Austin Nichols Admits He Never Watched One Tree Hill’s Final Season

Austin Nichols, best known for his role as Julian Baker on One Tree Hill, recently made a surprising confession. At the Drama Queens podcast wrap party in Wilmington, North Carolina—the city where the beloved teen drama was filmed—Nichols admitted he has never watched the show’s final season.

Nichols’ Surprising Admission

“I never watched season 9,” Nichols told the live audience, eliciting gasps. “I have not seen it except for the one I directed.”

The actor, now 45, explained that he wasn’t sure why he avoided watching the episodes when they aired in 2012. “I don’t know if I’m saving it…maybe I’ll watch it,” he said. Nichols described himself as a “softy,” admitting that deep down he simply didn’t want to close that chapter of his life.

Sophia Bush Relates to the Sentiment

Nichols’ former co-star Sophia Bush, who played Brooke Davis, said she understood his hesitation. “There is that thing where if you don’t watch it, something in your brain thinks, ‘Oh, there’s more,’” she explained. For many cast members, revisiting the final season feels like a definitive ending to a formative period in their careers.

A Look Back at One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill first premiered on the WB (now the CW) in September 2003. The series followed the lives of North Carolina teens navigating high school, relationships, and family drama. Nichols joined the cast in 2008 during season 6, playing Julian Baker, a film producer who became a central character in later seasons.

The original cast included Bush, Chad Michael Murray (Lucas Scott), James Lafferty (Nathan Scott), Bethany Joy Lenz (Haley James Scott), Hilarie Burton (Peyton Sawyer), Paul Johansson (Dan Scott), and Barbara Alyn Woods (Deb Scott).

Reboot Rumors and Streaming Resurgence

In July 2025, Nichols confirmed to PEOPLE that a One Tree Hill reboot was in a “healthy place.” He revealed that Netflix had made a deal for the project and that scripts were in development. “I know there’s been some notes going back and forth, so it’s in a really good place,” Nichols said.

He also expressed gratitude for the show’s resurgence thanks to streaming platforms. “A whole new generation found it,” Nichols explained. “And you’re suddenly going, ‘Oh, there’s something that is really connecting with people.’ It did, and it still is.”

Nichols reflected on how the cast now appreciates the show more than they did while filming. “Sometimes, when you’re on it, you don’t really know what you have,” he said.

Conclusion

Austin Nichols’ revelation that he has never seen the final season of One Tree Hill underscores the emotional connection actors often have with their work. As fans continue to rediscover the series on Hulu and HBO Max, anticipation builds for the potential reboot. For Nichols, the unwatched episodes remain a personal time capsule—one he may eventually revisit.