‘One Tree Hill’ Revival: James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Lenz Speak Out on Whether Nathan and Haley Will Return

Nathan and Haley have entered the chat.

James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Lenz opened up about the upcoming “One Tree Hill” sequel series, currently in the works at Netflix. Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton, who portrayed Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer in the Warner Bros. TV series, are set to star and will executive produce alongside costar Daneel Ackles.

“One Tree Hill,” which aired from 2003 to 2012, also starred Lafferty, Lenz and Chad Michael Murray as Nathan Scott, Haley James Scott and Lucas Scott, respectively, in the main cast. Murray will reportedly not be part of the new show.

Following the news, which came out in August, many fans took to social media to express worry about a lack of other cast members — many hoping that Lafferty and Lenz would return as Nathan and Haley, especially since they were the one couple who were part of the show for all nine seasons.

“I am absolutely open to being a part of a revisiting to Tree Hill. But as far as this particular one, I don’t know. It’s so early,” Joy Lenz tells Variety. “I don’t know if it’s in pilot, I don’t know if it’s in series. I don’t know where it’s at.”

As for Lafferty, he’s focused on the show he created with costar Stephen Colletti, “Everyone Is Doing Great,” the first season of which is available on Amazon Prime Video. “Personally, I’m blown away by the fans that make a conversation like this even possible. Professionally, I’m completely focused on finding ‘Everyone is Doing Great’ Season 2 the right home,” he tells Variety. “Until then, consider me grateful for this moment and cheering everyone on!”

That said, Lenz finds it so “sweet” to see fans hoping to see Naley together again. But does she think the show works without the original group? “I don’t know,” she replies. “What I get out of people wanting to see Nathan and Haley is that the show meant so much to people. The characters meant so much to people. They feel so connected to their experience of us, it’s almost like we were friends they grew up with. They’re championing their friends and I just love that. It’s worth its weight in gold.”

Lafferty adds, “I don’t know how to speculate on what would or wouldn’t work in this context. What really comes to mind is that it’s been a defining aspect of my life to have contributed to the portrayal. I will always embrace having had that experience, and it will always be an honor to know that people care.”

For her part, Lenz is promoting her upcoming book, “Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show While in an Actual Cult,” available Oct. 22. The memoir details her “secret double life in a cult,” which began as a safe haven she’d found in a Bible study.

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