Much to the delight of every thirtysomething Millennial, One Tree Hill has just landed on Netflix UK – meaning we're all revisiting the basketball-themed teen drama in our droves (as well as our favourite emo bands that soundtracked the show, naturally).
For those of you not in the know or watching it for the first time (outrageous!), the show follows Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) – the illegitimate half-brother of basketball captain Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) – as he battles his way onto the school team, the Ravens.
Simultaneously, Lucas and Nathan's girlfriend, cheerleader Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton Morgan), clearly have a helluva lot of chemistry, while Lucas' BFF Haley James (Bethany Joy Lenz) starts falling for his jock half-brother after being tasked with tutoring him. And that's before we even get to Brooke Davis, played by the phenomenal Sophia Bush.
Now, a lot of the cast members are still very much in the public eye – Chad Michael Murray, for example, only recently reprised his role as Jake in the 2025 reboot of Freaky Friday, and before that, appeared in Netflix hit Riverdale. But others in the original line-up have either stepped away from the limelight altogether or have focused on other careers.
Here's where the One Tree Hill cast is today
As mentioned, Chad Michael Murray has kept pretty busy since leaving One Tree Hill in 2009, which stands to reason, as he'd already appeared in Gilmore Girls, Dawson's Creek, A Cinderella Story and the original Freaky Friday movie before he got the role of Lucas Scott.
After the show, he went on to appear in various series and movies, staying active with an acting project pretty much every year since the show, and most notably featuring in season 3 of Riverdale as Edgar Evernever – a sinister yet charming cult leader who was “farming” human organs. Yup.
In terms of his personal life, although he dated co-star Sophia Bush from 2003 and got married to her in 2005, the pair split five months later. He then married fellow actor Sarah Roemer in 2014 and shares three kids with her.
Similarly, James Lafferty has enjoyed a decent acting career since One Tree Hill, starring in The Haunting of Hill House and Everybody Is Doing Great.
Nowadays, though, he prefers to be behind the camera and regularly produces and directs.
Lafferty also briefly dated Sophia Bush during the show, but has been married to Australian actor Alexandra Park since 2022, after they met on set of The Royals.
As well as hosting MTV's Total Request Live and a variety of Christmas movies, Hilarie Burton Morgan appeared in the hit zombie thriller, The Walking Dead.
She has since turned her hand to activism and has hosted docu-series True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here, in which overlooked cases in small towns are investigated.
Following her exit from One Tree Hill in season 6, many speculated over the reason why. It wasn't until 2017, in an exclusive interview with Variety, that she claimed showrunner Mark Schwahn had harassed and assaulted her and other women on the show, detailing how he allegedly kissed and touched her without her consent, and how he pitted her against other female cast members.
That same year, she and fellow castmates and crew signed an open letter, before Schwahn was fired from his role as showrunner on The Royals, the crew and female cast members of which also accused him of engaging in “repeated unwanted sexual harassment”.
Schwahn has not publicly commented on the accusations.
Elsewhere, embracing her natural grey hair, Burton Morgan continues to empower women and challenge traditional beauty standards.
As well as joining her co-star in speaking out about Schwahn's behaviour on set, Sophia Bush has been involved in social advocacy over the years, using her platform to speak on everything from women's rights and LGBTQ+ issues to the environment.
When it comes to her acting career, Bush has also starred in films like John Tucker Must Die, as well as series like Law & Order, Jane the Virgin, This Is Us, Love, Victor and Grey's Anatomy.
After her marriage with Chad Michael Murray broke down, Sophia went on to date several high-profile people – including other OTH co-stars, James Lafferty and Austin Nichols – before she married Grant Hughes at the Philbrook Art Museum in Tulsa.
Filing for divorce 13 months later, Bush then started dating football player Ashylyn Harris, whom she's been with ever since.
While Bethany Joy Lenz has appeared in various Christmas movies over the years, she's not had quite the acting career her OTH counterparts have. That said, she is a talented musician and is about to star in Hallmark's Hope Valley: 1874 series.
She was married to Michael Galeotti between 2005 and 2012 and was also a member of The Big House Family organisation, which she described as a “cult” in her memoir, Dinner for Vampires, and on her podcast, Drama Queens, which she hosts with other OTH alumni.
“I was in a cult for 10 years,” she said in the episode. “That would be a really valuable experience to write about – and the 10 years of recovery after that. There’s a lot to tell.”
She then spoke with Variety in 2024, outlining her separation from her husband and her custody battle for their teenage daughter, Rosie, as well as claiming that the "cult" controlled her earnings from OTH.
Her ex-father-in-law, Michael Galeotti Sr, denies the allegations. In a 2024 interview, he said, “Everybody sees things a little differently. […] She's going to make a name for herself. But it's not the way it went down.”
Much to fans' delight, Bryan Greenberg played another on-screen Jake this year – in Emily in Paris, season 4. While he and Emily didn't last the long haul, he did remind her of home and offered some much-needed light relief amidst all the Marcello/Gabriel/Alfie nonsense.
He's also been in The Mindy Project, Friends With Benefits and How to Make It in America, among other things.
As far as on-screen dads go, Dan Scott has got to be one of the worst in history. Luckily, he's a much better father IRL to his son, Quinn.
After OTH, Johansson appeared in cult TV show Mad Men, in which he played Ferg Donnelly for three episodes. He's also been in series such as NCIS and Van Helsing.
After playing Mouth in One Tree Hill, actor Lee Norris, also known for his role in Boy Meets World, only appeared in a handful of TV shows and movies – most notably as a police officer in 2014 thriller, Gone Girl.
Known for his roles in Coach Carter, One Eight Seven, and Never Die Alone, Antwon Tanner has remained pretty active in Hollywood since One Tree Hill.
As well as appearing in hit TV show Lucifer, he's been in NCIS: Los Angeles, a number of Christmas films and A Witness to Murder.
Scott's mum may have had a tough time of it in the show (Dan dumped her when she was pregnant, only to start a family with another woman almost immediately, and paying no child support), but actor Moira Kelly has had quite an illustrious career, featuring in Twin Peaks, The West Wing and Citadel. She also voiced Nara in Disney's original Lion King animation.
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Tbh, we're still not over Keith's untimely end in season 3 of OTH – and rewatching it years on ain't any easier (no spoilers here).
But if you, too, miss Lucas' surrogate father, you can catch him in Battledogs, Palmer, American Horror Story and Guns & Moses.
Seasons 1-9 of One Tree Hill are available to stream on Netflix UK now.
