The Hills revival almost featured a different star from The O.C.Rachel Bilson says producers approached her to be a part of The Hills: New Beginnings before they turned to her former co-star, Mischa Barton.
During the latest episode of her podcast, Welcome to the OC, Bitches!, Bilson opened up to co-host Melinda Clarke and their guest, Danny Pellegrino, about the direction the MTV reality series wanted to take originally.
“I was actually asked to be on The Hills,” Bilson revealed during their conversation, adding that she “graciously passed” on the offer when approached. “Then, who they wound up casting was Mischa.”
Bilson explained that she didn’t even know any of the castmembers for the series, and the only person from The Hills she knew was a member of the original series.
“I’ve met Lauren Conrad before, but she’s not even on that [revival] show,” Bilson said. “I like Lauren a lot… I know her a little, tiny bit and she’s cool. But I don’t know anyone [else] from The Hills.”
Incidentally, Barton and Bilson’s teen drama The O.C. was one of the main inspirations for the MTV reality series Laguna Beach, and the show’s subsequent spin-off, The Hills.
While Barton appeared on the first season of The Hills: New Beginnings in 2019, she did not return for the show’s second season in 2020.
