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:
