‘The OC’, ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘Fade Street’ have all been added to the RTÉ Player and nostalgia is in full swing today

Sometimes nostalgia is the fondest friend and you can now catch up with all of your teenage BFFs courtesy of the RTÉ Player, which has just added The OC, One Tree Hill and Fade Street to its online repertoire. 

The highest-rated new drama when it first came out back in 2003, the lasting cultural impact of The OC proves that it’s about more than just nostalgia for fans of the show. A programme that pretty much typified life in the early naughties – or at least what we wanted life to be –  it was teen TV at its best and we love it as much today as we did back then. 

Centred on Ryan Atwood, a bad boy from “the wrong side of the tracks”, he’s taken in by Sandy and Kristy Cohen, a wealthy couple who introduce him to high-life in Newport Beach, Orange County, California.

Running for a total of four seasons and 92 episodes, the series was known for its stellar soundtrack which creator Josh Schwartz supposedly wanted to act as another “character” on the show. Bringing many an up-and-coming artist to public attention, indie rock became its genre of choice and everyone from The Killers to Death Cab For Cutie and Jeff Buckley graced the set throughout the years. In fact, bands such as U2 and Coldplay even premiered new material on the show, such was The OC’s hold on pop culture at the time. 

Starring Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson and Benjamin McKenzie, the series shot the foursome to international fame and they’ve come to be synonymous with the Y2K aesthetic – one characterised by low-rise jeans, flip phones and far too much sparkly lipgloss. Oh, what a time that was.

The OC‘s arrival on the RTÉ Player is well-timed too, as it comes in the wake of the news that Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke (aka Summer and Julie on the show) have started a podcast together. More on that below. 

In further good news, all nine seasons of One Tree Hill have joined The OC on the RTÉ Player too. Set in the fictional town of Tree Hill in North Carolina, it follows the lives of two half-brothers, Lucas and Nathan Scott – played by Chad Michael Murray (swoon) and Nathan Scott respectively. Later introducing us all to Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz, the programme is also where my obsession with singer Gavin DeGraw stems from. 

Irish reality series Fade Street is also set to be added to the player’s online catalogue, giving us all a reason to reflect back on what life in Dublin back in early 2010 was really like. 

That’s plenty of TV to get through, so you know where to find us. 

Feature image via @theoc.official