One Tree Hill Reboot: Everything to Know About the Series
Fans of the popular early aughts show One Tree Hill are in for a treat! A sequel series is in development with some of the show’s main stars set to return, and fans are dying to know more about the project.
Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush Are Spearheading the ‘One Tree Hill’ Reboot
News of the One Tree Hill reboot leaked in August 2024. The following month, Hilarie Burton revealed more details about the upcoming project. Along with Hilarie, who starred as Payton Sawyer in the original, Sophia Bush will be teaming up with her old costar as executive producers of the series.
“What I can say is that this go-around, being able to work with a team of women and look at these stories [and] these characters through a female lens is something that — whether I was doing a reboot or a brand new show or a different movie at this phase in my life, female teamwork is something that is so vital to me,” Hilarie told People in an interview published on September 20, 2024.
She continued, “It is the core of anything I’ve done that’s successful. So I’m excited to be able to team up with people that I look up to, people that I love dearly.”
In an episode of Hilarie and Sophia’s podcast, “Drama Queens,” Sophia said that she “wished that the news hadn’t leaked,” but understood that “it happens.”
Which Original Stars Are Returning for the ‘One Tree Hill’ Reboot?
While a full cast list hasn’t been released, Danneel Ackles has been confirmed to reprise her role as Rachel Gatina, along with Hilarie as Payton and Sophia as Brooke Davis. In November 2024, Chad Michael Murray, who played Lucas Scott, revealed he wasn’t opposed to returning to the series if he was asked.
“I want that show to happen,” Chad told E! News on November 18, 2024. “I don’t know what will happen with me.”
Chad and Hilarie’s characters married and rode off into the sunset at the end of season 6. Chad made a guest appearance in One Tree Hill’s final season, but Hilarie never returned. She previously claimed that she and Chad weren’t invited to return for season 7 during a May 2024 episode of “Drama Queens.”
“Chad looks at me and he’s like, ‘Have you even gotten an offer? I was like, ‘No,’ and he’s like, ‘I haven’t gotten an offer,’” Hilarie said, recalling the moment producer Greg Prange announced the show had been picked up for season 7. “And so around us, everyone is hugging and high-fiving. I mean, it felt like balloons were dropping from the ceiling. Everybody was so f–king pumped. And he and I just kind of sat there and we knew it was coming. He and I were the highest paid actors on the show, and we knew we were on the chopping block.”
Sophia Bush Called ‘One Tree Hill’ a ‘Comfort Show’
The reboot seems to be coming at the perfect time, and Sophia admitted that she wouldn’t have been up for returning to play her character if the idea had been pitched several years ago.
“I think 10 years ago, I would have said, ‘Not on your life.’ Now I realize the opportunity to have not just a comfort show, but kind of a home base matters to people,” Sophia said in an interview with Access Hollywood on December 4, 2024. “So beginning to figure out how we might tell these stories and reunite our whole ragtag bunch feels really, really amazing.”