Premiere (The O.C.)

"Premiere"^[1] (also known as "Pilot")^[2] is the series premiere of the television series The O.C., which premiered on the Fox network on August 5, 2003. Written by series creator Josh Schwartz and directed by executive producer Doug Liman, the episode depicts the introduction of troubled teenager Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) into the wealthy lifestyle of the Cohen family in Newport Beach, Orange County, California.

The casting directors, Patrick J. Rush and Alyson Silverberg, began selecting the principal cast eight to ten weeks before filming started. The role of Ryan was particularly hard to cast. Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) was based on Schwartz's experiences at the University of Southern California as a "neurotic Jewish kid from the East Coast in a land of water polo players".^[3] Other central characters in the episode are Seth's parents—Sandy (Peter Gallagher) and Kirsten (Kelly Rowan)—and teenage next-door neighbor Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton).

The series premiere led the first half-hour of its time slot in viewership. It was generally well received by critics, and earned Schwartz a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Screenplay in an Episodic Drama. Rush and Silverberg received an Artios Award nomination for excellence of casting in the Dramatic Pilot category. Originally broadcast and released in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, it was remastered in a widescreen ratio for the series DVD, released in November 2007. The episode was released on MiniDVD on April 26, 2005, and is available to purchase from video on demand services.