Sophia Bush And Chris Carmack Reflect On Returning To ‘One Tree Hill’ And New Fans Of ‘The O.C.’

One Tree Hill‘s Sophia Bush and The O.C.‘s Chris Carmack collide in a brand-new psychological thriller The Stranger in My Home.

Based on the Adele Parks novel of the same name and directed by Jeff Fisher, Bush portrays Ali Mitchell who receives the shock of her life when Carmack’s Tom Truby arrives at her home to reveal he’s the real father of her teenage daughter, Katie (Amiah Miller). As it turns out, there was a switcheroo at the hospital on the day of Katie’s birth, so Tom ended up with Ali’s daughter Liv (Grace Aiello Antczak) while Ali got Katie. Needless to say, this isn’t quite as simple as swapping daughters and carrying on with their lives, especially since Tom develops a dangerous obsession with Ali.

Bush and Carmack aren’t strangers to each other either, though, as they recently appeared in Grey’s Anatomy as Cass Beckman and Atticus “Link” Lincoln respectively. In fact, when asked when the big One Tree Hill–The O.C. crossover will happen, they point to the medical drama. “Isn’t that what we’re doing on Grey’s Anatomy now?” Bush joked, much to Carmack’s amusement. “It’s so wild that we both got our starts in very similar places.”

Sophia Bush says the cast is ‘open’ to a ‘One Tree Hill’ revival 

In terms of One Tree Hill, Variety published a report in August 2024 that a sequel series was in development at Netflix, which would see Bush, Hilarie Burton, and Danneel Ackles produce and return as their respective characters Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, and Rachel Gatina. While there has been no official confirmation from Netflix that the revival is officially taking place nor when fans should expect new episodes, I asked Bush if there’s anything she can share about the continuation at the moment. 

“I know that doing the rewatch podcast for One Tree Hill [Drama Queens] has been so much fun, because, in a way, it’s given us our show back, and certainly made us open to the possibility of this chapter two happening – should it go forward,” Bush said. “I don’t really have anything I can share there, but I do know that the nice commenters on the internet are very excited to see The O.C. and One Tree Hill worlds colliding at Seattle Grace now – in scrubs.”

Chris Carmack appreciates people discovering ‘The O.C.’ decades later

While there’s a possibility that One Tree Hill could return, it doesn’t appear as if there’s anything on the cards for The O.C. That’s one teen drama that may be done and dusted for good, even though most fans would welcome the opportunity to see what the likes of Seth and Ryan have been up to since the show ended in 2007. Even so, Carmack, who starred as Luke Ward on The O.C., revealed that he’s grateful for its impact. 

“When we were making these shows, television existed in a very different sphere,” Carmack said. “You made it, and it was gone – and maybe it would rerun on television. I certainly did not foresee the streaming world back then, but I’m very grateful that people are stumbling across our old work, relating to it, and giving it new life. That’s a wonderful thing.”

The good news is One Tree Hill and The O.C. fans can see Bush and Carmack in The Stranger in My Home, which isn’t short on juicy drama and wild twists. “Everyone has a secret,” Bush said. “Once Tom shows up on Ali’s doorstep, nothing will be the same.”

The Stranger in My Home is available on digital on June 24.