‘The OC’ awarded with key to the city

Deepa Bharath

They already have the key to prime-time television success.

Tonight, cast members and producers of the Fox network’s “The OC”

will get a key to Newport Beach, the city that has provided the show

with a backdrop, richly woven with drama and mystique.

The show has lent fame and notoriety to this city, enhancing its

image as a popular tourist destination, said Gail Ossipoff,

spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau.

“This show has brought a lot of positive attention to the city,”

she said. “I was in New York City recently, and everybody was asking

about this show. It’s not just around here. It’s across the country.”

The bureau is realistic about the content of the show, which

portrays the action-packed lives of pretty, young, rich Newport Beach

men and women, complete with sex, drugs, revenge and betrayal,

Ossipoff said.

“It’s not a reality show,” she said. “It’s entertainment. You take

it with a grain of salt just like ‘Dallas’ or ‘Beverly Hills 90210.’”

Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway, who has previously said the show

is entertaining but an exaggerated version of the city, will present

the key to cast members.

Tonight’s event, starting at 6:30 p.m., will also feature a

“cement ceremony,” where “The OC” will be immortalized on Newport’s

newly created Walk of Fame at the Balboa Pavilion, Ossipoff said. To

top it off, the mayor will make a proclamation in appreciation of “OC

Thursdays,” drawing attention to the fact that the show will now air

Thursdays instead of Tuesdays. The Balboa Fun Zone will be open from

7 to 9 p.m. courtesy of the show. The show’s season premiere will be

Nov. 4.

Ridgeway was not available for comment on Wednesday, but his wife

Kay said that as parents of a freshman in high school, they sense the

show’s popularity among local high school students.

“A lot of local high school students watch the show and find it

entertaining, on the cutting edge and very cool,” she said.

Her son and his friends are excited that the city is strengthening

its relationship with the show, Kay Ridgeway said.

Councilman Steve Bromberg said he feels almost neutral on the

issue. He declined an offer last year, when he was mayor, to go on

the “Sharon Osborne Show” and present “The OC” with a key to the

city, Bromberg said.

“At the time, I thought it wasn’t representative of the city,” he

said. “I thought the show put us in a bad light.”

But since then, he has heard that the show had “gotten better,”

Bromberg said.

“I haven’t been watching,” he added. “But if the Conference and

Visitors Bureau thinks this is a positive things for the city, that’s

good.”

He won’t be attending the event because of another commitment,

Bromberg said.

“I’m not boycotting it or anything though,” he added with a laugh.

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or by e-mail at

deepa.bharath@latimes.com.