Heard nothing about this all summer. All a sudden I hear about it everywhere. Maybe I’ll check it out.
Looking to get a jump on everyone else for the fall — plus hook viewers hungry for scripted programming — Fox on Tuesday premieres an ambitiously modern prime-time drama/soap called “The O.C.” that delves into the rich and dysfunctional lives of families in the gated-community world of Orange County.
The pilot is superb. The knee-jerk reaction to “The O.C” would be to assume that years after the fact, Fox is just looking for a little “Beverly Hills 90210” action to bolster ratings. But that ignores the pretty decent pedigree of the people behind “The O.C.,” not to mention that the series is compelling on more than a few levels, able to hook both young viewers and their parents.
“The O.C.” boasts film director Doug Liman (“Go,” “Swingers,” “The Bourne Identity”) at the helm and as executive producer. He’s joined there by another director, McG (“Charlies Angels”), on whose life experiences this series is very loosely based. The real force behind “The O.C.,” however, is Josh Schwartz, a very talented writer who sold his first script while still a junior in college for nearly $1 million.
