It's been ten years since beloved teen drama 'One Tree Hill' aired its series finale, giving the characters the happy ending they deserved after so many twists and turns.
Among them, Haley James, played by actress and singer Bethany Joy Lenz for the show's entire run. Introduced in season one as protagonist Lucas Scott's (Chad Michael Murray) best friend, Haley goes on to have a pivotal role, embarking on a rocky relationship with Lucas' half-brother Nathan (James Lafferty) and developing lifelong friendships with Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush) and Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton).
Lenz, Bush and Burton have recently reunited on podcast 'Drama Queens' (and on Bush's show 'Good Sam'). In their podcast chats, the actresses look back on their 'OTH' days, not shying back from discussing certain absurd plot points or the most problematic aspects of working on the show, whose legacy was tarnished by accusations of sexual harassment made against showrunner Mark Schwahn.
7 The First Encounter Between Bethany Joy Lenz And Sophia Bush
Speaking with 'Today' in 2019, Lenz went all the way back to her audition for the role of Haley.
At the time, before the show premiered in 2003, Lenz had never met Bush, but recalled being intimidated by her the first time their paths crossed.
"I remember being in the waiting room with Sophia, and she had her headphones in, and she was studying her lines and I remember thinking, 'God, that girl is so beautiful,'" Lenz said.
"And then, I was really happy when I found out she wasn't auditioning for my part," she continued.
6 Chad Michael Murray Told Lenz She Had Gotten The Role Of Haley On 'One Tree Hill'
As fans know, there was no one else that could've played the role of Haley better than Lenz. And casting directors, as well as protagonist Murray, realized this pretty quickly, too.
"I went in and I just remember there being a moment in the middle of screen test… I don't know what the line was, it was one of the scenes with Haley and Lucas," Lenz said.
"And I just kinda leaned over and kicked Chad's leg cause he was reading with me, he was sitting next to me at a table […] And it doesn't happen very often, but there was some kind of magic that happened in the room and everybody woke up or something… I just knew, in that moment, that I had gotten the part," she continued.
It was Murray who confirmed Lenz had indeed gotten the role that would be her big break.
"After I left, and I was walking to my car, Chad raced out after me [and said], 'Congratulations, this one's definitely yours,'" Lenz said.
5 Bethany Joy Lenz Had Romantic Dreams About James Lafferty
In an episode of 'Drama Queens,' Lenz admitted to having had romantic dreams about her onscreen partner, Lafferty.
"As the show went on, the more time we spent together, I mean, I would totally have a romantic dream about him and wake up and be like, 'Oh wow, that was interesting,'"
However, the actress clarified it "didn't occur" to her to intentionally have "personal romantic feelings for him."
"We're kissing all day [on set]. We're like making out and we're like being all lovey-dovey," she said.
"Of course it's going to work its way into your subconscious."
4 Lenz On Working With "Firecracker" Jana Kramer On 'One Tree Hill'
Many actors starred on the show across its nine seasons, and it looks like Lenz cherishes fun memories of her time with most of them. This includes Jana Kramer, who played Alex Dupre from season seven to nine.
During a 2019 episode of Kramer's podcast, 'Whine Down With Jana Kramer,' Lenz expressed her feelings about working together.
"You were such a firecracker, you always had such a great energy," Lenz told Kramer.
"I loved being in scenes with you because there was a firecracker in the room and you never knew when it was gonna go off. It was great!"
3 Lenz Said She And Her Female Co-Stars Felt "Bullied" On Set
In 2017, allegations of sexual harassment were made against the showrunner Mark Schwahn.
Writer Audrey Wauchope claimed she and her female writing partner were harassed by Schwahn while working on the show. Some of the series' female stars, including Lenz, supported the allegations in an open letter, with male stars also weighing in to back their former co-stars.
In an interview with 'The New York Times' together with Bush and Burton, Lenz looked back on working on the show amidst toxic incidents.
"I felt bullied," Lenz admitted.
"I felt like I couldn't trust anybody because the power dynamic on the show was constantly telling me and, from what I understand from Hilarie and Sophia telling them as well, 'Nobody likes you, nobody trusts you,'" she added.
2 After 'One Tree Hill': Bethany Joy Lenz On Giving Female Friendship Another Go
In such a complicated working environment, it was understandably hard for the actresses to trust anyone, including each other.
Nonetheless, Lenz and her co-stars managed to forge such strong bonds that have only gotten deeper after the series ended.
"Girls, especially, were really looking for authentic, positive female friendships," Lenz told 'The New York Times,' adding: "It was the right place at the right time with the right combination of grounded authenticity and positivity and female friendships."
She then said: "I now get to have Take 2 on these female friendships and learn to trust and learn to let my guard down and be vulnerable."
1 Lenz On Working With Burton And Burton After 'One Tree Hill'
Alongside their work on 'Drama Queens,' the three actresses have reunited for the first time since 2008 for an episode of medical drama 'Good Sam' aired this year. The CBS medical drama stars Bush as a brilliant heart surgeon, while Lenz and Burton starred on episode '' in the role of sisters Amy and Gretchen Taylor.
After the show wrapped, the 'One Tree Hill' co-stars admitted to being a little wary to feature in each other's projects.
"I think we were always scared to do it, because our time on 'One Tree Hill' was so tempestuous," Lenz told 'Variety' ahead of the 'Good Sam' reunion.
"There were so many great times and so many hard times and we were scared to go back and revisit it. That's why doing the podcast has opened up all these doors inside of ourselves to explore this new way of working together that's been so healthy and healing."
With 'Good Sam,' however, it felt organic. So much, in fact, Burton and Lenz said they didn't even need to read the script before saying yes.
Here's to more 'One Tree Hill' queens reunions, on and off-screen. And more 'Drama Queens' gossip, of course.
New episodes of 'Drama Queens' are released on Mondays.
