The show is set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, and initially follows the lives of two half-brothers, played by Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty, who compete for positions on their school's basketball team and the drama that ensues from the brothers' respective romantic relationships.

The theme was removed from the opening in the fifth season; Schwahn said that this was to lower production costs, to add more time for the storyline, and because he felt that the song was more representative of the core characters' adolescent past than their present maturity.

[14] Set in the fictional North Carolina coastal town of Tree Hill, the main storyline in the early seasons is the relationship between two half-brothers, Lucas and Nathan Scott, who start out as enemies but bonded as the show progresses.

The show starts out with Lucas becoming a member of the Tree Hill Ravens (the high school basketball team) with the help of his uncle Keith.

Schwahn originally planned to make One Tree Hill a feature length film with the title Ravens, the name of the show's high school basketball team.

[28] In 2009, Schwahn altered the timeline again, setting the seventh season fourteen months after the sixth, thus giving a better explanation for the somewhat abrupt departures of series leads Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton.

A video of Murray, seemingly unaware he was being filmed, saying the show was not bringing him back because they wanted to save money, and encouraging fans to rally behind him, intensified speculation.

"[35] Burton told Entertainment Weekly that there was a possibility that she would return for guest appearances if asked, and clarified what happened behind the scenes regarding her contract, stating, "[W]hen I hear that there's turmoil or negotiations based on money, it kind of hurts my feelings, because it's not what's been going on at all."

[33]Criticism of how their characters, Lucas and Peyton, were written out of the series focused mainly on a lack of explanation about where they went, and the exit not having been morbid enough for a star-crossed couple.

[36] To fill the void of Murray and Burton's departures, Robert Buckley and Shantel VanSanten were cast as Nathan's agent Clay and Haley's sister Quinn respectively.

In 2008, Nielsen Media Research reported that One Tree Hill was the only scripted show ranked among the top 10 in terms of number of product placements.

[47] In 2007, One Tree Hill filmed their prom episode in Honey Grove, Texas, as the result of a Sunkist-sponsored competition where fans could submit videos inviting the cast and crew to their town.

[49] In an attempt to promote Life Unexpected to One Tree Hill viewers, the CW aired a crossover event involving both programs on October 12, 2010.

[57] David Janollari, then entertainment president at The WB, attributed the show's sophomore success partly to its shift in focus from a male-driven sports plot to expanding the stories of its girls.

In a 2006 interview, Schwahn said, "In the second TV season, we didn't play any basketball, which was the rest of their junior year, and I felt that the show suffered a little bit.

He also denied some speculation according to which Murray and Bush's divorce affected the writing in regard to the love triangle's resolution, confirming that every decision concerning Brooke and Lucas' relationship (and thus also their definitive break-up) was made independently and regardless of the actors' private issues.

"[61] One debate concerned the season 2 episode "Don't Take Me For Granted", in which Lucas says that a girl is "slipping away" and he needs to confess his love for her, but shows up at Brooke's house instead of Peyton's.

Most viewers (including Lucas–Peyton and Brooke–Lucas fans) had trouble interpreting the "slipping away" line as a reference to Brooke, since Peyton had been the girl Lucas had been in love with in season 1 and the two had since become estranged.

"[67] Cosmopolitan, Digital Spy and Entertainment Weekly listed the series as one of the greatest teen dramas of all time,[68][69][70] while TheWrap named it one of the shows that can be watched at any age.

"[76] The Wall Street Journal called the show "a slick prime-time drama about a small town packed with hunky teenagers and simmering family secrets,"[77] while The Star-Ledger said it was "a welcome surprise ... Every choice it makes from pacing to photography to music seems just about right, and the casting is inspired.

"[80] Ginia Bellefante of The New York Times criticized the show's lack of insight into the consequences of teenage pregnancy, stating that "the show displays an almost aggressive aversion to moralizing about teenage pregnancy" and that by "refusing to lay out the grim consequences of premature motherhood, it seems as if it wants to make fans on either end of the political spectrum stick their heads in fiery hampers".

[28] Author Emily B. Anzicek said that pregnancy seems to be the only possible physical consequence for the residents of One Tree Hill and that discussion of STDs is non-existent, criticizing the "potential threat" due to the amount of promiscuity, such as several characters having sex with people they hardly know.

[82] Writing for DVD Verdict, Neal Solon commended the series' first season for being about more than betrayal and questionable morals, and instead highlighting the impact of the parents' mistakes on the teenagers' lives, which was something he identified as lacking in other teen shows.

"The last few episodes bring some form of closure to the major story arcs, while leaving the door wide open for further development should the show continue.

The complaints included the loss of basketball, confusion created about the Peyton–Lucas–Brooke love triangle,[65] stereotypical backstabbing and plotting[52] and Dan being turned into an almost cartoon-ish villain.

[84] Although Arbuckle called the plot-level elements satisfying, he criticized the dialogue, saying that the writers fail to convince with the slang or Black English of the teenagers, or the language of businessmen.

"[3] Conversely, Ginia Bellefante of The New York Times stated, "Not one of the newly minted 22-year-olds on One Tree Hill blogs or dresses coolly or speaks cleverly or gives any indication of having learned anything at all in college."

"Of all the shows that they've launched in the last two years, this one has the most traction", said Stacey Lynn Koerner, at the time an executive vice president at Initiative, a media planning agency.

It became the first choice of prime-time television for teenage girls and was reported in January 2005 to be the program in Tuesday's 9 pm time slot most viewed by women aged 12 to 34.

[131] Seasons 1–9 of One Tree Hill were released on DVD in regions 1, 2 and 4, with commentary on selected episodes by cast and crew members, deleted scenes, gag reels and featurettes.