TVguide itw with Mark Schwann, creator of OTH

"This Monday at 9 pm/ET, the CW's One Tree Hill kicks off its sixth season with, yes, the actual official and bona fide resolution to the great "Who Did Lucas Call?" mystery. But the outcome of that (and whether the resulting couple is a keeper or not) is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the drama ahead for the entire Tree Hill gang. "This season is a bit complex and adventurous, and not in a Jump the Shark sort of way," says series creator Mark Schwahn. "This is a brave season for us. I haven't said that to anyone else, but that’s a great way of putting it."

Schwahn spoke at length with me about what to expect. Here, in Part 1 of 3, he reflects on last season's time-jump, assesses the state of the "love rectangle," and details the stories in play for Lucas, Peyton and Brooke. — Matt Mitovich

TVGuide.com: How did the four-year flash-forward wind up working for you? Did it accomplish everything you hoped it would?
Mark Schwahn: It was better than expected, actually. It invigorated the show in a really great way, and it invigorated the cast and the writers. When you're in a fifth season and you see your ratings go up, that’s great. I'm happy to have time-stamped [the plot device] for Desperate Housewives and whoever else is doing it now. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: There are fans on the Internet who claim to have the Lucas cliffhanger all figured out. Apparently there are, like, long-lens photos of someone who looks like Chad Michael Murray with his arm around someone who may or may not be so-and-so — at least according to one extra's friend's hairdresser.
Schwahn: In the age of the Internet, you can't hide any of that stuff anyway. If I could, I would. And if I could have shot who shows up at the airport with all three actresses — which I considered doing because I knew there'd be a lot of extras — I would have. But we're like eight episodes ahead, so I was like, "What are we going to do – shoot all three storylines for eight episodes?!" [Laughs] If you want to get spoilers, you'll find them. Everybody can watch it the way they want to watch it, but I designed it to surprise the fans, and a lot of that goes away when you're only watching to see how it plays out. I don’t know how shows that are really based on mystery do it.

TVGuide.com: Very, very, very closed sets.
Schwahn: Yeah. Once in a while, if I have a big scene with a big reveal, I'll actually write it on set with two actors, because I know there are no extras, I know there are no sides [audition scripts]. When I type up the sides to hire a new guest star, from the time they leave my hand to the time they're on the Internet is always less than an hour. It's amazing. But some fans want to watch the show that way.

TVGuide.com: I understand that there is a flash-forward to show what Lucas' life is like, a year down the road, with the girl he chooses?
Schwahn: Yes, that's accurate. It's a way of keeping the mystery alive, to shake up the world without jumping the viewers [permanently ahead in time] again, which would be a little demanding.

TVGuide.com: Do you see this triangle lasting until the very end of the series?
Schwahn: In different ways. Not romantically, I don’t think. As the characters get older and more complex, how you love someone and what they mean to your life, that changes a bit. I think romantically, playing the love triangle – actually it's a rectangle, between Brooke and Lucas and Peyton and Lindsey – is probably done. Never say never on our show. They’ll always all be in each other's lives in some major way.

TVGuide.com: You got Michaela McManus to stick around as Lindsey?
Schwahn: Dick Wolf and his organization were nice about allowing her to continue with us. [Over the summer, McManus joined the cast of Law & Order: SVU.] It's going to be for more than one episode. I had wanted her to be a series regular — I wanted her to get to a place of that success — so it's all worked out really well. We'll see Lindsey throughout the year. If Lucas were to pick her, who's to say she's going to pick him back? And if she does, who's to say it's going to work out? That [uncertainty] is a staple of Tree Hill. A lot of people have eliminated her as a candidate because they know a lot about show biz, but I'm like, "Well, hold on a second...."

TVGuide.com: Will Lucas' suspension get lifted this season?
Schwahn: I think so. Whether that will last is part of the story. I think we'll see [the suspension lifted], but it might not play out exactly how the fans think it will. We're also going to look at Lucas and the publishing of his second book.

TVGuide.com: Taking the other characters one by one, starting with Peyton (played by Hilarie Burton): Is her biological dad going to surface?
Schwahn: The person that Mia met, who said they knew Ellie, is going to surface. All bets are on that it's her biological father. His name is Mick Wolf and he's played by John Doe from [the punk band] X. John's done a great job in playing this distant guy who is tight-fisted with his information. If he is her father and he has shown up, I'd say he's reaching out to her. But why show up and not admit you're her father? That’s what we're going to play.

TVGuide.com: Has Brooke (Sophia Bush) moved on from her maternal longings? Will she emerge from the dark place she went to?
Schwahn: Um... no. [Laughs] I don’t think so, and especially if she is with Lucas, she is going to want to have a kid. We have seen the seeds planted for Brooke's journey – what makes a family? And can she have a family, seeing as her parents were fairly antagonistic and anonymous in her life? Whether or not [her desire to be a mother] includes a romantic component is obviously the big question. If it's not Lucas, will it be someone else? And if it is Lucas, does he still want children? And how does it all shape her place as a designer and businesswoman? Brooke has a lot on her plate this year. As open as she has been with her heart, she's been kind of closed off, emotionally, for a while. It's interesting to peel those layers back and ask, "Why is it OK to be that way?" It's challenging material for Sophia, that’s for sure.

TVGuide.com: What is Haley's No. 1 priority these days?
Schwahn: Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) has got a lot going on. The show demands that some have more going on that others, and this year Haley doesn’t have one through line; she's got like five. She's got the issue of being a musician — if she wants to pursue music, does that mean touring? Will she be happy just writing songs? Will she be happy teaching music? Will that take her away from her family in a way that she's not comfortable with? At the same time, she's really relevant as a teacher. And she's obviously relevant as a mom and a wife. If Nathan and Haley are going to pursue their dreams, can they do it differently or will it be history repeating itself? The first time [they tried that], it was very hard on their relationship. I hear from people a lot, "Aren't you ever going to let Nathan and Haley be happy?" And I feel like they are by far the most stable couple on our show! We throw a lot of obstacles their way, but so far they have been overcoming them together. So I think of them as being happy.

TVGuide.com: Is Nathan (James Lafferty) on track for a "miracle" recovery? How goes rehab?
Schwahn: He is on track for a miracle recovery, and we actually use the word "miracle" from the doctor. As he pursues getting back on the court, it's hard to say how far he can push it. He could end up back in the wheelchair again if he pushes it too far. What's he willing to sacrifice, and how patient and abiding will Haley be in this quest? What I love about Nathan, who has really matured despite having had no architecture to be a father or a husband, is that he's finding his way to some sort of peace in all of this. He still wants what he wants, but he considers everyone else in the equation more than he ever did. It's a journey that, if kids are taking anything at all away from One Tree Hill, they can learn from.

TVGuide.com: Is Nathan's mom still cavorting with Skillz (Antwon Tanner)?
Schwahn: Yes, actually. People thought it was absurd, but what I love about it is that there are scenes early on this season that had literally everyone around me saying, "Well hold on a second – these two are interesting together!" We play it for comedic effect, but there's some great human stuff behind all of it. Whether or not the relationship will continue — whether it can, in the face of friends family — is a big storyline. It's wacky sometimes... but it's also more than that.

TVGuide.com: Which is faring better for Mouth (Lee Norris) — his personal life or the professional?
Schwahn: Both are OK right now. Again, the story is "Can you have both? Can you be happy with both?" Before Millicent, Mouth became this guy who was floating around. He was with like 80 different girls the season before. Millicent was his perfect fit in many ways. But Mouth has history like everybody else — there's a clue in there — and he's also chasing his own professional aspirations.

TVGuide.com: He had to make some tough calls last season, professionally.
Schwahn: He's the worst employee in history! The guy has a different job every week, always quitting or coming back. Or, he's not running an important story because he's protecting his friends. There's a story coming up where he has a lead which could help one of his friends.... His heart's always in the right place. He's one of the few characters with a strong vision of what he wants for himself. Some people find that vanilla, but there's a place for characters like that on a show like this.

TVGuide.com: I'm supposed to see Paul Johansson during my visit to the set in North Carolina. I assume Dan is still alive-ish and kicking...?
Schwahn: Well... Craig Sheffer (Keith) has spent a lot of time on the show, and he was dead, so.... [Laughs] Look, every show needs a villain, and I think that Paul is essential to the show. But I never saw myself parting ways with Keith either. Most fans are waiting to see if he's still alive and if he is, who's he going to be. That’s all up for grabs."