Recently (okay, ages ago!) I posted about how I thought that The OC Season Four wasn’t particularly up to scratch when put alongside it’s previous outings. However, the new season soon grew on me and I was actually pleased with how the show was being directed. So it came as a surprise to learn that FOX were cancelling the show with its last episode being aired in the US on January 22nd.
To the best of my knowledge, no European broadcaster, such as Sky, has snapped up the rights to season four. E4 have been working their way through Season 3 for the past few months now but I’d imagine that they’d be very cautious about acquiring the rights to a show that not only has been experiencing its lowest ever ratings but has also been cancelled outright by its network! Therefore I’d be surprised if English fans of The OC ever get to see season four at all!
The writers of the show had an uphill battle when setting out to write season four. They were down their most popular character, a character that they had tried so hard to demonise throughout season three which undoubtedly led to a slice of the fan base losing interest. With all of the main characters graduating from high school, they had to try and find other characters to carry and propel the show into the future. It wasn’t just the characters that were graduating though, its viewers were also coming of age and began to tune into other shows such as Greys Anatomy and CSI - shows which were directly competing with The OC! This is where they stumbled! Season 4 made a very sluggish, uncertain and at times haphazard start. We were presented with drastic changes in vital characters that turned people off the show. It just didn’t seem solid. You just couldn’t even take a guess about where the show was going to go!
After the first three or four episodes, the show began to find itself on more certain footing. People had some idea about what was happening but it was already too late! The show had plummeted in the cut-throat ratings war that is American Television. People had already left the show in their droves and from there-on-in it was just a matter of retaining its loyal audience. Fox invariably decided that that audience was far too small an amount to be practical.
In a press release, Josh Schwartz noted that “The O.C. Season Four finale will also be the series finale. This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close. Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top. It has been an amazing experience and a great run. For a certain audience, at a certain time, The O.C. has meant something. For that we are grateful.”
For me, The OC is drawing to a close at an apt time with my 18th birthday being only a few months away! I mean can you imagine me being 18 and STILL watching The OC. It’s bad enough that I watched it already! And there, in one paragraph, is a typical example of the battle that Josh and his partners were facing - a battle against age, which any “seasoned” adult will tell you is futile!
i don’t want it to ennd!!!!!!!!!!!!
i lol’d so hard when it was canceled