The O.C.

The O.C. (O.C. stands for Orange County, California) is an American television dramedy/soap opera program broadcast on the Fox Network.

Show trivia and miscellany

• The show's Producer McG attended Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, and he originally intended to film the high school scenes at CdM's crosstown rival Newport Harbor High School.
• Due to labor union salary rules about filming outside of Los Angeles County, The O.C. is actually filmed in Hermosa Beach (40 miles away from the actual Newport Beach) to reduce costs.
• Though the show isn't shot on location, characters frequently mention popular Orange County hangouts like South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. The Harbor School is a fictional private school which may have been inspired by the Sage Hill School, an elite private school in the hills of Newport Coast. There exists a Newport Harbor High School, but it is a public school. Furthermore, many of the other schools mentioned on the show, such as Mater Dei High School and UCI, are all actually there. Newport Union High School, however, does not exist. Additionally, the TV show's Balboa Wetlands appear to be based upon real-life Orange County's Bolsa Chica Wetlands.
• Before the show aired, Orange County residents referred to their county by its full name, and "The O.C." was used as a derogatory term for the area primarily used by residents of Los Angeles. (Compare San Francisco and "Frisco".) The abbreviation "O.C." was also used by local radio and television stations, but without "The." At first, the name of the show was met with scorn, but since then, some people call it "The O.C." as a joke.
• The show is called "The O.C.", and not "Orange County" as originally planned, because a movie of that name was released shortly before the show premiered.
• Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby went as far as to propose changing the name of Orange County's John Wayne Airport to The O.C. Airport, John Wayne Field but backed down the next day after his office received negative phone calls and emails from angry county residents.
• The trailer for aired during the March 10th episode of the second season, precursored by a scene with OC star Adam Brody (acting as Seth).
• The Newport Group HQ is also the same building used for the Miami-Dade Police HQ in
• The Newport Group seems to have been inspired by the Irvine Company, which owns a large portion of the real estate in southern and central Orange County.
• The onscreen parody of the show, "The Valley", refers to the San Fernando Valley, a region of LA which is home to many of the large media conglomerates. The parody of , "Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley," is set in Sherman Oaks, an affluent community in northern LA.
• Many of the newer wealthy housing developments seen on the show are actually in Newport Coast and Crystal Cove, a 10 minute drive down the PCH from Newport Beach. Appropriately enough, most of these developments are owned by the Irvine Company
• The Beastie Boys single "Ch-Check It Out" debuted on The O.C. in "The Vegas" from Season 1 which aired April 28 2004. Yahoo Launch News Story. U2 debuted their song Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own on the show before it was released as a single, as did Coldplay with their song Fix You.
• Adam Brody improvises some of his lines. They hinted at this when Summer reveals the star of "The Valley" improvises his lines.
• Before the start of the 3rd season, Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, and Ben McKenzie were Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher or his crew members.
• Both Season 2 and Season 3 Premieres feature an opening scene after the credits with both Summer and Marissa sitting by a pool.
• Ben McKenzie attended the University of Virginia
• Chrismukkah is an imaginary holiday that the Cohen household celebrates to blend Seth's combined Jewish and Christian heritage