Hilarie Burton Morgan on Why It’s Important for ‘One Tree Hill’ Sequel to Be Told Through a “Female Lens”

Hilarie Burton Morgan is teasing the One Tree Hill sequel series and how working with a female-led team has already been a better experience for her compared to the original series.

The actress recently opened up to People magazine about the upcoming Netflix show, which sees her returning as well as Sophia Bush.

“What I can say is that this go-around, being able to work with a team of women and look at these stories [and] these characters through a female lens is something that — whether I was doing a reboot or a brand new show or a different movie at this phase in my life, female teamwork is something that is so vital to me,” Burton Morgan said.

“It is the core of anything I’ve done that’s successful,” she added of the sequel. “So I’m excited to be able to team up with people that I look up to, people that I love dearly.”

Burton Morgan, who played Peyton Sawyer for six seasons on the hit teen drama that ran from 2003 to 2012, said she wants the reboot to include stories in this current “phase” of her life, which “are very different than they were when I was 20.”

The sequel series at Netflix was announced last month, seven years after Burton Morgan and Bush were among One Tree Hill cast and crew members who accused show creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment. Schwahn has never publically addressed the allegations but was removed from his role as showrunner of E!’s The Royals in 2017.

Burton Morgan and Bush are also serving as executive producers alongside their former co-star Danneel Ackles for the reboot.