The stars of One Tree Hill took time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the hit teen drama series’ premiere on The WB this weekend.
Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz and Sophia Bush were among the cast members who took part in the lovefest, but they chose to pay tribute to the show without ever mentioning it by name.
This smart move was made in accordance with the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes; so instead, the trio decided to celebrate the “female friendships” formed over the nine seasons.
Before her post, Bush, now 41, chose her words carefully, writing that she “will not be calling the job turning 20 today while our union is on strike.”
She continued, “So instead, I’m celebrating twenty years of female friendships, the ultimate love stories, and the reclamation of our good, bad, ugly, and beautiful through @dramaqueensoth. Thank you to our #fanfam who encouraged us to find and use our voices on screen and off. #Lucky23 #20years.’
Respectful Tribute: The three female leads of One Tree Hill celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show’s premiere on Sunday by remaining unnamed to be in line with the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes; Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz and Sophia Bush are pictured with Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty
Careful wording: Bush, now 41, has chosen her words carefully, writing that she is “not going to talk about the job that turns 20 today while our union is on strike”; the cover photo shows a recent image of former co-stars Bush, Burton and Lenz
Burton, 41, was quick to respond to Bush’s anniversary tribute by offering some love. write: ‘Hey. We made it. Love you.’
As for Lenz, she shared a carousel of images on her Instagram page featuring images from her time on the show and more recent times with her former co-stars.
’20 years of SOMETHING magical This will always be my family. Thank you to everyone who made this possible,” she wrote in the caption.
Created by Mark Schwahn, One Tree Hill featured an ensemble cast starring James Lafferty, Tyler Hilton, Stephen Colletti and Antwon Tanner, who are seen together in one of the photos.
There’s also a black-and-white image of Lenz planting a kiss on Bush’s cheek as she bursts into laughter.
She also looked lovingly into the eyes of her then daughter Maria, who made her grand arrival on Planet Earth in February 2011.
In the last image, a more recent boomerang, Lenz, Bush and Burton were all dressed up and looking stylish as they relaxed on the large sofa.
One Tree Hill focused on the lives of half-brothers, Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan Scott (Lafferty), and followed them and the other young adult characters over four years as they forged their friendships and careers.
A blast from the past, Bush also shared a throwback photo of the leading ladies of One Tree Hill
A look back: Bush, Burton and Lenz take a walk down memory lane with One Tree Hill as co-hosts of the Drama Queens podcast that revisits and talks about all the old episodes
Murray, 42, took to his Instagram Story to remember all the time that has passed since the show started.
“Happy 20th Fam #3” he wrote in one post on Saturday, which expanded to include a snippet of One Tree Hill’s theme song, Gavin DeGraw’s I Don’t Want to Be — with lyrics that said, “From Downtown.”
“If you had asked me in 2003… Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought we would still have this magical bond,” he continued, adding the fist bump emoji.
The actor concluded the message by sharing how “grateful” he is for his time on the series and the friendships that came from it.
Bona fide hit: The drama ran for nine seasons, first on The WB from 2003 to 2006, then on The CW from 2006 until its finale in 2012 following the merger of The WB and UPN
’20 years. ’03 – ’23. Those numbers look so familiar,” he said, adding a smiling face with sunglasses emoji.
The cast also included Paul Johansson, Barry Corbin, Craig Sheffer, Moira Kelly, Barbara Alyn Woods, Lee Norris, Danneel Harris, Jackson Brundage, Lisa Goldstein, Justin Nichols, Robert Buckley, Shantel VanSante and Jana Kramer.
The drama series ran for nine seasons, first on The WB from 2003 to 2006, and then on The CW from 2006 until its finale in 2012 following the merger of The WB and UPN.
Bush, Burton and Lenz take a walk down memory lane with the show as co-hosts of the Drama Queens podcast, revisiting and discussing each of the old episodes.