REACTION: Welcome to the OC, Bitches Episode 1

“The O.C.” rewatch podcast, “Welcome to the OC, Bitches,” premiered on Tuesday.

Rachel Bilson (Summer, The O.C.) and Melinda Clarke (Julie, The O.C.) announced last month that they were reuniting to rewatch the series and interview key players. Unlike the audio-only “9021OMG,” the genre’s other rewatch podcast, this one has a video component, with each installment available on YouTube for fans to watch, instead of only listening via an audio platform.

I was pretty curious to see what Bilson and Clarke’s dynamic would be like and how they would kick things off. So, without further ado, here are my reactions…

Welcome to the OC, Bitches Episode 1, “The Pilot with Josh Schwartz”

• The podcast began with a version of the show’s theme song, “California,” playing, before Rachel and Melinda welcomed listeners. Melinda said they’re watching the show as “both cast members but also fans.” She explained, “Each week, we’re breaking down an episode, often with the help of former cast members, crew, celeb fans, and other guests who have something to say about the cultural phenomenon that was ‘The O.C.’” Quipped Rachel, “No pressure.” Melinda thanked Kast Media and their producer, Diana, noting listeners may hear from Diana “from time to time.”

• They then welcomed Josh, with Rachel saying he’s the creator of the show “for those that don’t know,” and pointing out he was also the executive producer. Rachel said he “created this world we’ve all grown to love,” prompting him to jokingly ask, “Did you finally grow to love it?” Rachel: “I’m working on it.” Rachel revealed Josh was sitting with her in her closet (her “cloffice”) as they recorded. Melinda said she was sitting in front of an autographed “O.C.” poster that used to be in her daughter’s room. Her daughter was only 3 when the show started and Melinda said it’s “so interesting” rewatching the show because she was a young mom when it was filmed and now she’s watching it after going through the teen years with her own child. 

• Josh said his 9-year-old daughter is “desperate” to watch the show, but he won’t let her yet. Melinda said her daughter had watched other teen shows and was going to watch “The O.C.,” but told her, “I don’t want to see you kissing young men, mom.” Josh: “You kissed all ages of men. A whole spectrum of men. I don’t think she should pigeon-hole you like that.” Rachel pointed out that Josh and his producing partner Stephanie Savage also created “Gossip Girl,” “so he’s quite popular with the youth out there.”

• Josh said he was 26 when he wrote the pilot and 27 when the show went into production. He had done other pilots but they weren’t picked up. Melinda said she’s “done a lot of research” — how refreshing! — and noted he was “the youngest creator in [TV] history at the time.” Josh admitted he didn’t know if he still held that title. Melinda asked Josh to explain his introduction to Orange County “and how it all came apart,” which prompted Josh to quip, “How it all came apart? That came later.” Josh shared the same origin story he’s shared countless times before: how he was from Providence, went to USC and met people from Orange County, had a meeting with Stephanie and producer McG and discussed writing something about Orange County, went off and developed the concept, and then pitched it during pilot season.

• Once FOX picked it up, Josh was told to not only film the pilot, but also prepare for a summer launch, which meant he had to start the writer’s room while shooting the first episode. Josh made a “bible of things that were going to happen in the first season,” though he estimated only 30 percent ultimately made it into the season. They called it “insane” that they had a 27-episode first season, which is quite long by today’s standards, although not as long as some “Beverly Hills, 90210” seasons — those were 32 for a few years.

• Melinda said she’s been thinking about the show and doing so much research, she’s been dreaming about it. She wanted to know how Josh kept it “all together” with all of his responsibilities. “It’s all about the team,” he said, giving Stephanie credit. Given his age, Josh said he wasn’t given completely full reign and met with various showrunners who he could tell were all thinking he was going to fail. But he ultimately paired up with Bob DeLaurentis — whom he said he hopes they interview — and they divided some responsibilities so Josh could focus on story and he could learn budget and schedules and all that other stuff as time went on. He named some other key players and gave them credit too.

• Josh said the cast made their lives “a lot easier” and that the cast chemistry was “instantaneous.” They noted how Rachel and Melinda were just guest stars at the beginning, but Josh said it was “immediately apparent that there was so much more to write for you guys.” Melinda said she rewatched the commentary Josh had recorded for the first season. She said doing the show was a “learning experience,” and she had the “opportunity and ability… to take some chances or experiment” and “inspire the writers to write for me.”

• Josh noted how pilots are written without the actors cast and sometimes the actors end up being what you envisioned and sometimes they are even better. Rachel said she was not what was envisioned, but Josh called her “hilarious” and he got a “little world into what the character could be.” And with longform TV, he could “evolve the characters and line up their voices with the actors.” As an example, he mentioned Adam and incorporating his “idiosyncrasies.” Other examples were writing in the “Golden Girls” because of Rachel’s fandom and, as Josh put it, “finding out Ben could be funny… and starting to lean into that a little bit.” Josh said there was a “show in and of itself” if they just focused on the four adults — the liberal Sandy coming to the conservative world of his “shiksa” wife who lived next door to her ex and his wife.

• After a break, Melinda said “FOX really wanted their next ‘90210,’” but Josh was “more of a fan of ‘Freaks & Geeks’ and ‘My So-Called Life.’” She asked if Josh “felt like you snuck it by as a newer version of a teen soap — is that the definition you would call it?” Josh said he saw it as “more of a family drama, but it was definitely delivering on the teen drama side, coming-of-age story, teen soap, whatever you want to call it.” He said the network had certain tropes they wanted him to hit, “but it was also a great opportunity to explore” family and friendship, especially a male friendship and a father with two sons. He saw it as “multi-generational,” with the show “as much about the parents as it was the kids.” Josh cracked that that became “more complicated” when Julie and Luke started dating. Melinda said Chris played Luke “very, very well.”

• Rachel said people want to know, “Why Chino?” Josh questioned whether people were really clamoring to know that. He said “it definitely wasn’t embraced at first,” but they tried to spin it as “our hero’s from Chino!” He jokingly blamed Summer for saying, “Ew, Chino!” and said the area has a lot of “nice parts to it” and he wasn’t intending to “knock” Chino but show how much Newport was a “bubble” in contrast. Josh said the show “become more self-aware as it went on” whereas the pilot “played it pretty straight.” Melinda wanted to know how much the plans changed from what was in the bible, and Josh said he should’ve looked it up before he came on the podcast and said that Stephanie would be much more prepared than him. But he also dinged Rachel for seemingly not having any questions written on her notepad, which made him feel better for not being prepared.

• Josh said he knew there would be a certain number of episodes debuting in August that would air before the World Series and they would need “some crazy cliffhanger.” Originally, it was going to be a “terrible car accident and Marissa’s fate was up in the air.” Obviously, it changed to the drug overdose instead (and they did the car accident later…). Rachel said she loves Ryan’s dialogue when he meets Marissa and Melinda said they should dive into the episode. Rachel: “Rewatch podcast, we should probably talk about the pilot itself.” So Melinda gave the synopsis and Rachel asked Josh if it was accurate. “Some of it,” he said. Melinda said how the show opened with the Atwood brothers stealing the car, but Ryan clearly wasn’t into it. Josh said that was intentional, to show the difference between them. He said when the show tested initially, people thought they were going to be watching a cop show from that opening. 

• The first episode, Josh said, “It’s very tied to Ryan and seeing the world through his eyes… so it was important to have the audience be aware of where he was starting from.” Melinda called it a “very intense scene for what people thought they were tuning into, a teen dramedy — well, not a dramedy at the time; it was a teen soap.” Melinda brought up Ryan meeting Sandy for the first time and wondered if it was Ben’s audition scene because of his little monologue. Josh took responsibility for any “inconsistent voice,” but said he wanted Ryan’s cynicism to come through. 

• Josh said Peter was the first person cast and it sent a message “that the adult part of the show was to be taken seriously” and Peter did this first scene between Ryan and Sandy for his reading too. “It really holds up,” Melinda said. Josh said Ben was “different than we imagined for the part.” He said Garret Hedlund was up for the role, as was D.J. Controna, who went to be cast on “Skin” with Olivia Wilde, who was up for the part of Marissa (and “Beverly Hills, 90210” executive producer Charles Rosin had a hand in that show, too, as did Gina Fattore of “Dawson’s Creek”). He said Mischa had her youth and her “more tragic air” on her side. Josh revealed Ben was pitched to them by a Warner Bros. executive who had seen Ben audition for a UPN comedy that he didn’t get. 

• Josh said Ben was smoking the first time he saw him and Rachel joked that he was “method acting.” Josh found Ben’s interpretation “interesting” and “soulful,” and explained that you had to understand why the family would take him in. “He was just so sympathetic,” Josh said. Rachel said her heart broke when Ryan was being kicked out by his mom. Melinda agreed, saying watching it now, she sees a “scared 16-year-old boy” and it made the viewer root for him “from the beginning.” Josh said Seth was originally “way nerdier” in the pilot and the network said he needed to be a co-romantic lead. With Adam, though, you “totally believed him as the nerd” and “understood why he didn’t fit in,” but also understood why, episodes later, Summer and Anna would be fighting over him. 

• Josh said Adam didn’t really know the dialogue when he auditioned so they weren’t impressed and saw other actors. But they gave him another chance and by that point, Josh had rewritten the role a bit and everyone “fell in love with him” when Adam auditioned again. Melinda said seeing the lines on the page and then seeing Adam bring the character to life enhanced things so much. She wanted to know how much Josh is in Seth. Josh said initially that was there, but “very quickly it became writing to Adam’s voice” and they “always gave room for improv.” The actors would shoot it as scripted, but also have the chance to offer their “spin” on the lines. “And the Death Cab thing was all him,” Josh confirmed. Rachel joked, “You really just hung out with us to eavesdrop.” Rachel further said she “learned so much” from Adam because he was “so confident.” She credited her castmates for helping her “prepare” for the future. Melinda: “We’re only as good as the actors around us.” She specifically cited Peter and “how present he was as an actor.” Josh pointed out that Peter was also “having a blast… and you can feel it.” And viewers being able to “feel the chemistry” is the reason why the show connected, Josh argued.

• At this point, dear reader, I have a confession to make. It’s approximately 36 minutes in and I’m frustrated. I am listening to the audio on Spotify and wondering, “Where is the promised YouTube video?! I thought we were going to get to watch this podcast!” After all, it was originally reported that each episode would be available on YouTube, with Kast Media even writing on Instagram, “The YouTube channel will be up right before the first episode drops and we’ll be sure to post the link!” But I couldn’t find it, which was a big disappointment, as I so much rather watch than just listen. Fast-forward a few hours, after I paused my listening to return to my day job (yes, I have one of those) and a devoted TDW reader and fellow “O.C.” fan named Todd comes to my rescue. He discovered the YouTube video had finally gone up — hurrah! Now it is dark outside and I am finally resuming at 36 minutes in, but this time watching instead of merely listening. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!

• As it turns out, the video version of the podcast kicks off not merely with the aforementioned version of the show’s theme song, but a recreation of the opening credits. How clever! The video is interspersed with the same ads Rachel and Melinda read during the audio podcast, but here you actually see them reciting the lines, which is a little awkward since they’re basically looking down and reading from a script, but that’s a small price to pay to see them visually engaged the rest of the time.

• Anyway, continuing where I left off above… Melinda spoke about how delivery of the scripted lines matters, especially when you want to make a “villain” like Julie “authentic.” Josh gave her credit for injecting humor into it. Melinda then said Rachel brought her real-life personality to Summer and she agreed that was the case “as the show went on.” In the beginning, though, she said she was “imitating girls from high school who were bitchy and unaware.” Melinda liked that there was “freedom” to bring in some of her “own goofy personality.” Josh revealed that the year prior to “The O.C.,” Melinda had auditioned for a different show with Stephanie and McG (“Fastlane,” which starred Tiffani Thiessen) and they loved her but she didn’t get the part. But then they specifically requested to see her for “The O.C.” Melinda didn’t actually know that until right now. She did reveal, though, that she had to “beg” to get out of her “Babylon 5” contract to join “The O.C.”

• Rachel said she wanted to read for Marissa, but was called in for Summer and was disappointed at first. Josh said it was clear Rachel was a “spitfire” and a good contrast with Mischa and then her chemistry with Adam was also apparent. Getting back to the specifics of the pilot, Melinda was enamored by how Ryan was introduced to the scenery of Newport, which was actually shot in Malibu, as Sandy drove him to the Cohens, and Josh gave credit to the pilot’s director, Doug Liman. He also gave Doug lots of props for the episode’s meaningful closing scene with Ryan being driven away from the Cohen mansion with the sun going down. Another shot Josh really liked was showing Ryan carry Marissa to the pool house from behind.

• Josh complimented Kelly and Peter’s chemistry and how Kelly made Kirsten come off as smart and as a loving mom who wasn’t like all the other Newpsies but wasn’t as heart-driven as Sandy. Melinda highlighted the “mutual respect” Sandy and Kirsten have for each other and how enviable their relationship was, but said she also understands, as a mother, Kirsten’s reluctance to bring a stranger into their home. Josh said they viewed the Seth-Ryan dynamic “at first” as being like Elliott and E.T. On a different note, Josh said there’s “nothing more taboo” than smoking cigarettes on TV, but “it felt important to us that Ryan be smoking” when he meets Marissa. It took a lot to get the scene past standards and practices and Josh said he thought “it was the last cigarette that was ever filmed in a broadcast network show.” 

• They joked about how much the characters said “hey” and revealed they would use those moments in their season-ending gag reels. Of Luke’s introduction, Josh said the truck was key because it allowed for a lot to be conveyed about his character very quickly. Of Seth not being introduced until later in the episode, Josh pointed out that the viewer was following Ryan’s journey, so you met Seth when he did. He recalled that test viewers were surprised to see this other angle come about. Josh said it required multiple boats to shoot the scene of Ryan and Seth sailing and he blamed himself for thinking a boat of that size could get Seth to Tahiti. But he did think Seth’s boat skills showed that he was good at something and wasn’t just a typical nerd. Josh also revealed Doug was prepping Mr. & Mrs. Smith as he filmed the pilot. During filming on the boat, Doug realized he was late for a meeting for the movie and jumped off the boat and swam to shore. That’s actually hilarious.

• Melinda said Tate is the “happiest, most smiling human being on the planet.” Josh called him “the nicest, coolest, greatest guy.” He credited Tate with making Jimmy “likeable” despite the sketchy things he was up to: “So you never hate Jimmy Cooper.” Rachel pointed out there’s a theme: There’s more to each of the characters than you initially think. Josh: “They’re all outsiders in their own way.” Melinda: “How can you ever be mad at Tate Donovan?” Josh said he knew of Tate before he was cast and Rachel recited the classic “Joshua” refrain from “Friends.” Josh said they liked that he was a “name” and had a “body of work” to “lend credibility to this adult world” of the show. Rachel called it “really sweet” when Sandy tied Ryan’s tie and Josh said his father did that for him and that it “felt like such a father-son act.” He further argued, “The Sandy-Ryan connection is as important to the show as the Ryan-Seth connection in terms of wish fulfillment.” Melinda noted that “Sandy sees himself in Ryan.” 

• Melinda revealed the pool house was built on the property of the real house for the pilot and then recreated on the set for future episodes. Josh said he hated the color of the fake grass in the first few episodes and he was told not to worry about it because people wouldn’t notice… and he realized later that was true. They spoke about the introduction of Kaitlin and joked, “What ever happened to Shailene Woodley?” since she’s gone on to have quite the career. Josh said Julie was “living vicariously through Marissa” and getting the upbringing she herself didn’t have, but it had a negative impact on their mother-daughter relationship.

• Melinda loved the “Welcome to the dark side” scene, praising the editing and the scenery of the show’s “first epic party.” Rachel said she looks back at her introduction at the party and can’t believe her hair and makeup. Josh: “Summer was a thirst trap before that was a thing.” Josh joked that they could’ve made a show out of Seth only having little kids whom he gave sailing lessons to as his friends. Josh said Kirsten stopping Ryan from getting a drink was a sign that while she was “rooting” for him, she wasn’t going to welcome him “no questions asked.” While filming the fashion show, Melinda said a camera operator fell off the stage. Yikes! Rachel said “Brody” would make fun of her “strut” down the runway. Rachel thought the behind-the-scenes of the fashion show was revealing, especially with Marissa bringing out the bottle of vodka. Josh said Mischa is “so angelic” and “this idea that this girl who seems like she has it all has got this bottle of vodka and she’s not drinking for fun, she’s not drinking to party, she’s drinking to anesthetize herself… and there was this kind of darker, more tragic element to her and Mischa was always great at embracing that and leaning into that and being more than you expected that character to be.”

• Josh called Mischa a “fashion icon” and the first cast member to really “break out.” They said she scored the first magazine cover of the cast and that designers, including Chanel, would send stuff to the set for her. Rachel said Josh “had that feeling” about Mischa and he was right. Melinda said the show, perhaps “unknowingly,” ended up creating aspects of pop culture. Rachel called it “fun” when they all jumped in the car after the fashion show and went to the beach party. Josh revealed Seth’s “cocaine” line was improv. Josh: “We played Missy Elliott so many times that night… It was the same Missy Elliott song on repeat for so much of it that I began to lose my mind.” Apparently that shoot actually took three nights to get it all done. Melinda said the party reminded her of what she herself saw growing up in Orange County.

• Josh revealed the party was originally set in a hotel room and quipped that Summer wearing a bikini was all Rachel’s idea. Rachel didn’t understand what Summer’s “I’m going to play him hot and cold” line meant and Josh made fun of her. They all liked Jimmy and Kirsten’s scene and how it let the viewer realize more of their shared background. Josh said Kirsten was “right to be concerned” about Seth going to the party. Rachel said Adam is “so good” during the party sequence. Melinda wanted to know what happened to the Coopers’ dog. Josh said it was “hard” to have a dog and the location wasn’t ideal for it. Hilariously, Melinda’s dog then barked in the background and Josh joked the pooch “wasn’t happy” with what he just heard. 

• Josh liked how Marissa and Ryan’s exchange about getting into trouble revealed how “treacherous” the Newport life could be. Josh: “Poor Seth. Summer didn’t even know who he is.” Melinda pointed out this scene was Summer’s first “ew.” Josh revealed the polo players who were roughing up Seth were named after McG’s friends. Melinda commended Josh for how familiar he was with Orange County. Josh said part of it was based on people he went to school with and some were based on those he grew up with in Providence. Rachel said Ryan’s iconic “Welcome to the O.C., bitch” is where they get the podcast name from and Josh played dumb, like he hadn’t realized that, which was a very funny moment. Rachel then realized what he was doing and he cracked, “You walked right into that one.” 

• Josh and Melinda said it was a “big controversy” when the show introduced “the O.C.” into the lexicon. Josh said locals were “anti the show in the beginning because of the name.” But a movie had come out the year prior with the name Orange County, so they couldn’t use that. Josh noted that the movie starred Colin Hanks, who appeared on “The O.C.,” and he hinted Colin may be on the podcast at some point. Josh said the iconic line “came late into the script,” but he strongly felt they had to use the name of the show in the episode. Melinda really liked seeing Ryan and Seth in the pool house after and how “the brother bond was solidified.” Rachel said that “as a mother” watching today, she was bothered by Summer et al. driving wasted when they dropped a drunk Marissa off. Melinda felt it “resonated as a very real” thing that happens with teen girls. Melinda recalled originally thinking Ryan was going to do something bad when he saw Marissa passed out, like steal from her purse, but he was actually coming to her rescue. Josh said they wanted it to be a “knight in shining armor” scene. Rachel called it “really sweet.” Josh said Stephanie hated Ryan’s black sheets and said she pays more attention to things like that than he does.

• Melinda pointed out how Ryan carrying Marissa becomes “pretty iconic” throughout the series. She then mispronounced the name of the artist heard in that scene and admitted that music is her “weakness.” Melinda said the audition scene she read for Kirsten (whom she auditioned for before Julie) was when Kirsten fights with Sandy the next morning about wanting Ryan to leave. Josh said Ryan cooking breakfast was both born out of himself being unable to cook and wanting to show that Ryan not only had skills but that he had to raise himself to this point. The Ryan-Seth goodbye scene, Josh said, was also reminiscent of the ET-Elliott dynamic. Josh confirmed some of the stuff, specifically the memorabilia, in Seth’s room came from him and Stephanie themselves. Josh credited a writer who only worked on a few episodes with coming up with Captain Oats, which was on the shelf behind Josh and Rachel with Princess Sparkle.

• For both Josh and Rachel, they said Joseph Arthur’s “Honey and the Moon” brings back a lot of memories for them. Josh said he listened to the song a lot as he wrote the pilot and wanted the show to “feel like this song at the end.” Josh also revealed he saw Alexi Murdoch open for Joseph and that’s how Alexi ended up being used on the show too. Melinda had a great question for Josh: Do scenes inspire music or does music inspire scenes? Josh: “It goes both ways.” In the case of “Hide and Seek,” he said, music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas heard the song and knew they needed to use it for the show at some point so they kept it in their minds until they found a scene it worked for. 

• Melinda noted how a lot of “unknown bands got exposure” from the show, largely based on Josh’s tastes. Josh also gave credit to the cast’s music interests, as well as Stephanie’s. He said they didn’t have a large music budget at first, but that changed by season’s end when the show and the music took off. Josh also noted how there wasn’t all the music platforms then that exist today, “so a lot of these bands we could get for less money, because they were indie bands, and even if they had some qualms about being on a FOX teen soap, they were happy to have some revenue. And what we found was there was this huge audience out there who was looking for this kind of music and didn’t have a place at that moment to get it. Right place, right time, right music.” Josh said it was “cool” that the show became a “destination for new music” and that it was “super fun” incorporating music they were all listening to in their personal lives. He also stressed that it wasn’t “Orange County bands, which had its own scene, but music that would illuminate the emotional lives of the characters.” Melinda commented that this was in contrast “to traditional teen soaps,” which would primarily use top 40 songs… and I don’t really agree here, to be honest. I don’t associate “Beverly Hills, 90210” or “Dawson’s Creek” with top 40 music, even if they had some fairly mainstream acts on at times.

• Rachel called the end scene of Ryan discovering his mom had moved out “so sad.” Melinda noted the pilot was left “open-ended” and called it a “bold choice.” Josh said that it wasn’t traditional and that you’re supposed to end the pilot with the viewer knowing what the series is going to be. But even still here, he argued, you could predict some things that would happen going forward, like Kirsten being skeptical of Ryan, Ryan and Marissa having a connection, Kirsten and Jimmy having a connection, the fall of Jimmy, etc. “So even though it was an untraditional way to end the show — it’s more of what’s called a premise pilot — hopefully we had told the audience what to expect and we kind of designed the first three episodes as its own little mini story, its own little mini arc, to get Ryan to become a Cohen.” Josh said he wanted to convey that “everybody feels like an outsider in that world,” even those who “appear to be the ultimate insider.” Rachel questioned whether Summer was an outsider. Josh: “Eventually. And she falls for the ultimate outsider.”

• In the last few minutes, Melinda announced they had “some quiz questions” for Josh with a “trivia” chyron appearing on the screen. The first question: What are Seth and Ryan drinking as they ride on Seth’s boat in the pilot? Josh was stumped and Rachel wouldn’t give him a hint at first. The answer was Ocean Spray cranberry juice, which Josh noted “blew up this year” and joked they “should recut that scene to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dream.’” Rachel: “Foreshadowing. You just knew.” Second question: Which of these groups did not have a song on an episode of “The O.C.”? Beck, The Killers, Ben Folds, Gwen Stefani. Josh quickly answered correctly — Ben Folds. Josh: “Nothing against Ben Folds. Just didn’t work out.” Josh pointed out season 2’s mall episode is set to all Beck songs. Rachel: “I found out about Brad and Jen that night we were shooting in the mall.” Josh: “What a big night for you.” (This is also funny because Brad working on Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Angelina contributed to his split from Jen and, as noted above, Doug directed that movie after directing the pilot of “The O.C.”)

• Melinda then introduced another closing segment in which they play fan voicemails — you can record yourself here and then have your question played for them during the podcast. Certainly a little bit cooler than just reading fan questions. The first person wanted to know their favorite character outfit or most iconic one. Josh answered “Juicy jumpsuits” for Melinda and then asked if they could “deconstruct Ryan’s choker,” ha. Rachel wanted to know “who made that choice and why.” Josh didn’t remember but said it felt “bad boy” at the time. Rachel said “rewatching it now, it was so distracting.” Josh joked they could be like George Lucas (who cameoed on the show, though they didn’t mention that) and go in today with CGI and remove the choker. Melinda said she feels like people dress the same today and Rachel noted how everything comes back in again. The next voicemail made Rachel and Melinda crack up as it was from Josh himself asking how great “Josh” was to work with. Josh: “Great question. Guys, you want to answer it?” 

• Melinda did sincerely say, “We are here because of your creation, your creativity, and I genuinely, genuinely thank you for the experience. It was really one of my favorite times in my life… I appreciate you coming here and taking your time to talk about this.” Josh: “I feel like I’ll be back. You’re gonna run out guests at some point and I remember a lot.” Rachel said it’s been 18 years “and I’m still on the daily with the Schwartz” — being that Josh is still in her everyday life. “He’s my family. He’s my brother. We’re stuck together. He will be back. He doesn’t have a choice, we’ll put it that way.” Josh: “Thank you. What warm words to go out on. ‘It’s like the gum on the bottom of my shoe.’”

Now THIS is how you start a rewatch podcast: having the creator on to set the stage and going through the pilot beat by beat. While 96 minutes was way too long for me — really, 30-45 minutes is my ideal length — it was very smart to kick things off this way. And maybe this is the amount of time you need for a deep dive versus a surface-level discussion, anyway. Plus, with there being video, it felt so much more intimate. I really appreciated getting to see them discuss everything, not just hear them.

If you read my notes above closely, I’m sure you noticed that I didn’t interject a lot with my opinion or critiques. That’s because there was nothing really objectionable. It was an actual in-depth discussion that didn’t have ridiculous tangents and instead was full of really great insights and smart analysis. You could tell how much Rachel and Melinda had prepared and how much they wanted to really go deep with the pilot. That doesn’t mean it was super-serious. There were plenty of light moments and laughs that made it entertaining but without coming across as superficial or silly. That said, I noticed a few jump cuts, so that makes you wonder what was cut out.

Rachel and Josh had great chemistry because they’re pretty much best friends in real life. I cracked up at Josh correcting Rachel's grammar at one point, and they actually made me genuinely laugh aloud more than once. But Rachel and Melinda had chemistry too. I can see them playing off each other well as we go forward. Melinda is definitely more cerebral than Rachel, who is self-deprecating, which I think makes them mesh together well. Melinda referenced her notes a lot while Rachel seemed to be freewheeling it, and I think that reflects their respective personalities. (In other words, Melinda is the Jennie here and Rachel is the Tori.) Melinda seemed to be leading the direction of the conversation, but it worked.

I actually wouldn’t mind if Josh was a part of this every week, though I could see that making Melinda the odd woman out, given Josh and Rachel’s closeness. It’ll be interesting to see if other guest appearances feel as organic and flow as naturally. But it’s just plain nice that Josh is invested enough in this enterprise to come on for the first episode, name multiple other people they should have on, etc. It’s a lot better when stars and producers work together on these endeavors than be seemingly at odds with each other or in competition. I’m curious going forward how long each installment will be and whether they will address at all “One Tree Hill” airing at the same time.

Rachel and Melinda also did an Instagram Live today to celebrate their premiere day. It was unscripted and totally endearing and really humanized them as real people even more than the podcast did. I interviewed Melinda via phone a decade ago and remember her being really present and engaged, but this just made me fall in love with her all over again. On the Live, they reflected on this first podcast (with Melinda even acknowledging what she should do better going forward), took some fan questions as people posted them, revealed Kelly will be on a future podcast, said there is an open invite for everyone who was on the show to join them over the next few years (yes, years), revealed that they may do live call-ins with fans on the podcast, and suggested they may do a Live like this every Tuesday.

Well, sign me up. Sure, things could go to hell in a hand basket next week or somewhere down the line, but this was a very promising start. Doing reactions each week will be very time-consuming — this took me hours, just like the “9021OMG” posts do, and this debut installment was quite long — but for now I’m committed. So let’s see how it goes!

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