The ‘One Tree Hill’ Sequel Will Be Told ‘Through a Female Lens’

One Tree Hill is the next teen drama to get a reboot series, and while Chad Michael Murray’s and Bethany Joy Lenz’s potential return are still up in the air, Hilarie Burton Morgan and Sophia Bush are set to star.

“What I can say is that this time around, being able to work with a team of women and view these stories and characters through a female lens is something that—whether I was doing a reboot, a brand-new show, or a different movie at this phase in my life—is vital to me,” Burton Morgan recently told People about the sequel. “It is the core of anything I’ve done that’s been successful. So, I’m excited to team up with people I look up to, people I love dearly.”

Burton and her female co-stars have previously spoken about the culture on the set during the early days of One Tree Hill, particularly regarding showrunner Mark Schwahn, whom they referred to as “Voldemort.” They reflected on how they were “to varying degrees, manipulated psychologically and emotionally” and that some of them are “still in treatment for post-traumatic stress.” In 2017, the women of the show wrote an open letter accusing Schwahn of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, but no official litigation resulted from the allegations.

The One Tree Hill reboot will be on Netflix, with Burton Morgan, Bush, and co-star Daneel Ackles serving as executive producers. Of all the teen dramas from the early 2000s and 2010s that shaped me, One Tree Hill is my least favorite. They’re talking the talk regarding the female gaze right now, so I’m curious to see if they can also walk the walk.