Six years ago, Varsity basketball wannabe Lucas Scott gave popular cheerleader Peyton Sawyer a lift when her car, The Comet, broke down. Ever since, “One Tree Hill” fans have been rooting for the underdog to win his comet’s heart before the sound of the buzzer.
Now that Lucas has won – he and Peyton are engaged – can the show continue to soar without its stars?
Chad Michael Murray (Lucas) and Hilarie Burton (Peyton) did not renew their contracts for the show’s seventh season, according to Onetreehillfans.com.
The devoted fan site goes on to say that nobody is being killed off, and that the now-happy couple will indeed get married in the end and will say their goodbyes in this season’s final episode.
On one hand, we don’t see how the teen drama, which jumped the gang from high school to post-college, can keep its lure without its starting two players. On the other hand, the lovers’ current storyline, which involves a pregnant Peyton and Lucas playing house, is tired (Lucas’ brother Nathan Scott [James Lafferty] and wife Halie [Bethany Joy Galeotti] had son Jamie back in Season 4) and, well, boring, considering the twosome are in their early twenties.
Be sure to expect more air time for wild child Brooke Davis, played by Sophia Bush. Will you keep watching ‘Tree Hill,’ sans Lucas and Peyton?
Update: Hilarie Burton (basically) confirms she is leaving: