When quarantine started, so did my The O.C. addiction.
The 2003 Fox teen drama, you might remember, followed the lives of Newport Beach’s uber-wealthy and all the problems that come with being uber-wealthy in Newport Beach. When troubled teenager Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) leaves unruly Chino to live with the upper-crust Cohens and falls in love with equally wealthy girl next door Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), an enthralling spectacle of dinner parties, cheating scandals, overdoses, shootouts and haymakers ensues, all underscored by a legendary early-2000s indie-rock soundtrack.
So yes, it is the greatest show ever made.
Tragically, right around the start of quarantine, Hulu pulled The O.C. just as I was halfway through Season One. Devastated, I scoured the internet and found all four DVD box sets on Mercari for $30, brushed the dust off my DVD player and binged.
Now there is plenty to note about The O.C when watching it in 2020: the criminal low-rise jeans, Ryan’s plethora of white tanks and beaded choker necklaces, the spaghetti straps, Mischa Barton’s acting (or lack thereof), Olivia Wilde’s eyebrows and the iconic Phantom Planet title track. But really the most remarkable part of The O.C. is the show’s patriarch, Sandy Cohen, who is, unarguably, the greatest TV dad ever. Without Sandy, there would be no O.C., nor would there be some of the iconic TV dads that have graced screens in the 13 years since the show’s finale.
Sandy, played by the always superb Peter Gallagher, works as a public defender despite the fact that his wife Kirsten’s (Kelly Rowan) family owns one of the most powerful real-estate companies in California. He could easily rack in some serious cash lawyering for The Newport Group, but Sandy Cohen has morals! When Ryan gets caught for stealing a car in the pilot episode, Sandy takes a chance on him, convincing his apprehensive wife to let the presumptive ne’er-do-well move in with them and their dorky son Seth (Adam Brody).
Then come the fisticuffs and the model homes burning down and Ryan’s place within the family being questioned, even by Sandy. Ultimately, though, Sandy and Kirsten fall in love with the brooding teen and legally adopt him. Of course, this doesn’t stop Ryan and Seth from getting into trouble, but after every fuck-up throughout the series (and there are plenty), Sandy arrives to dole out stern but loving fatherly advice, a few jokes and some serious eyebrow furrowing. Since he’s pretty much the only present and level-headed adult in Newport, the “core four” — Ryan, Seth, Marissa and Seth’s eternal crush Summer (Rachel Bilson) — often consult him for life and occasional legal advice. When Ryan feels like a burden on the Cohens, Sandy earnestly asks him, “You think you can mess up so badly we’ll just give up on you?” When Seth has a painfully awkward first sexual experience, Sandy gives him the equally awkward, but refreshingly honest “talk”. He even doled out relationship advice to Marissa, and in doing so encouraged us all to fight for love when it’s challenging, because in the end, it’s worth it.
In being such a cool and relaxed and relatable dad, Sandy Cohen also became, as the kids say today, the blueprint.
He walked so beloved TV dads like Modern Family’s Phil Dunphey, Friday Night Lights’ Coach Taylor and This Is Us’s Jack Pearson could run. Most of the TV dads pre-Sandy Cohen (save for Uncle Phil) just weren’t doin’ it like they are now. TV dads largely consisted of grumpy, older dudes who meant well but couldn’t always properly communicate with their kids (think Red Forman on That ‘70s Shows), giant man-babies who do nothing but complain and maybe hate their wives (everybody’s beloved Raymond Barone, Tim “The Toolman” Taylor) or just straight-up cheeseballs a la Danny Tanner who live for cloying dad jokes and motivational speeches.
Sandy Cohen, though, helped usher in a new kind of dad: the nuanced, good-natured, all-around “modern” family man who doesn’t reserve teaching his kids valuable lessons for the end of every episode. He’s certainly not without his flaws and blunders, but he’s a stable, morally upright figure you can count on to always be there for his family. He’s a “cool dad” but one you definitely do not want to push around or disappoint. He’s got a wicked sense of humour, is lowkey a total babe and, most importantly, a standout husband.
No seriously, if my husband isn’t like Sandy Cohen, I. Don’t. Want. Him.
When Kirsten kisses Jimmy Cooper (the worst TV dad ever), Sandy not only forgives her, but even helps the literally and morally bankrupt Jimmy get his life back together after an arrest for money-laundering. And when Kirsten’s vile father also falls into some serious legal trouble, Sandy risks his law license to help him in order to save Kirsten. Because that’s the kind of man Sandy Cohen is.
Now someone get him a damn bagel.
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