‘The O.C.’ vows a satisfying end after 4 seasons

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Newport Beach got a few lessons in the power of TV, according to the town’s mayor.

“I think there were some people in town not too pleased about how Newport Beach was portrayed in the series. But I think everybody understands that TV distorts reality,” Mayor Steven Rosansky said, a truth known to anybody who used to watch the ‘80s serial “Dallas.”

But while some grumbled about the show’s satiric depiction of a hedonistic and shallow Newport, the city gained a higher profile and an influx of visitors, said Rosansky.

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The local visitors’ bureau capitalized on the attention with a map of locations referred to in the series — although production mostly took place in Los Angeles — and by recording the hand- and footprints of some cast members in concrete, he said.

But the show proved unable to hold its audience, slipping to about 7 million weekly viewers during 2004-05 and then to fewer than 6 million last season. Returning last November after Fox wrapped postseason baseball coverage, “The O.C.” has averaged about 4 million viewers.

A time-slot change, to the highly competitive 9 p.m. EST Thursday period opposite CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and then ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” contributed to the slump and probably hastened the defection of fickle young viewers.

Does Schwartz long for a different ending, with more seasons still ahead?

“Coulda, woulda, shoulda, I guess,” he says, the verbal equivalent of a shrug. He called four seasons “a pretty damn good run. Especially for a show like this, where the audience we’re speaking to is younger and moves on faster.”

“I’d never worked on a television series in any capacity before it began, so it was learn as you go and I certainly learned a lot,” he said. “But to be able to learn on a show that had the impact on its audience this show had is a really incredible gift.”

Schwartz already is looking ahead to new projects, including adapting the book “Looking for Alaska” for film and producing two television pilots.

But what about the future of Newport Beach? Will it miss basking in its fake counterpart’s limelight?

“It ran its course and we’ll wait for the next show. ... I’m sure some creative television person will create another show,” Mayor Rosanksy said.

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