Hilarie Burton Teases theOne Tree HillReboot Will Be Produced Through a 'Female Lens' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Hilarie Burton Morgan visits at City Winery Nashville on July 02, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee.Photo:Tibrina Hobson/Getty

Tibrina Hobson/Getty

Hilarie Burton Morganis opening up about her experience ontheOne Tree Hillrebootis already different from filming the original series.

The actress, 42, tells PEOPLE how working with a female-led team “this go-around” is proving to be a healthier experience for her than the original series was.

“What I can say is that this go-around, being able to work with a team of women and look at these stories [and] these characters through a female lens is something that — whether I was doing a reboot or a brand new show or a different movie at this phase in my life, female teamwork is something that is so vital to me,” she says while discussing her partnership with Olly to launch their new Mellow Menopause supplements.

Daneel Ackles, Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush and Bevin Prince.Sophia Bush/Instagram

Sophia Bush/Instagram

Burton continues of the reboot, which she andSophia Bushare spearheading, “It is the core of anything I’ve done that’s successful. So I’m excited to be able to team up with people that I look up to, people that I love dearly.”

Burton, who played Peyton Sawyer for six seasons on the hit teen drama series, adds that the “stories” she wants to tell in this “phase” of her life “are very different than they were when I was 20,” and that perspective is influencing the reboot, too.

“That certainly affects how you tell stories,” she says.

Earlier this week, Bush, who played Burton’s onscreen BFF Brooke Davis, also talked about the news getting leaked on herDrama Queenspodcast.

“Do I wish that the news hadn’t leaked before we could announce it was official? Sure. But if it happens, I will be so freaking proud, much like we said, that every single person gets to bring their expertise to the table now,” she said.

Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton in ‘One Tree Hill’ season 5.Everett

Bush also revealed thatconversations have been going on regarding a potential reboot for “close to half a decade.”

News of the reboot comes nearly seven years after Burton and Bush were among the 18 former female cast and crew members whoaccusedOne Treel Hillcreator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment.

“Mark Schwahn’s behavior over the duration of the filming ofOne Tree Hillwas something of an ‘open secret,'” wrote the women in the letter in Nov. 2017. “Many of us were, to varying degrees, manipulated psychologically and emotionally. More than one of us is still in treatment for post-traumatic stress. Many of us were put in uncomfortable positions and had to swiftly learn to fight back, sometimes physically, because it was made clear to us that the supervisors in the room were not the protectors they were supposed to be.”

“Many of us were spoken to in ways that ran the spectrum from deeply upsetting, to traumatizing, to downright illegal,” they continued. “And a few of us were put in positions where we felt physically unsafe. More than one woman on our show had her career trajectory threatened.”

Schwahn has never spoken about any of the allegations, but he was later removed from his role as showrunner of E!‘sThe Royalsafter a group of 25 female cast and crew members on the series released a joint letter in which they claimed Schwahn “felt the inclination to abuse his power and influence in an environment where he had it over women who felt they did not.”

“This manifested itself in the repeated unwanted sexual harassment of multiple female members of cast and crew,” the letter said.

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One Tree Hillcan be streamed in full on Hulu and Max.

source: people.com