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Inside The O.C. Season Finale

September 13, 2003

"The O.C. ," FOX's latest entry in the teen soap derby, has sizzled its way up the ratings ladder in its first summer outing. The start of baseball season means the show will be on hiatus until the end of October, but before that happens, check out its sexy mid-season finale!

Tonight, ET has an exclusive sneak peek at the tantalizing episode, before it airs Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 9 p.m.!

Series hottie MISCHA BARTON says the show is "About families living [in the O.C] and their privileged lifestyle ... then this kid from Chino comes in and shakes up their world."

And there's plenty of shakin' goin' on in the glossy hit's cliffhanger episode. Bad boy and "adopted" son Ryan Atwood ( BENJAMIN MCKENZIE ), geeky but lovable Seth Cohen ( ADAM BRODY ), hot girl-next-door Marissa Cooper (Barton) and party girl Summer Roberts ( RACHEL BILSON ) head south and share close quarters on a road trip to Tijuana, Mexico. Secrets are revealed and unresolved feelings linger, making it a trip they'll never forget -- especially when Marissa's long-time boyfriend also makes the T.J. scene.

Meanwhile, tensions rise between affluent Newport Beach-ers Sandy and Kirsten Cohen ( PETER GALLAGHER and KELLY ROWAN ) and their next-door neighbors Jimmy and Julie Cooper ( TATE DONOVAN and MELINDA CLARKE ). Not only are Jimmy and Kirsten ex-lovers, but earlier in the season he borrowed a hefty chunk of change from her. She had no idea at the time that he had lost $4 million in other people's money, so not only is no payback in sight, but Jimmy is having trouble with the law. This is one uncomfortable cul-de-sac!

The show about perfect facades and troubled realities hit the airwaves in early August. Gallagher says it couldn't have been timed any better. "I think there's a place for it now in America," he says. "Everybody is curious to see how the other half lives, and delighted to see that the issues aren't that foreign, and that their own experiences as humans is all you need for admission."

Mark your calendars, "O.C." fans! The guilty pleasure returns to FOX this fall on a new day and time -- Thursdays at 9 p.m.