Faker than Oliver’s “girlfriend” Natalie! On The O.C., no location was more iconic than the Cohens’ pool house, but TikTok users have recently discovered a devastating fact — it wasn’t real.
In a recent video, TikTok user @youreanaccident pointed out that the pool house was a set, showing throwback photos from the studio and a tweet reading, “When you find out the pool house wasn’t real.”
Fellow TikTokers were absolutely horrified to learn that Ryan Atwood’s humble abode didn’t really come with a view of the Pacific Ocean. “FOR WHAT REASON DID YOU NEED TO POST THIS SIR,” wrote one forever-changed O.C. fan. “I’M GONNA CRY ABOUT THIS,” added another.
@youreanaccident ive always wondered how they did the spiderman scene… #theoc #sethcohen #ryanatwood #marissacooper #summerroberts
Others pointed out that the Cohens’ infinity pool, depicted as the height of luxury on the show, was really more of a shallow pond. “They literally used to have to be on their knees in the pool bc of how shallow it was,” one user wrote.
According to movie and TV house blog Hooked on Houses, the pilot episode of The O.C. was shot at a real house, but that house wasn’t in Orange County — it was in Malibu. That home was used in the backyard shots, while a different house down the street was used for the exterior shots of the Cohen domain.
The first home, however, didn’t have a pool house, so set designers constructed one on the property that they took down after shooting was over. The set inside the studio was then based on the real backyard, and the fake pool house was reconstructed indoors.
The O.C. series finale aired in 2007, but since the show started streaming via HBO Max in 2020, fans have been clamoring for a reboot or reunion. Rachel Bilson, who played Summer Roberts, and Melinda Clarke, who played Julie Cooper, also started their own rewatch podcast called “Welcome to the OC, Bitches!”
Since they kicked off the show in May, the actresses have interviewed O.C. creator Josh Schwartz and stars Tate Donovan (Jimmy Cooper), Peter Gallagher (Sandy Cohen) and Chris Carmack (Luke Ward).
In one episode, Bilson, 39, apologized to Donovan, 57, for the younger cast members’ behavior on set. “I know some of us kids were little a–holes,” she told the actor. “And I hope I wasn’t as bad as it’s come off. I hope I wasn’t — because I really, you know, you get influenced, I’d say, by your surroundings. … So if I ever added to any of the a–hole-ness, I want to apologize on record.”
The Rocketman star previously made headlines in 2013 when he told Vulture that some of his fellow actors had “bad” attitudes.
“They just didn’t want to be doing the show anymore. It was pretty tough; they were very tough to work with,” he said. “I mean, one of them turned to me and said, ‘This show is ruining my film career,’ and he had never done a film before.”
