'One Tree Hill' Creator Mark Schwahn and Star Sophia Bush Reflect on the Series Finale

Fred Norris/The CW

On Wednesday, the final episode of The CW's One Tree Hill will air, wrapping up nine seasons of drama, romance and growing up. Over the past nine years, the residents of Tree Hill have matured from awkward, misguided teens to confident adults, while dealing with the dramatic dangers of life in Tree Hill including school shootings, kidnappings and murder.

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The majority of the heavy conflicts from season nine – including Nathan’s (James Lafferty) kidnapping and the return of Brooke’s (Sophia Bush) attacker Xavier (Devin McGee) – have been resolved, so the final two hours of the show will focus on saying good bye to these characters and the world of Tree Hill.

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The special two-hour series finale, airing from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., will include interviews with the show's stars as they look back at the series' most memorable moments and share their favorite memories from the CW drama.

How do you possibly say goodbye to a series that’s been part of your life for nine years? Creator Mark Schwahn talked to The Hollywood Reporter about writing the final episode.

“When I sat down to write the last episode, which opens with voiceover, I started writing it, and I got chills and I teared up a little bit,” he said, adding that he hadn’t expected to become emotional.

“That moment when I wrote ‘Fade in’ on that last episode became very emotional for me,” he added.

Schwahn said he was on set one day after that and he read the four lines of voiceover that he’d written to the the producers and crew.

“They all looked at me like they were going to cry,” he said.

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“If that tells you anything about our finale, it just tells you that you’re trying to encapsulate not only 187 episodes of television, but also the last nine years of your life,” Schwahn added.

Sophia Bush, who, along with Bethany Joy Galeotti and Lafferty, has been on the show from the very beginning, told THR that she hopes fans feel complete after the finale. Bush directed the penultimate episode, which aired on March 28.

“We have the most incredible fans in the world and they’re so loyal and so dedicated,” she said. “I just hope that they can feel in the last episodes how much love we put into them.”

Twitter: @Beccamford

Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols as Brooke and Julian on "One Tree Hill"