“I’m a fan of shows that leave, but give you the sense that ‘We’re still here. We just won’t see you every week.’ I like that tone, and I like that feel. So I kind of wanted to leave the fans with that, like Tree Hill will always be here. And I think that’s a nice place to be. It wasn’t as much about surprises as it was about spending one last night with the people you’ve known and loved over the years. There’s actually a voiceover in the beginning that speaks to that. When I sat down to write it, I wrote the opening voiceovers, and my eyes teared up. I got chills. The voiceover essentially says, ‘If you had one last chance to say something to somebody you loved, or to spend time with them, what would you say? What would you do? I felt like that was the challenge for the last hour of the show.”
- MARK SCHWAHN