2021 interview with Nylon.
“I thought, Melinda [and I], we got along so well, and I thought we kind of had the same beginning and a similar experience. We were both guest stars in the beginning, and then Josh Schwartz and the writers, they just really liked writing for us, and I guess they were happy with our performances, so we became series regulars during the first season. We both were kind of the b*tches of the show at first, and we all evolved, of course.”
Rachel Bilson, speaking to Nylon in April 2021 about The O.C.
So the name of the podcast works on two levels. First, it’s a nod to the show’s memorable line. And, as Bilson said, it pertains to both her and Clarke’s characters. Summer and Julie were “kind of the b*tches” and they became so much more.
‘The O.C.’ podcast premieres on April 27, 2021
Clarke and Bilson’s Welcome to The O.C., B*tches! podcast launches on April 27, 2021. New episodes will air every Tuesday. Want to watch every episode along with actors? The O.C.’s not on Hulu or Netflix but it is streaming on HBO Max at the time of publication.
