Once upon a time, Fox's The O.C. was the top teen drama to watch that was a little grittier than what could be found over on The WB. The show turned Ben McKenzie, Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, and Rachel Bilson into household names. Characters were immensely quotable, "Chrismukkah" became a pop culture buzzword, and even the song choices were talked about. As somebody who watched on Fox back in the day, I felt immensely old when I realized that August 5 marked twenty years since The O.C. premiered, but McKenzie's anniversary throwback is certainly fun... even if his kids don't see why Ryan Atwood was so cool.
Ben McKenzie, who would go on to star as Jim Gordon in Fox's Gotham for its five-season run, played the sleeveless undershirt-loving Ryan Atwood, and Ryan seemed like the epitome of cool during The O.C.'s run from 2003 - 2007... for some of us in the target demographic in those days, anyway! According to the actor on Instagram, his kids just don't see the coolness of Ryan. Take a look:
Having rewatched the pilot just last year, the early 2000s fashion was still fairly fresh in my memory, and Ben McKenzie and Adam Brody still look very much like products of the era as Ryan and Seth Cohen in this throwback pic. Maybe McKenzie's children will feel differently if they watch The O.C. someday, but given that his kids with former Gotham co-star Morena Baccarin were born in 2016 and 2021, they're not what I would consider the right age to fully appreciate the show... especially with what their dad gets up to in it!
While McKenzie's kids may not find Ryan Atwood as cool as fans did back in the day, any of those fans who are now in the mood to revisit the series have some options. All four seasons are currently available streaming: with a subscription to HBO Max and/or a subscription to Hulu. Ben McKenzie's throwback also got some love from some former O.C. co-stars. Rachel Bilson, who played Summer Roberts, expressed her feelings via emoji:
❤️❤️❤️
Melinda Clarke, whose Julie Cooper never had a very "cool" opinion of Ben McKenzie's character, chimed in as well. The actress went on to appear alongside her former co-star on Gotham, and didn't miss her chance to comment on McKenzie's throwback:
Still cool 😎
The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz shared his two cents as well with a very short and sweet message that got a laugh out of me. He wrote "Same," which suggests that his kids also don't fully appreciate the teen drama that made such an impression on so many in the early 2000s. I guess we can't all be longtime fans who still know all the words to Phantom Planet's "California" opening theme song!
In all seriousness, it's fun to see the actor throwing back to the show that really launched his career as a TV leading man, even if it is jarring to know that "Welcome to the O.C., bitch!" was first uttered two decades ago. I just hope that I'm not the only one now in the mood to revisit The O.C.!
