The third season of '' The O.C.'' commenced airing in the United States on September 8, 2005, concluded on May 18, 2006, and consisted of 25 episodes. The first ten episodes of season three aired Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET in the US on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, a terrestrial

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

; however, from January 12, 2006, onwards, '' The O.C.'' was shifted to a later time of Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. The season was released on DVD as a seven disc boxed set under the title ''The O.C.: The Complete Third Season'' on October 24, 2006, by

Warner Bros. Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

. Season three was also broadcast outside of the United States. In Canada, the season was

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

on the terrestrial network

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...

. It was broadcast on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ( local time) in Australia, and premiered several months after it did in the US. In New Zealand the season started February 11, 2006 on

TV NZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Sol ...

. It premiered in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2006, on the

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

terrestrial channel E4, airing Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. GMT. The episodes were rebroadcast the following week on the analogue

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, E4's parent channel, on Sundays at 1:50 p.m. GMT.

Synopsis

Picking up from season two, this seàson continues to follow the characters' lives in the wealthy community of

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, with the main characters entering their

senior year Senior Year may refer to: * Senior (education), the final year in high school or college * ''Senior Year'' (2010 film), the 2010 film by Filipino director Jerrold Tarog * ''Senior Year'' (2022 film), a film starring Rebel Wilson * The Lockheed U-2 ...

of high school.

Ryan Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

's savior complex causes trouble, and

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...

's lies poses problems in his relationship with

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

. Meanwhile, Kirsten attends rehab in an attempt to put her life back together, while her husband

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

assumes leadership of the Newport Group after

Caleb Caleb (), sometimes transliterated as Kaleb ( he, כָּלֵב, ''Kalev'', ; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' ...

's death and finds himself the heir-apparent to a legacy of scandal, and Marissa spirals out of control after her younger sister Kaitlin causes trouble on her return home from boarding school.

Cast and characters

Regular

* Peter Gallagher as Sandy Cohen (25 episodes) *

Kelly Rowan Kelly Rowan (born October 26, 1965) is a Canadian film and television actress and former model (profession), fashion model. A native of Ottawa, Rowan studied acting in London and New York City before working as a model. She was featured in the ho ...

Kirsten Cohen Kirsten Cohen (maiden name Nichol) is a fictional character on the FOX television series ''The O.C.'', portrayed by Kelly Rowan. Kirsten is the wife of Sandy Cohen, mother to Seth Cohen, and the adoptive mother of Ryan Atwood. Originally portr ...

(25 episodes) *

Benjamin McKenzie Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor and commentator. He is best known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood on the teen drama ''The O.C.'' (2003–2007), Ben Sherman on the crime drama ''Southlan ...

as Ryan Atwood (25 episodes) *

Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's ''Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's '' Twelve Dreams'' at Ne ...

as Marissa Cooper (25 episodes) *

Adam Brody Adam Jared Brody (born December 15, 1979) is an American actor, writer, musician, and producer. He is known for his breakthrough role as Seth Cohen on the Fox television series ''The O.C.'', which premiered in 2003. Subsequently, Brody appeared ...

as Seth Cohen (25 episodes) * Melinda Clarke as Julie Cooper (24 episodes) * Rachel Bilson as Summer Roberts (25 episodes)

Recurring

* Autumn Reeser as

Taylor Townsend Taylor Townsend (born April 16, 1996) is an American professional tennis player. She reached career-high WTA rankings of world No. 61 in singles (July 2018) and No. 31 in doubles (December 2022). She also reached the doubles final of the 2022 U ...

(15 episodes) *

Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on ''The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on ''All My Children'', Eli David in ...

as Neil Roberts (14 episodes) *

Cam Gigandet Cameron Joslin Gigandet (; born August 16, 1982) is an American actor whose credits include a recurring role on ''The O.C.'' and appearances in feature films ''Twilight'', ''Pandorum'', ''Never Back Down'', '' Burlesque'', ''Easy A'', ''Priest'' ...

Kevin Volchok ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

(13 episodes) *

Jeff Hephner Jeffrey Lane Hephner (born June 22, 1975) is an American actor, best known for the role of Jeff Clarke, first on the NBC television series '' Chicago Fire'' and then on its sister show, ''Chicago Med''. More recently, he co-starred with Jennifer ...

as Matt Ramsey (13 episodes) * Ryan Donowho as

Johnny Harper ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

(11 episodes) * Johnny Lewis as Chili Sanders (9 episodes) * Jeri Ryan as Charlotte Morgan (7 episodes) * Willa Holland as

Kaitlin Cooper ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

(6 episodes) * Nikki Reed as Sadie Campbell (6 episodes) * Paula Trickey as

Veronica Townsend ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

(5 episodes) * Eric Mabius as Dean Jack Hess (4 episodes) * Lisa Rotondi as Gwen Harper (4 episodes) * Shaun Duke as

Henry Griffin Henry Griffin (1786 – 5 April 1866) was an eminent Irish Anglican bishop in the mid 19th century. He was born in 1786 in Wexford and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was the incumbent at Clonfeacle from 1829 until 1854 when he was con ...

(4 episodes) *

Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born 2 June 1979) is a Brazilian actress known for portraying Inara Serra in the sci-fi series '' Firefly'' and its follow-up film '' Serenity'', Vanessa in the superhero comedy franchise ''Deadpool'', Jessi ...

as Maya Griffin (3 episodes) * Navi Rawat as

Theresa Diaz ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

(3 episodes) *

Daphne Ashbrook Daphne Lee Ashbrook (born January 30, 1963) is an American actress best known for playing Grace Holloway in '' Doctor Who: The Movie'', Melora Pazlar in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', Jackie Kowalski in '' Hollywood Heights'', and Dawn Atwo ...

Dawn Atwood ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

(3 episodes) * Rosalind Chao as Dr Kim (3 episodes)

Special Guest starring

* Samaire Armstrong as

Anna Stern ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The s ...

(2 episodes) *

Logan Marshall-Green Logan Marshall-Green (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his roles in the television series ''24 (TV series), 24'', ''The O.C.'', ''Traveler (2007 TV series), Traveler'', ''Dark Blue (TV series), Dark Blue' ...

Trey Atwood ''The O.C.'' is an American Television series created by Josh Schwartz for the FOX Network in 2003. Schwartz serves as executive producer while also writing and directing for the show, including the premieres and finales of all seasons. The sh ...

(1 episode) * Nikki Griffin as Jess Sathers (1 episode)

Episodes

Crew

The season was produced by Warner Bros. Television and Wonderland Sound and Vision. The executive producers were series creator

Josh Schwartz Joshua Ian Schwartz (born August 6, 1976) is an American screenwriter and television producer. Schwartz is best known for creating and executive producing the Fox teen drama series ''The O.C.'' which ran for 4 seasons. Schwartz is also known for ...

, McG, a co-founder of Wonderland, and

Bob DeLaurentis Robert DeLaurentis (born De Laurentiis) is an American television producer and television writer. DeLaurentis wrote the 1982 film '' A Little Sex'', and has also written a proposed script for a ''Doctor Who'' film. He has both written and produce ...

Stephanie Savage Stephanie Savage (born 1969) is a Canadian screenwriter and television producer. Savage is best known for developing The CW's teen drama series ''Gossip Girl (TV series), Gossip Girl'' (2007) from the Gossip Girl (novel series), novel series, and ...

, the other co-founder of Wonderland, served as co-executive producer, whilst

Ian Toynton Ian Toynton (born 1946) is a British television director, producer and editor. Early life and education Toynton was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys) ...

served as supervising producer. The staff writers were Schwartz, Savage, DeLaurentis, John Stephens,

J.J. Philbin Jennifer Joy Philbin (born August 30, 1974) is an American producer and screenwriter, best known for her work on the drama series ''The O.C.'' She is the daughter of television stars Regis and Joy Philbin. Career Philbin's career began soon ...

and Mike Kelley. The regular directors throughout the season were Toynton, Michael Lange,

Michael Fresco Michael Fresco is an American television director and television producer. Most notably Fresco has directed a number of episodes from shows including ''The O.C.'', ''My Name is Earl'' and the pilots to ''1-800-Missing'', ''Suburgatory'', and '' ...

, Norman Buckley and Tony Wharmby.

Cast

The third season had star billing for seven major roles.

as Marissa, Rachel Bilson as Summer,

as Seth, Melinda Clarke as

Julie Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

, Peter Gallagher as Sandy,

as Ryan, and

as Kirsten all returned to the main cast. Former main cast member

Alan Dale Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequentl ...

did not return due to his character, Caleb, dying at the end of the second season, while Tate Donovan, as Jimmy Cooper, returned only in a recurring role, and then only for the first three episodes of the season.

returned for the season premiere, portraying

, comatosed as a result of the shooting in the second-season finale. Additionally Navi Rawat, Samaire Armstrong,

and Nikki Griffin all made brief returns to guest star as

, and Jess Sathers, respectively. Willa Holland took over from

Shailene Woodley Shailene Diann Woodley (born November 15, 1991) is an American actress. Born in San Bernardino, California, Woodley was raised in Simi Valley, and started modeling at the age of four and began acting professionally in minor television roles. She ...

in portraying Marissa's younger sister Kaitlin, who returns to the show after being away at boarding school last year. Cast member

continued as Summer's dad, Dr. Neil Roberts, who became a larger part of the series. Other actors to leave the series were Nicholas Gonzalez (

D.J. A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

), Michael Cassidy ( Zach), Shannon Lucio (Lindsay), Olivia Wilde (

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

Billy Campbell William Oliver Campbell (born July 7, 1959) is an American film and television actor. He first gained recognition for his recurring role as Luke Fuller in the TV series ''Dynasty''. Then he became known for playing Rick Sammler on '' Once and A ...

(

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

), Kim Delaney (

Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

), Johnny Messner ( Lance), Kathleen York ( Renee), and

Marguerite Moreau Marguerite Moreau (born April 25, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jesse Reeves in the fantasy horror film ''Queen of the Damned'', Katie in the comedy ''Wet Hot American Summer'', and her role as Connie in ''The Might ...

( Reed). The season introduced a number of new students to the show. Additions to the cast included Autumn Reeser,

, Ryan Donowho and Johnny Lewis, as new social chair

, rival surfers

and

, and Johnny's best friend Chili. Jeri Ryan and

also joined the cast to portray new adult characters Charlotte Morgan, a mysterious woman Kirsten befriends in rehab, and Matt Ramsey, an overzealous business partner working at the Newport Group. New guest stars in recurring roles included Paula Trickey as Taylor's mother,

;

Erin Foster Erin Taylor Foster is an American writer, performer and entrepreneur. Career Foster was a writer on the NBC sitcom '' The New Normal''. With her sister Sara Foster, she created the TV series ''Barely Famous'' on VH1. It is a mockumentary satire ...

as a Newport Union student called Heather;

Kayla Ewell Kayla Noelle Ewell (born August 27, 1985) is an American actress known for her roles on television as Caitlin Ramirez on CBS's long-running soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', as Maureen Sampson on NBC's ''Freaks and Geeks'', and as Vick ...

and Nikki Reed as Johnny's girlfriend, Casey, and cousin Sadie; Eric Mabius as new Dean of Discipline, Jack Hess; Shaun Duke as

, head of the board at Newport Hospital; and

as Griffin's daughter Maya. This is the final season for original cast member

who played Marissa Cooper; Marissa tragically dies in a car accident in the season finale.

Reception

Season three was widely regarded by both fans and critics as the worst season of ''The O.C.'' The season premiere attracted 7.5 million viewers, but average viewing figures decreased twenty percent from the previous season to 5.6 million. The first half of the season averaged 6.3 million viewers, representing a substantial decrease in the show's popularity. However Marcy Ross, head of current programming at FOX said that the "ratings are perfectly fine and acceptable". After the eventual cancellation of the show, Schwartz admitted that "the whole first half of the third season was a total mess". The third season was nominated for five

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

and won four of them, including "Choice Drama/Action Adventure Show" and "Choice Actor: Drama/Action Adventure", which Adam Brody won for the third consecutive year.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

faulted a season which, in their opinion, had "far too much time and too many episodes spent with the less than beloved character Johnny". IGN also noted that "Kirsten and Sandy both suffered from unsatisfying stories", and that the departure of character Caleb Nichol had been a mistake "as he had been a great character to bounce off both of the elder Cohens". In September 2007, Schwartz admitted in an interview for ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' that the show "went down the wrong road" with Johnny. The season did, however, receive some praise. The new character Taylor Townsend was stated as being "played to perfection by Autumn Reeser" and her character was described as "one of the greatest elements of ''The O.C.''" Jeffrey Robinson of DVD Talk described the storylines as "very intelligent and also incorporate a great deal of humor to keep your interest". ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' critic Robert Bianco said that the season premiere was "as dreary and ridiculous as any episode the show ever gave us", but the season finale was commended by IGN's Eric Goldman for killing off main character Marissa Cooper. Goldman said that "the episode documenting her demise was a fairly strong one" and that the following season "would really pay off this shocking twist". Despite not being the final season it was also noted that the graduation of characters gave "the show a feeling of ending".

DVD release

The DVD release of season three was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

in the US on October 24, 2006 after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including a gag reel, featurettes, and the making of a music video by The Subways.

References

;General * * ;Specific

External links

Episode guide
at

' The OC Insider *
''The O.C.'' music guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:O.C. (Season 3), The Season 3 2005 American television seasons 2006 American television seasons