One Tree Hill was arguably the peak of teen dramas, which dominated the television landscape of the early 2000s. More than a decade after the WB series went off the air, news broke last year of a revival, and one can’t wait to return to the small North Carolina town. The revival will see the return of Hilarie Burton Morgan and Sophia Bush, with both reprising their roles while holding significant behind-the-scenes roles. Fellow series star, Danneel Ackles, who played Rachel Gatina in the original series, will, alongside her husband and The Boys star Jensen Ackles, serve as executive producers through her company, Chaos Machine. With him and his wife’s production company playing a vital role in the revival, the question has emerged of what role he might play in the new series.
“She’d probably just have to say, ‘You’re doing this,’ and that would be the end of it,” the actor said to Variety in a September 2025 interview regarding what it would take for him to appear in the upcoming One Tree Hill revival. While he is certain that the revival won’t be needing him, he is confident that the project is in great hands. “I think we’ve got all the elements, all the players, in place for that to be a fantastic show,” he said, “I’m really excited for what [Danneel Ackles] and the lovely ladies of ‘One Tree Hill’ have put together. It’s pretty fascinating, and they’ve been working really hard on it, and I think Netflix is going to have quite a smash on their hands.”
Could Jensen Ackles Get His Own Show Within the ‘Tracker’ Universe?
While we wait to see what happens with Netflix‘s One Tree Hill revival, fans can expect to see more of Ackles in his other projects, which include the fifth and final season of The Boys and his new Prime Video drama, Vought Rising. The series is a spin-off of The Boys, in which Ackles reprises his role as Soldier Boy alongside Aya Cash as Stormfront. There have also been rumors of a Russell Shaw Tracker spin-off, given that Ackles is slightly short of work due to Countdown‘s cancellation. Tracker showrunner, Elwood Reid, discussed the possibility, saying:
“We’re cautious. ‘Tracker’ is Justin’s show, and we never want to do anything that cheapens it. That said, Russell’s military background opens the door to a very different kind of series — one that plays to Jensen’s strengths. We didn’t even ask for permission [to include Russell’s speech in Episode 2]. We just put it in there. As the kids say, I’m manifesting it. It could be a lot of fun if the timing ever lines up.”
You can watch all nine seasons of One Tree Hill on Max. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.
