One Tree Hill is an American teen, young adult television drama
created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003 on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television
Network, and since September 27, 2006 the network is the official broadcaster for the show in the USA. On February 25, 2009, The CW renewed the show for a seventh
season. The show is set in fictional town Tree Hill in North Carolina and originally follows the lives of two half-brothers, Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) and
Nathan Scott (James Lafferty). Their relationship evolves from heartless enemies to caring brothers, and the basketball drama, as well as the brothers' on-again/off-
again romances with female characters, are significant elements within the series.
The first four seasons of the show focus on the characters' high school years. With the beginning of the fifth season, Schwahn decided to skip the timeline four years
ahead, showing their lives after college. In the seventh season, he adjusted the timeline one year into the future after the sixth season. The opening credits were
originally intertwined with the song "I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin DeGraw playing in the background. The theme was removed from the opening in the fifth season, and
the credits have since only consisted of the title written on a black background.
One Tree Hill has received average ratings, with the second
season being the highest rated season, averaging 4.3 million viewers weekly. It has also won Teen Choice Awards. On May 12, 2009, it was confirmed that Chad Michael
Murray and Hilarie Burton declined to return for the seventh season, although stories on what transpired vary. Their characters had been two of the five main
protagonists, as well as one of the central love stories, throughout the show. Since the two departed, ratings have steadily declined with some episodes reaching below
the two million mark; this ties in with the network's other shows that also suffered a decline in ratings.