It’s technically old news already: One Tree Hill stars Hilarie Burton (Peyton) and Chad Michael Murray (Lucas) will not be back for season 7. But even though we’ve had a few months to digest it, many of us are still far from accepting it.
I think part of the uneasiness stems from the way it all went down. For months there were rumors that Burton and CMM were leaving, that they were being forced out, not paid enough, or there were creative differences, a desire to move on.
Then Burton posted this mysterious video, where–with tears in her eyes–she more or less said she was leaving the show but that it wasn’t really her choice (at least that’s how I interpreted it).
We didn’t get the official confirmation until months later and even that was vague. Yes, they are leaving and yes, there will be a season 7.
Here’s my question: Did Burton want to leave?
There’s been a lot of speculation that CMM wanted out, and because of Leyton’s storyline, that meant Burton had to go, too.
But with Burton’s growing company, Southern Gothic Productions, it seems that it would’ve been difficult for her to continue with One Tree Hill and run a business. Maybe she was ready to move on, as well.
I don’t think we’ll ever know the truth–at least not anytime soon–but I was wondering what you all thought.
Also: had Chad and Hilarie returned for seventh season, what do you think was left for their characters to do? What storylines would you have liked to see?
TeenDramaWhore 