Rachel Bilson is back as Summer Roberts.
The actress reprises her breakout role from the teen soap “The O.C.” in a new ad campaign for 21Seeds infused tequila. The project also marks a reunion between Bilson and “The O.C.” creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who created the video spots through their production company Fake Empire.
The three videos of the campaign allude to unforgettable moments from “The O.C.,” including invoking the show’s catchphrase, “Welcome to the O.C., bitch” and the infamous scene when Marissa (Mischa Barton) threw a lawn chair into the pool.
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I caught up with Bilson just after she shot the campaign in Los Angeles.
“The O.C.” premiered 21 years ago. Do you remember anyone saying to you, “Get ready, your life is about to change in a huge way?”
I do remember this one thing where it kind of felt like, “Okay, things are different now.” We had this special event in Manhattan Beach where we all showed up and we pulled up and there were so many people. We were like, “Wait a minute. Okay, people watch the show. People know about us, what is happening?” And I remember in that moment feeling like, “Oh, okay, this is popular.”
How did 21Seeds come about? Does Josh or Stephanie send you a text asking you to play Summer again?
Josh told me about it. I have to start by saying anything that Josh and Stephanie do, I’m always like, “Yeah.” They say, “Jump.” I say, “How high?” So they came to me with this. I’m obviously a fan of 21Seeds, so that was a no-brainer, but then when they said we’re going to bring Summer back and they were writing it, of course I’m going to do it because how fun does that sound? Tequila and Summer, come on! She’s obviously drinking her tequila because no Orange County housewife can survive without it.
Oh, she’s a real housewife of Orange County.
I’m just going to say this for the fans — she’s definitely still married to Seth. They have kids. Let’s paint that picture. She’s living her best life. Summer, I feel like she really bloomed over the four years of the show and she just continued that way.
So would Summer be on “The Real Housewives of Orange County?”
I feel like she should be.
Does playing Summer again inspire you to do a reboot or some sort of reunion?
I would always be up for it. But it’s also this thing that people still watch and are still discovering. So do you just leave that special moment as it is? You weigh both sides because obviously it would be fun and I love everybody and it would be awesome to go back and we need to somehow bring Marissa back to life and do the whole thing if we do it. But also leaving it for what it was and how special it kind of was, is also a positive.
What was it like being on set again with Josh and Stephanie?
It’s the best. When we shot “The O.C.” pilot, there was always applause after a great take. And now I had Josh and Steph back there applauding again. I’m like, “I just need to bring you on every set so I get applause after every take.” That would be great.
So what is Summer’s favorite drink with 21Seeds?
Definitely the cucumber jalapeno. She likes a spicy marg, so she gravitates towards that, for sure.
If there is second ad campaign, who would you like to join from the original cast?
Let’s bring back Pancakes.
Oh, my god, the rabbit! I knew you were going to say that because I forgot about the rabbit until I was doing some research before talking to you. My friend has a dog named Pepe Le Pancakes so I started laughing.
Of course, I want to bring back the rabbit. Who doesn’t want a rabbit to pet while you’re sipping on cocktails?
