Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody are taking fans of The O.C. right back where we started from.
The 40-year-old actress and 41-year-old actor reunited on the Oct. 26 episode of her and Melinda Clarke's podcast Welcome to the OC, Bitches!.
From 2003 to 2007, Bilson and Brody played the famously on-again, off-again couple Summer Roberts and Seth Cohen on The O.C. And while it's been almost 15 years since the show ended, the co-stars—who dated IRL for three years—still have fond memories of working together.
"Watching the show and, like, going back into that time and everything else, you really—I don't even know how to put this—you taught me how to act well," Bilson said. "You made it, like, so comfortable to just go for it and not be afraid, and everything you did and working with you really made me have the confidence to kind of, like, do whatever I wanted and go for it. And I just want to say thank you because it just, like, brings that all up. And I was like, 'Dude, I was never better than when I was acting with you.'"
Brody then thanked Bilson for her "lovely" words. "It was my pleasure and it was such a joy," he added. "I mean, look, I take the compliment. At the same time, in the pilot, you made it your own instantly and everyone fell in love with you. I felt like we were sparring so well together so fast."
Although, he admitted he may have done some things differently. "Like I've seen this episode," Brody, who was discussing season one episode 26 "The Strip" with his castmates, said. "I feel like, on one hand, I'm pretty loose, you know that's what I'll say is good about it….On the other hand, you know, and I think this is probably a sign of growth, but I hate almost every one of my choices in it. I mean, forget fashion and stuff. My assumption is, like, I didn't even talk like that in real life. I was doing such a Vince Vaughn impersonation. I was talking so fast and high but really just fast. More than anything, I see it and I'm like, 'Wow, just, you know, relax.'"
Still, with tons of reboots popping up, fans can't help but wonder: Would Brody be up for a revival of The O.C.?
"I kind of don't think it can be done because I feel like, socially, I think we're in a different place. And I think we're in a more conscious place," he replied. "I feel like The O.C., while it claims to be in a similar sense of Gossip Girl, while it would sort of say it's a critique, it's not. It's a celebration. It's a celebration of affluence, in my opinion. Obviously, like, in the heart of it, there's people who are lovely. It's a family at the heart of it, too. There's people who love each other and care for each other and sacrifice for each other. So, it's not a pure celebration of money. It's a celebration of, you know, love and romance and being in high school. It's not just that."
"But I guess my point is like, for me, in a post-Donald Trump America, to go, 'Let's go to Orange County,' I feel like you have to have a real reckoning politically and socially," he continued. "And is that what people want to see with this show? I don't know. And is there a way to do both? I mean, there is I suppose, but in my eyes, I'd probably want to torch it more than, like, the fans would want. So, I don't know who would be happy."
Today, both Bilson and Brody continue to act. After starring on the show Hart of Dixie, she went on to appear in series like Nashville and movies like Lovestruck. He also acted in movies like The Kid Detective and Shazam! and TV shows like Single Parents. In addition, Bilson shares a daughter, Briar Rose, with ex Hayden Christensen and Brody has two kids with wife Leighton Meester.
"We've multiplied over here….I count my blessings every day," he said. "Not to say that, you know, life is only positive, I guess, but I'm so lucky and don't I know it."