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Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton Morgan, and Bethany Joy Lenz love what they do. That’s made very clear in their One Tree Hill rewatch podcast Drama Queens, where they share their thoughts on everything from the writing to the performances to the editing choices to the character motivations, while also sprinkling in anything they remember about shooting their own scenes. Their hit teen drama is a rich source for these conversations; not only is the drama delicious, but they also spend time musing about how differently television is made and written today than it was in the early 2000s. And they don’t stint on the fun stuff, either, giggling about the questionable fashion choices, obvious plot devices, and much more. In this episode, Hilarie nails down Lucas’s character choices, Joy tells the story of how she was invited to sing on the show, and Sophia recalls how hard it was to cry in the mall in front of hundreds of people.
They’ve complained in the podcast before that Chad Michael Murray’s character, Lucas, isn’t doing right by trying to date both Hilarie’s Peyton and Sophia’s Brooke. (One of the cutest aspects of the podcast is how protective they are of their own characters this many years later.) But this episode helped Hilarie realize that Lucas probably feels a lot of deep-seated shame. Everyone in town knows his father is Dan Scott, but he still grew up without a dad in his home. “Does that encourage him to want to be with one of the popular girls? Like, if I’m with the captain of the cheerleading squad, does that validate me? If I’m with this other girl who’s even more damaged than I am, does that make me the hero?” she says. “He’s going between being the fixer-upper and being the fixer. Each girl presents a different path for him.” Joy agrees: “No wonder he’s waffling,” she nods.
But their memories of the show are all wrapped up in their personal lives, as well, and some of the best stories are when they go on tangents talking about their trip to see Wicked with the original cast and singing the soundtrack to each other on set all the time, or how Joy would always wander off between scenes (and was usually found at the craft table), or how everyone had a crush on Bryan Greenberg. If you like thoughtful television commentary peppered with great stories of 2000s-era Hollywood and underlined with true friendship between the hosts, this is the rewatch podcast for you. Hear their whole thoughtful and funny conversation on this episode of Drama Queens.
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