Here's how One Tree Hill could (and should) return for a new show, according to star Chad Michael Murray

Popverse's top stories of the day

• Censorship in anime: The most baffling and infamous moments in anime from Naruto, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, more
• WATCH: Watch Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Patricia Summersett, Cristina Vee and Sean Chiplock from MCM!
• The producer behind Barbarian, Late Night with the Devil, and It is teaming with the editor of Preacher and Hellraiser to create the future of horror

In its nine seasons, One Tree Hill managed to tackle a lot of hot button issues, but the show’s Chad Michael Murray — who played Lucas, one of the two half-brothers at the heart of the show — feels as if it could have gone much harder. And, in fact, he’s got a pitch about how that could still happen, if any TV executives are listening.

Talking during The Boys of One Tree Hill panel at C2E2 2024, Murray — who appeared onstage beside co-star James Lafferty and moderator, Popverse’s own Veronica Valencia — was asked about the show’s treatment of mental health, and how he felt the series (which ran from 2003 though 2012 on the WB and, later, the CW) handled the topic.

“Well, it’s interesting because, if we’re talking about then, things have changed so very much, right? And that’s why I truly do believe — and I’ll say this out loud, and I don’t know if this would ever come to fruition, the window might be closing, but — that’s why we need, more than ever, a One Tree Hill: Generations.”

Related: Meet the new CW: New owners lay out a vision for network's future (and who it wants to watch it)

Wait, we need a what? Well, let Murray explain:

“It should be called One Tree Hill: Generations, or OTH: Generations, and it’s a new generation dealing with today’s issues — everything from how to handle social media to public humiliation. The value of booze, toxicity, culture shock, loving everyone, discrimination… Everything that’s out there, we can hit far more now than we were [able to] then,” he explained. “Those topics weren’t ‘right here’ then as they are now. So, I feel like it would give kids a great roadmap on how to, maybe, live a little bit more righteous, you know? That’s my opinion.”

Again: the original series was massively successful and ran for nine seasons, with a fanbase that’s still very devoted to the characters. The idea of reviving it with a new generational twist isn’t the worst thing that a network could be doing with its time, it has to be said… Somehow, I don’t think Murray’s desire to see One Tree Hill: Generations become a reality is going to remain just his opinion for that long…

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out our guides to upcoming movies, upcoming TV shows, upcoming comics, and upcoming comic conventions. If you're looking for specific franchises or genres, we have all the upcoming MCU, upcoming Star Wars, upcoming Star Trek, and upcoming DC movies & TV for you. If you're a fan of superheroes and not specific to just Marvel or DC, we have overall guides to all the upcoming superhero movies and upcoming superhero TV shows (and new seasons) as well.