REACTION: Drama Queens Episode 1

“Drama Queens,” the new “One Tree Hill” rewatch podcast, premiered on Monday.

As officially announced earlier this month, Hilarie Burton (Peyton), Bethany Joy Lenz (Haley), and Sophia Bush (Brooke) have partnered with iHeartRadio for a weekly podcast where they will “dissect every episode, deliver every detail you must know, and devote themselves to you as you rewatch every single scene together.” iHeart is the same company behind “9021OMG,” the “Beverly Hills, 90210” rewatch podcast that launched last November with Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling.

I already raised some concerns / questions about “Drama Queens” in “Teen Drama Links” (linked above) but I had some more as I settled in to listen to the debut edition. Like… would it be better produced than “9021OMG”? Are they going to tackle one episode each week? If so, with 187 episodes, it’ll take them a little more than three years to get through all nine seasons. Are they really committed to this for the long haul? How will Sophia balance this weekly obligation with the production of “Good Sam”? And what will happen when they reach season 7 — will Hilarie stick around for the later seasons even though she wasn’t part of them?

Perhaps most importantly, how will they deal with the Mark Schwahn of it all? As showrunner, he had a hand in every single episode, on top of the ones he wrote and directed. Regardless of his abhorrent behavior, how do you rewatch the show and objectively discuss his contributions? How do you promote the podcast with quotes from the show without acknowledging who wrote many of those lines? I still don’t know how you separate “One Tree Hill” from Schwahn, so I’ve had a lot of anxiety about how all of this is going to go.

Like the first installment of “9021OMG,” the first “Drama Queens” installment served as more of an introduction to the podcast and didn’t cover the pilot. And like with “9021OMG” and “Welcome to the OC, Bitches,” I’m here to give you my no-holds-barred reactions.

Drama Queens Episode 1, "Someday is Today"

• The podcast started with Joy’s theme song for the podcast, which is just so damn catchy. It’s probably going to be one of my favorite parts of this whole thing.

• They discussed reuniting for the podcast and how often fans and reporters ask about an “OTH” reunion. Sophia said when they finished the show, they felt “done with that,” but the fans’ passion brought them back into it. Sophia: “So now we’re bringing you a new show.”

• Joy asked if they remembered when they first came to Wilmington and they each shared their experiences. They also discussed Wilmington’s history as a filming location before “OTH” started. Hilarie: “‘Dawson’s’ had just reigned supreme in Wilmington.” 

  • Reminder: I moved to Capeside / Tree Hill in 2014.

• Hilarie revealed she wasn’t allowed to watch “Dawson’s Creek” because it was a “‘bad kids’ show” and Joy revealed she wasn’t allowed to watch “Beverly Hills, 90210” or “Melrose Place.” Sophia watched “Beverly Hills, 90210” to “a point” and then around the time of the Brenda-Dylan-Kelly triangle, her parents saw an episode and “banned” her from watching it again. But she was allowed to watch “Dawson’s Creek” because it seemed like more wholesome kids in a small town. 

• Hilarie brought up the “Dawson’s” pilot storyline of Pacey being involved with his teacher. Joy said she didn’t start watching it til season 3 or 4 “when they had sort of mellowed out.” She said “Dawson’s” creator Kevin Williamson was in a “shock zone” when the show started. Sophia then said she thinks she started watching it later too, not when it first premiered.

• They shared the age they started acting. Joy started professionally at 12, but did theater through school before that. Hilarie was 8 when she started appearing in high school musicals. Sophia never got into musical theater. Hilarie: “There’s still time. Our 100th episode will be a musical podcast.”

• Hilarie asked what show was on the air when they were teens that made them want to be on a show like that. Joy and Sophia both said “Felicity,” with Joy noting she was actually on it, which shocked Sophia and Hilarie. Joy praised Keri Russell and said she has a “great memory” of being on the show. 

• Hilarie said The WB “owned our total age bracket” and they rattled off some of the shows. They discussed how “Veronica Mars” was initially on UPN and was a competitor and then it moved to their network. Hilarie noted how she interviewed a lot of The WB actors when she was working at MTV. Sophia: “They were printing hits.”

• Joy brought up how “OTH” was always “on the bubble” and Hilarie told her to explain what that meant. Sophia said she came to realize years later that the warning the show could be canceled at any time was a “scare tactic” to keep them in line.

• Hilarie asked what they were doing in the six months before being cast on the show. Joy had been in New York after working on soaps and spent all her money, so she went to Los Angeles to find more work. She got a lot of guest spots and wasn’t sure she wanted to do a teen drama when she got the script for what was then known as “Ravens.” She passed, but months later, the pilot was sent to her and she was told they were recasting one of the parts. She watched it and “loved” it and then auditioned for what became Haley.

  • The part being recast was Reagan, who was a different version of the Haley character and played by Samantha Shelton in the unaired pilot.

• Sophia was a junior in college. She had auditioned for the female lead in Van Wilder and was told she looked too young and given a much smaller role instead. She praised Ryan Reynolds as “the nicest human.” Sophia then did a few episodes of “Nip/Tuck,” which she called “salacious.” Then she was working at Bloomingdale’s when “OTH” came up. She had already done a pilot for a different Tollin / Robbins Productions show that wasn’t picked up, and around when they were recasting Joy’s role on “OTH,” she was called about auditioning. She was told they wanted to bring on a character that would be “ridiculous and sassy and comic relief.” Sophia and Joy saw each other at the auditions. 

• After a break, Hilarie gave her answer, recalling that she was on a trip to Los Angeles for a friend’s wedding and she booked several auditions. She did an audition for a movie, Radio, that Mike Tollin was producing and pushed back a bit at the direction she was given. She theorized her bitchy attitude is why she was then later thought of for Peyton. She made an audition tape in New York and got hired without testing and without meeting any of the other actors until she arrived in Wilmington for the first episode. But she already knew Chad from the episode she did of “Dawson’s Creek.” She called it an “omen” that the line she originally had in her “Dawson’s” scene was about sleeping with Chad’s character and that she objected to it because apparently she went on to object to “slutty” lines on “OTH.”

• On the first day of the “OTH” pilot, Chad introduced himself to Hilarie like they didn’t know each other and she was offended. She said she was “angsty” and brought that “energy” to the character. Sophia observed that she and Joy actually had similar experiences of not knowing anyone because Sophia wasn’t in the pilot and Joy wasn’t in the original pilot, so they both came on to the scene later than the rest of the cast. Sophia just learned that similarity today and it was “blowing [her] mind.”

• Hilarie said it was “fun” to “insert really tiny pieces of ourselves into our characters,” which she partly attributed to the show’s team being inexperienced, but she didn’t mention anyone by name. She had been a “grumpy cheerleader” in high school, so the character “hit close to home” for her. She asked what pieces of themselves were in their characters, either already or that they brought to the role. Joy: “I have the worst long-term memory ever.” Hilarie: “You should make shit up. No one would know, Joy.”

  • So on “9021OMG,” we have Jennie with the bad memory. On “Welcome to the OC, Bitches,” it’s Rachel. And I guess here it will be Joy.

• Joy said she was an introvert and was used to being dropped in places on her own, so she was fine spending time alone when she arrived in Wilmington. She brought up the pilot scene where Lucas, Karen, and Haley are gathering at Karen’s Cafe to eat dinner and said how “welcoming” Chad and Moira were and how “comfortable” they made her feel. Joy “resonated” with Haley being introverted and not really connecting with people at the start. 

• Sophia said Brooke was originally named Tara, which didn’t “feel right.” Hilarie: “Brooke is an expensive name.” Sophia’s college best friend is named Brooke and her style and spirit reminded her of the character. She said playing Brooke made her learn how to be more bold in her real life while she brought soul-searching to the character. They said they all had moments where they refused to do something on the show (would love to know what!) and Sophia looked at it as her and her character sticking up for each other.

  • They didn’t acknowledge that there eventually was a character named Tara in season 9.

• Hilarie said she’s “so defensive” of Peyton. She said there are others in the teen drama genre who try to distance themself from it and that the genre is made fun of, but it’s been her “life’s work” to own it and defend the character. Sophia brought up “My So-Called Life” and how that starred Claire Danes and Jared Leto, who have gone on to do award-winning work. Hilarie said she’s “not impressed” by actors winning awards for projects with great scripts. Hilarie: “If you can take a shit script and make it relatable and watchable and make somebody cry, you’re a winner.” Sophia said they had a “very mediocre script 98 percent of the time” and took credit for the show being successful despite that.

  • Shitting on the writers is a choice. So are they going to name the writers of each episode? Will they say which lines were actually theirs and not in the original script? What they’re implying isn’t really how TV works.

• Hilarie said she didn’t watch the last three seasons and hasn’t watched the show since she left. She said she’s “nervous” because she knows it will be “painful” to watch herself “learn how to act on camera.” Joy said she’s “nervous” too because she knows where her “personal life” was during that time — Sophia said she does too and apparently her face turned red — and when Joy thinks about the “superiority complex” she had and how judgmental she was, she “cringes” and is working on forgiving herself for being human. But she knows she “inserted” a lot of that into Haley and it makes her “cringe.” She even apologized. Hilarie said she felt “insufferable.”

• Sophia said they were “learning in real time.” Hilarie said it was the first time some of them were away from their parents. Sophia: “It’s a wonder none of us is dead.” Joy said none of them are drug addicts. Hilarie said that out of all the casts (in what? The genre?), they “thrived.” Joy discussed the “benefit of being in Wilmington,” where they didn’t have to worry about paparazzi. Sophia said what they did experience, though, was “traumatizing.” She said they were expected to be “perfect” and be adults when they were “children.”

  • Jennie and Tori have also spoken on their podcast about being treated like adults on set but being just kids in their real life.

• Hilarie said her only negative paparazzi experience was around season 5 or 6, at the very hotel in Los Angeles where they were recording today. The paps took her photo and the tabloids branded her brother, who was with her and worked on “OTH,” a “mystery man” whom she was on a date with.

  • Presumably they will be in separate locations and recording the podcast over Zoom going forward, like “9021OMG” does.

• Sophia said it’s a “privilege” that they’re getting a “do-over” with their friendships. She said they were “pitted against each other” back then because execs (no one was named) were afraid they would band together in negotiations if they got close. Hilarie said today they’re all involved in advocacy, all “a little surly,” and now rewatching the show together, they’ll learn what each other was going through when they filmed it. Joy said they weren’t “taught the value of being vulnerable” with one another, but now they can be. Sophia said they’re getting the best version of their friendship now in adulthood.

• Hilarie recalled being told, “Joy’s the talented one, Sophia’s the gorgeous one, and you’re the angry one.” Joy was stunned, but Hilarie said it wasn’t “wrong,” and Sophia said they were told “horrible” things. Hilarie said they want to poke fun at those titles and they want to have their colleagues on — she specifically mentioned Lee, James, and Antwon — to hear about their experiences.

  • I don’t know whether to read into Hilarie not mentioning Chad.

• Joy said it’s “fun” to revisit a “major pop culture moment” through the podcast, but it means more to her that they can show people a “vision of what a sisterhood could look like.” She predicted the experience is going to be “healing” as well as “helpful for a lot of young women.” As Hilarie made jokes, Joy said they could count on her to be “serious” and Hilarie said they could count on her to “ruin it.”

• Hilarie said they were cast “really well” and it’s “weird to think there was a person out there who was responsible for choosing our friendships for us… They did a really good job. We all turned out great. And the conventions we do are so fun. This as an extension of that should be great.” They marveled over the show being “so many hours” and how fans rewatch it over and over.

  • If they think “One Tree Hill” had a lot of episodes with 187 in nine seasons, they should consider that “Beverly Hills, 90210” had nearly 300 in 10 seasons.

• Hilarie asked who they’re most excited to have on the podcast. Joy said Paul would be “a blast.” Sophia said she “can’t wait to hear Moira’s perspective” because they’re now the age she was when the show started. Joy name-checked Barbara too. Hilarie said Antwon will be “so fun” and noted he was a parent of teens when they were filming the show.

  • Again no mention of Chad.

  • Paul has mentioned “One Tree Hill” briefly while on the “Beverly Hills 90210 Show” podcast.

• They talked about the smell of the Wilmington airport. (I’ve never noticed a smell…) Sophia recalled there being a big “Dawson’s Creek” mural on a Screen Gems building when she first arrived and it felt so monumental to her. They recalled when their own mural was put up.

• Hilarie said they all lived in different parts of town. Joy lived at the beach at first, before moving downtown, and she and Sophia got dogs. Hilarie got an apartment downtown, opposite where Karen’s Cafe was located. She talked about a creepy neighbor and inviting the crew to come over because she didn’t want to be alone. That led to “ragers.” Sophia also had a downtown apartment at first and was very into scrapbooking. Hilarie: “We’ve got a whole TV show. That’s the scrapbook.”

• Joy announced she had a “surprise” for them. She was showing them something, but of course we couldn’t see. But it was something given to her by executive producer Greg Prange early on, possibly at the end of season 1. She then said it was a bottle of Dom Pérignon that she’s been saving — she said from 2001 and then was corrected that it was 2003, though it would’ve been 2004 when the first season wrapped — and she wanted to open it now with them. They toasted, “Here’s to ‘Drama Queens!’”

• Next week they’ll be watching the pilot and Joy encouraged people to watch it too “and then come listen and we’re gonna have a nice chat about all the fun things we remember and who else knows what else is gonna come up.” Hilarie: “A little bit of shit talk. Just a little.” Sophia: “We deserve it.” 

As with “9021OMG,” there is one very obvious flaw here: This podcast is audio only. I think it would be immensely more enjoyable, as “Welcome to the OC, Bitches” is, if there was a video version. Instead, they are only posting brief clips on Instagram, much like “9021OMG” does.

Even though they each have such distinct voices, having three female voices talking over one another can make it hard to hear what is being said and hard to know who to pay attention to. It felt like eavesdropping on a group of girlfriends talking, but it also felt like sensory overload at times. I’m curious what kind of format they will have when discussing the episodes and if there will be less overlap when they’re talking. But when you add in a guest too, that’ll be four voices on an audio-only podcast. Oh, how I wish this was a visual experience!

I like that they’re calling themselves “Drama Queens,” just like I call myself a “TeenDramaWhore.” I was glad they recognized the shows that came before them and I appreciated what Hilarie said about defending her character and the genre. This genre has been my “life’s work” too.

Since I’m already committed to doing “9021OMG” reaction posts on Mondays and “Welcome to the OC, Bitches” on Tuesdays, I won’t be getting to “Drama Queens” until later in the week and it may not be the same day each week. Bear with me, especially as my plate is about to get yet another addition with the “Gossip Girl” spinoff premiering in just two weeks.

But enough about me. What did YOU think of the start of “Drama Queens”?

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