Mischa Barton Says Staying On Top Of 'The Hills' Reboot Drama Is "A Lot Of Work"

Millennials of a certain age were overjoyed when it was announced that The Hills, one of the most formative shows of the early aughts, was going to get a reboot. However, the addition of Mischa Barton, aka Marissa Cooper from The O.C., was a little puzzling. Although everyone knows that that fictional show was the inspiration for the reality version, it's still kind of unclear how Mischa Barton fits into The Hills reboot. It's actually kind of complicated, and not only because not everyone on the cast is happy to have her around.

Mischa knows the rest of The Hills cast just because she was also famous in the mid-2000s at the same time as the rest of the group — they weren't exactly friends before this. Now, Mischa is trying to assimilate into the cast as an actual cast member and friend, which, as Mischa told Buzzfeed, isn't so bad. “This is not a bad group of friends, you know, they're quite tight-knit and they are not vicious towards each other, usually," she said. "It is a lot to step into, but I think you really just have to have fun with it. That's the thing you learn once you get in with this group after a minute.”

That doesn't mean that there wasn't a transition period for her. Mischa told InStyle, "There was definitely a bit of a hazing process... The mind-blowing aspect of doing this was that everyone had a ton of baggage that they hadn’t addressed." Mischa had to pick up and learn all of the histories and dramas from the past until now, which is a pretty big endeavor. "Just staying on top of the drama in and of itself was a lot of work... It’s unpredictable," Mischa said.

Everything seems stable on The Hills: New Beginnings right now, especially with Mischa and Audrina, Stephanie, and Whitney. These gals have opened their arms to their new friends, but it doesn't seem to be the case with all of her cast members. . In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Spencer questioned Mischa's sobriety and said she needed to step it up in order to compete on The Hills, whatever that means. He said,"I’m really hoping she brings more of that TMZ energy to this show. It can’t be all eating fruit and hummus on the beach."

Ah, Spencer. Always a charmer. Of Mischa's quiet nature, Heidi told Us Weekly, “We’ve put our whole lives into this show before and after, so to have someone come in and, like, be so reserved was a little bit frustrating. Mischa doesn't have much to say about Spencer and Heidi just yet, but she did tell Buzzfeed that it was "jarring" to film with the couple. "Spencer and Heidi would be the first to admit ‘Make Speidi famous again’ is a thing, and I do shy away from that," she said.

Mischa is clearly just dipping her toe into The Hills: New Beginnings pool, but if the cast continues to welcome her with open arms, she should have a successful reality TV journey.