'L' WORD ON 'O.C.'

Mon Dec 13, 4:34 AM ET

By MICHAEL STARR

Alex, the freewheeling character on "The O.C." played by Olivia Wilde, will embark on a lesbian relationship with Marissa (Mischa Barton (news)), says show creator Josh Schwartz.

"Marissa is at a place where she's kind of lost in the world and is trying to find herself," Schwartz told The Post late Friday.

"Alex is someone who's emancipated from her parents, and is a little bit of a free spirit who becomes Marissa's mentor — she takes her under her wing and all of a sudden Marissa finds herself connecting."

Reports began to surface last week about the upcoming storyline, although just who Marissa would end up with in this new relationship left everyone scratching their heads — until now.

"Marissa is at a place where she's willing to try [a lesbian relationship] and she's open to that," Schwartz says. "We'll build it up to a kiss [between Marissa and Alex] and then a relationship develops."

Schwartz says the "big kiss" between the characters will be shot this week.

The hot new story arc begins next month on the Thursday-night Fox drama and will last for "multiple episodes" into the spring.

"We've already started shooting a lot of scenes with their relationship," he said. "Everybody is really comfortable with it, and the girls are really game and excited to play off of each other."

Schwartz says he is not thumping for ratings, insisting he formulated the storyline last summer.

"We're trying to figure out bigger arcs for our characters," he says. "This felt like a really interesting way to go. It's something that felt organic to the character.

"I've been surprised by the reaction, but I'm thrilled — we'll take it."






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