The fifth season of ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

'', an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, began on January 8, 2008 with a two-hour episode. This is the second season to air on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

television network. Season five is set four years into the future from the season 4 finale, and after the main characters have graduated from college. Production for this season of ''One Tree Hill'', along with production for all other American scripted television shows, was caught in the middle of a contract dispute between the

Writers Guild of America, East The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West. Together the guilds admi ...

(WGAE),

Writers Guild of America, west The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

(WGAw) and the

Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is a trade association based in Sherman Oaks, California, that represents over 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotiations with entert ...

(AMPTP). The dispute led to a strike by the writers, which has caused a lack in episodes being produced. The season was to conclude in June 2008, after twenty-two episodes, but the season had been shortened to twelve episodes due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. With the strike resolved, the CW announced that six more episodes would be produced bringing the episode count to eighteen.Watch with Kristin – Strikewatch Exclusive (Updated)! TV Bosses Reveal What's Next for Our Favorite Shows
/ref> The ratings in Season 5 took a dive by averaging 2.8 million viewers weekly.

Overview

Nearly 5 years have passed, and Tree Hill has been through some major changes. Karen has closed the cafe, and is travelling the world with her daughter, Lily and boyfriend, Andy. Some of them achieved the goals they set for themselves back in high school: Lucas published his novel, and is now famous, Brooke became a famous fashion designer, and Haley became the teacher she always wanted to be. While others weren't so lucky, Peyton crashed and burned in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and Nathan saw his dream of pro basketball greatness vanish in an instant. To top the icing on the cake, Dan has been freed from prison and is seeking forgiveness.

Cast and characters

Regular

Chad Michael Murray Chad Michael Murray (born August 24, 1981) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Lucas Scott in The WB/ CW drama series ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–09, 2012), a recurring role as Tristin DuGray on The WB/ CW series ''Gilmo ...

Lucas Scott Lucas Eugene Scott is a fictional character and the main protagonist from The WB /CW television series ''One Tree Hill'' created by Mark Schwahn and portrayed by Chad Michael Murray. Lucas is a talented basketball player and writer. He is rival ...

(18 episodes) *

James Lafferty James Martin Lafferty (born July 25, 1985) is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Nathan Scott on The WB/ CW teen drama television series ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012). Early life Lafferty was born ...

Nathan Scott Nathan Royal Scott is a fictional character from the CW television series ''One Tree Hill'' created by Mark Schwahn and portrayed by James Lafferty. Following Lucas Scott's departure, Nathan became the main character and central figure of the ...

(18 episodes) *

Hilarie Burton Hilarie Ros Burton (born July 1, 1982) is an American actress, businesswoman, author and producer. A former host of MTV's ''Total Request Live'', she portrayed Peyton Sawyer on The WB/ CW drama ''One Tree Hill'' for six seasons (2003–2009). Pos ...

Peyton Sawyer Peyton Sawyer is a fictional character from The WB/ CW television series ''One Tree Hill'', portrayed by Hilarie Burton. A talented visual and musical artist, Peyton has a heavily guarded heart due to the number of lost loved ones in her life. S ...

(18 episodes) *

Bethany Joy Galeotti Bethany Joy Lenz (born April 2, 1981) is an American actress, singer-songwriter and filmmaker. She is known for her portrayal of Haley James Scott on The WB / The CW television drama ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012). She also starred as Michell ...

Haley James Scott ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served as ...

(18 episodes) *

Sophia Bush Sophia Anna Bush Hughes (born July 8, 1982) is an American actress. She starred as Brooke Davis in The WB/ CW drama series ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012), and as Erin Lindsay in the NBC police procedural drama series ''Chicago P.D.'' (2014– ...

as Brooke Davis (18 episodes) *

Paul Johansson Paul Joseph Otto Johansson (born January 26, 1964) is an American-born Canadian actor and director in film and television, best known for playing Dan Scott on the WB/ CW series, ''One Tree Hill'', and for his role as Nick Wolfe on the short l ...

Dan Scott ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served a ...

(11 episodes) *

Lee Norris Lee Michael Norris (born September 25, 1981) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Stuart Minkus on ''Boy Meets World'' and its spin-off ''Girl Meets World'', as well as Marvin "Mouth" McFadden on ''One Tree Hill''. Norris appear ...

as Mouth McFadden (15 episodes) *

Antwon Tanner Antwon Tanner (born April 14, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Michael on the UPN sitcom ''Moesha'' (1996–97), and its spinoff ''The Parkers'' (2001) and as Antwon "Skills" Taylor on the drama series, '' On ...

Antwon "Skills" Taylor ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served as ...

(14 episodes) *

Jackson Brundage Jackson Timothy Brundage (born January 21, 2001) is a retired American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Jamie Scott on The CW's ''One Tree Hill'', a role he held from 2008 until the series' conclusion in 2012. Brundage was in the Ni ...

as James Lucas Scott (16 episodes)

Recurring

Michaela McManus Michaela McManus (born May 20, 1983) is an American actress, known for her portrayals of Lindsey Strauss on ''One Tree Hill'', A.D.A. Kim Greylek on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and Grace Karn on the NBC drama ''Aquarius''. Early life ...

Lindsey Strauss '' One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served ...

(15 episodes) * Robbie Jones as Quentin Fields (12 episodes) *

Lisa Goldstein Lisa Goldstein (born Elizabeth Joy Goldstein on November 21, 1953) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer whose work has been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. Her 1982 novel '' The Red Magician'' won a Nation ...

Millicent Huxtable ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served a ...

(11 episodes) *

Torrey DeVitto Torrey Joël DeVitto (born June 8, 1984) is an American actress and former fashion model. Her first starring role was as Karen Kerr on the ABC Family drama series '' Beautiful People'' (2005–2006). She followed this up with recurring roles as ...

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

(10 episodes) *

Daphne Zuniga Daphne Eurydice Zuniga (; born October 28, 1962) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1982 slasher film '' The Dorm That Dripped Blood'' (1982) at the age of 19, followed by a lead role in another slasher film '' The Initiation ...

as Victoria Davis (7 episodes) *

Kate Voegele Kate Elizabeth Voegele (; born December 8, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She made her musical debut in 2003, with the release of her ''The Other Side'' extended play. She performed numerous local live shows to promote the a ...

as Mia Catalano (7 episodes) *Bradley Evans as

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

(6 episodes) *

Joe Manganiello Joseph Michael Manganiello ( ; , ; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man''. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons of ...

as Owen Morello (5 episodes) *Kelly Collins Lintz as

Alice Day Jacqueline Alice Irene Newlin (November 7, 1906 – May 25, 1995), professionally known as Alice Day, was an American film actress who began her career as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties. Early years Day was born in Colorado Springs, Co ...

(5 episodes) *

Cullen Moss Cullen Moss (born July 8, 1975) is an American film, television and voice actor. He is best known for his roles on ''One Tree Hill'' and ''The Notebook''. Early life Moss is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina who graduated from Mount Tab ...

as Junk Moretti (5 episodes) *

Vaughn Wilson Vaughan L. Wilson (born December 24, 1976) is an American actor best known for playing the role of "Fergie Thompson" on the CW's hit show ''One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One T ...

as Fergie Thompson (5 episodes) *

Stephen Colletti Stephen Colletti (born February 7, 1986) is an American actor and television personality. He portrayed Chase Adams on The CW drama series ''One Tree Hill'' and appeared for two seasons on the MTV reality television series '' Laguna Beach: The Rea ...

Chase Adams ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served a ...

(2 episodes) *

Kieren Hutchison Kieren Robert Hutchison (born 9 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Career Hutchison is best known for playing the roles of Jonathon McKenna in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'', Andy Hargrov ...

Andy Hargrove '' One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served ...

(2 episodes) *Hailey Wist as Molly (2 episodes) *Mary Kate Englehardt as Lily Roe Scott (2 episodes) *

Bevin Prince Bevin Anne Prince (born 1982) is an American actress and fitness instructor best known for her role as Bevin Mirskey on The CW's hit series '' One Tree Hill''. Early life Prince was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and her family moved to Cary ...

as Bevin Mirskey (1 episode) *

Brett Claywell Brett Quillen Claywell (born April 11, 1978, Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American actor best known for playing the roles of Tim Smith on The WB/ CW series ''One Tree Hill'', and Kyle Lewis on the ABC soap opera '' One Life to Live''. Bi ...

Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to: Musicians * T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter *Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs *Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...

(1 episode) *Shawn Shepard as Principal Turner (1 episode)

Special Guest Star

Barbara Alyn Woods Barbara Alyn Woods (born ) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in television series ''One Tree Hill'' and ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids''. She is the mother of actresses Natalie Alyn Lind, Emily Alyn Lind, and Alyvia Alyn Lind. Car ...

Deb Lee ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served as ...

(4 episodes) * Danneel Harris as

Rachel Gatina ''One Tree Hill (TV series), One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB Television Network, The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and United Paramount Network, UPN merged to form The CW, which ...

(2 episodes) *

Barry Corbin Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award ...

Whitey Durham ''One Tree Hill (TV series), One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB Television Network, The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and United Paramount Network, UPN merged to form The CW, which ...

(1 episode) *

Moira Kelly Moira Kelly (born on March 6, 1968 in Queens, New York) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Kate Moseley in the 1992 film ''The Cutting Edge'' as well as single mother Karen Roe on the teen drama '' One Tree Hill''. She is also k ...

Karen Roe ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served as ...

(1 episode)

Episodes

Production

On May 17, 2007, The CW announced that the show would return for a fifth season as a mid-season replacement. The show was dramatically retooled and set four years into the future - after the characters have already graduated from college. Until the show's return to the schedule, the

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

planned to post

diaries Diaries may refer to: * the plural of diary *''Diaries: 1971-1976'', a 1981 documentary by Ed Pincus *'' Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years'', a 2006 book by Michael Palin *''OFW Diaries ''OFW Diaries'' is a Philippine television documentary ...

online to fill in the intervening years in the characters' lives. The fifth season began shooting on July 30, 2007 and premiered January 8, 2008.

Dawn Ostroff Dawn Ostroff is an American businesswoman. She is the chief content officer and advertising business officer of Spotify, and the former president of entertainment of The CW and former president of Condé Nast Entertainment. Early life and educ ...

confirmed on July 20, 2007 that ''One Tree Hill'' had a 22-episode order.Live Press Tour Diary: CW – Ausiello Report , TVGuide.com
Hilarie Burton confirmed on ''

TRL TRL or trl may refer to: Arts * Temporary Residence Limited, a record label * ''Total Request Live'', a former MTV show * TRL Awards (''Total Request Live''), an Italian music award Libraries * Tampines Regional Library, a regional library in Ta ...

'' that the show's fifth season would focus on their lives after college, citing the reason for this as "We've seen the high school dramas not do so well while they're in college, and another thing, we've done everything that everyone does in college". She said this will "enable them to do flashbacks and a lot of cool stuff with the characters".

Writers Strike

On November 5, 2007, a strike began between the

(WGAE),

(WGAw) and the

(AMPTP). The strike was speculated to force television shows to end their seasons early, because there would be no future scripts until a settlement was reached. Due to the writer's strike, only twelve out of the twenty-two episodes ordered were thought to be produced. With the end in sight,

Mark Schwahn Mark Schwahn (born July 5, 1966) is an American former screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known as the creator of the WB/ CW teen drama series ''One Tree Hill''. His career largely ended in 2018 following widespread sexual harassm ...

stated, "Although we have six new episodes left, no one is more excited about the end of the strike than we are at One Tree Hill." On the February 5, 2008 episode, ''One Tree Hills ratings were second only to ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...

'' for scripted dramas at the CW. Schwahn went on to say that "we'd love the opportunity to continue season five, and if the WGA's new contract is ratified, hopefully we'll be able to do just that. If not, we'll see you for season six." On February 15, the CW announced that six additional episodes would be produced to wrap up the season due to the conclusion of the strike.

New and returning characters

For season five, Jackson Brundage was cast as James Scott, the child of

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

and Haley Scott.

reprised his role as

for a flashback sequence. Danneel Harris returned, as a recurring not main cast member, to portray

, who is now a drug addict.

also returned as Lucas' mother

reprised her role of

in the fourteenth episode, appearing in a total of four episodes.

and

returned as Junk Moretti and Fergie Thompson, living with Mouth and Skills.

reprised his guest role as

, as did

. Shawn Shepard returned to portray Tree Hill High's principal, Principal Turner, where Haley,

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''L ...

and

Skills A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of wo ...

now work.

returned as

, working as a pizza boy.

also returned as Bevin Mirskey, married to Tim Smith, with whom she has a son, Nathan Smith. Newcomer Michaela McManus was added to the cast for a multi-episode arc as

, a "tough but kind" New York editor assigned to work on Lucas' novel.

guest starred as a "glamorous and intimidating" business exec who works with Brooke,As a late birthday gift, could you give me anything on – Ask Ausiello , TVGuide.com
/ref> later revealed to be her mother.

has signed on to play the nanny of Nathan and Haley's son in a multi-episode arc. Robbie Jones joined the cast as Quentin Fields, a difficult student and member of the ''Ravens''. Kelly Collins Lintz became a guest as Mouth's boss Alice.

was cast as Brooke's assistant as

Kevin Federline Kevin Earl Federline (born March 21, 1978), often referred to, and also known as K-Fed, is an American dancer, rapper, actor, model, wrestler and DJ. He is known for his two-year marriage to American singer Britney Spears, for whom he was previou ...

appears in a multi-episode arc this season playing

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

,K-Fed to Rock 'One Tree Hill' – Kevin Federline gets his second shot at an Emmy – Zap2it
/ref> as well as singer/songwriter

who portrays

Mia Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

has also been added as

Owen Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

, a bar tender at ''Tric''. Mary Kate Englehardt returned to play the role of Lily Roe Scott.

''One Tree Hill: Fast Forward''

On November 6, 2007,

posted the first ''One Tree Hill'' online diary, a series of six segments to be released before the start of the new season. ''One Tree Hill Fast Forward'' allows fans of the show to catch a glimpse of the lives of the six main characters at the beginning of the fifth season. The first ''Fast Forward'' diary features

's character, Brooke Davis.One Tree Hill Fast Forward
/ref> The second diary, posted on November 13, featured

's character,

. The third diary, posted on November 20, featured

's character,

. The fourth diary, posted on November 27, featured

's character, Mouth McFadden. The fifth diary, posted on December 4 featured the Scott family, consisting of

's character,

and

's character,

. The sixth and last diary, posted on December 11, featured all the new faces of the show, commented by Mark Schwahn, Joe Davola, the six main teens and the above listed new faces (minus Jamie).

Reception

The season opening to 3.36 million viewers and a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating. Episode two aired back-to-back with the season premiere and achieved season highs in viewers (3.57 m) and adults 18-49 (1.6). The season finale matched season highs in adults 18-49 with a 1.6 rating. The season averaged 3.33 million viewers and a 1.2 Adults 18-49 rating in its original Tuesday 9/8C. After its move to Mondays at 9/8c, it averaged 2.78 million viewers and a 1.0 rating.

DVD release

The DVD release of season five was released after the season has completed broadcast on television. It has been released in Region 1. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material such as audio commentaries on some episodes from the creator and cast, deleted scenes, gag reels and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

References

External links

Official website
* {{One Tree Hill One Tree Hill (TV series) seasons 2008 American television seasons