When "The O.C." returns next Thursday (Jan. 6) after a brief Chrismukkah rerun cycle, the show is set to begin a long string of original episodes. The primetime soap, recently struggling in the ratings, is looking to take advantage of CBS' temporarily "Survivor"-free schedule with the kind of upcoming events that most shows save for sweeps. "The O.C." will feature a spicy new relationship, guest stars, visiting bands and, best of all, Peter Gallagher will sing.

In the midst of the seasonal joy, "O.C." creator Josh Schwartz took some time to talk to reporters about just a few of the things that fans can expect from spring in Newport Beach.

Without a doubt, no "O.C." twist will receive more attention than the upcoming relationship between Mischa Barton's Marissa and Oliva Wilde's Alex. With FOX already teasing the unexpected love match, Schwartz took the unusual step of breaking the news in the gay and lesbian press, going to some extremes to emphasize that nothing tawdry will happen between one of the show's more maligned characters and one of this season's fresh faces.

"I think you'll see the way it's handled is very character-driven," Schwartz says. "It's emotional. It's not done for exploitation. It's a character who's trying to find her identity and is kind of lonely and lost and connects with this person who becomes like a mentor to her and she really has a bond with and she happens to be a girl, which is not something she would have expected, but she's at a point in her life where she's willing to roll with it."

Schwartz was aware that Barton had a certain comfort level with similarly chaste girl-on-girl action from her stint opposite Evan Rachel Wood on "Once and Again."

"She's fearless as an actress," he says of his star. "She'll do whatever and she's ready for anything. She was into it. She was excited about taking the character in that direction."

After FOX expressed some reservation about the sexuality in the show's first season, Schwartz says that the network has only encouraged him to treat the Marissa-Alex relationship with "delicacy." The network has probably be expected to promote the twist heavily, given the show's audience erosion. For the season, "The O.C." is averaging 7.19 million viewers and has dramatically boosted FOX's Thursday ratings, but the past couple episodes have drawn only slightly over 6 million viewers.

"I have no idea what kind of ratings impact it'll have," insists the show's driving force. "If it's exciting and interesting and different for the show, that's why we would do it. Any kind of big storyline we would do, we hope will attract people and get people talking."

Viewers will also be talking about guest star Kim Delaney, who makes her first appearance as Rebecca Bloom in the season's 10th episode, titled "The Accomplice." Her character will shake things up between Sandy (Gallagher) and Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) Cohen.

"She's Sandy's first love, the woman he was engaged to be engaged to in college at Berkeley," explains Schwartz. "She was part of a left-wing Berkeley activist group and that group was responsible for blowing something up and had to flee the country right in the middle of the relationship and she's returned."

Meanwhile, the show's Bait Shop concert venue will see performances by Modest Mouse and The Thrills and Schwartz is still hoping that Linda Lavin's Nana will return for a spring break-themed episode, possibly set in Florida. Schwartz also acknowledges that Navi Rawat's Theresa may be back as well, though that wouldn't happen before May.

With additions, though, there must be subtractions and there have long been rumors that Tate Donovan's increasingly marginalized Jimmy Cooper may be about to leave the show. Schwartz will neither confirm nor deny such suggestions.

"This I'll say: If you look at the track record, anyone who's fallen for [Melinda Clarke's] Julie Cooper has not done well," Schwartz hedges. "I guess I'm talking about [Chris Carmack's] Luke, really. She's sortta the black widow of the show."

Oh and viewers can expect to hear the crooning Gallagher's rendition of Solomon Burke's "Don't Give Up On Me" in the season's eight episode, "The Power of Love."