Mischa Barton finally unveils why Marissa was shockingly killed off 'The O.C.'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 5/19/21

Why in the world—in the universe, in the stratosphere!—did The O.C. kill Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) in the Season 3 finale?

Barton finally set the record straight in a new E! interview:

"It's a bit complicated. It started pretty early on because it had a lot to do with them adding Rachel [Bilson] in last minute as, after the first season, a series regular and evening out everybody's pay—and sort of general bullying from some of the men on set that kind of felt really s—ty. But, you know, I also loved the show and had to build up my own walls and ways of getting around dealing with that and the fame that was thrust specifically at me. Just dealing with like the amount of invasion I was having in my personal life, I just felt very unprotected, I guess is the best way to put it."

The iconic teen drama series orbited around "The Core Four": Marissa, Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) and Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). Marissa was troubled, but she found refuge in Ryan, who was by her side when she died in a tragic car crash:

McKenzie called the character write-off "very odd" with Entertainment Weekly last August, but the issue was taken directly to the source, show creator Josh Schwartz, by The Daily Beast's Marlow Stern in 2017. Schwartz admitted that the most persistent question from O.C. fans is, why did you kill Marissa?

Stern pushed for a concrete answer, and Schwartz gave a little:

"It's a complicated, multifaceted question. It had as much to do with creatively feeling like this was always in the cards for this character and she was an inherently tragic heroine, and part of the Ryan/Marissa story was him trying to save her from a fate that she couldn't be rescued from, and part of it had to do with pressure from the network in terms of ratings, and what we could do for the show's fourth season. For a lot of critics, that character was a source of frustration. For a lot of audience members, that was their favorite character.

"Mischa didn’t want off the show anymore than any of the other kids wanted off the show. [Laughs] It was a complicated chemistry with the cast … But she certainly wasn't actively seeking to leave the show."

The O.C. ran on FOX from 2003-07.

Fans were already buzzing before Barton's revelation, as Bilson and fellow co-star Melinda Clarke announced a rewatch podcast in late March. The first episode dropped April 27, and new episodes arrive (as well as accompanying videos) every Tuesday. Learn more here.

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