News Update: One Tree Hill Season 9

Once again Zap2it.com has delivered! They've visited the Wilmington set of ONE TREE HILL to speak to the ever so lovely Bethany Joy Galeotti. This working mom has a lot to say about why she came back to the show for 13 more episodes, what fans can expect for Haley's character and Naley's relationship, and even talks about her hair change for the season. If you're a fan of Joy's read this one till the end; it's one of the best in depth interviews she's done. 

Also, for all you One Tree Hill fans who've been spoiler free so far -- tread with caution. Joy drops a lot of juicy facts regarding season 9 in this one. 

'ONE TREE HILL': BETHANY JOY GALEOTTI ASSURES US THAT 'NALEY' IS STILL GOING STRONG

(Left-Right) Galeotti, Lafferty 

After so many years on the air, the "One Tree Hill" set functions like a well-oiled machine, and rarely do members of the press factor into that. To say that we were thrilled when Zap2it was invited to Wilmington, NC to watch a bit of filming for the final season of the show is an understatement.


We visited while cast member Austin Nichols was directing the 7th episode of the season, and our first day on set afforded us the chance to watch Bethany Joy Galeotti film emotional scenes with her returning pal Chad Michael Murray. Yes, Lucas and Haley's BFFdom has endured despite his absence (and the fact that he never returned any of her letters -- a fact that plagued Murray a bit when he read the script).


In the scenes we watched, Haley wasn't in the most stable frame of mind, but Joy assures us that it's not all doom and gloom for Haley this season. When we catch up with her in the premiere, she's enjoying her growing family and the new/old business she shares with Brooke (Sophia Bush). "This season Haley has decided to, as we saw at the end of Season 8, reopen Karen's Café. She renovated Clothes Over Bros after Brooke had her financial catastrophe, and so she and Brooke went into business together. Haley is diving into that.She's got a daughter, she's got a son, her husband is traveling, it's sort of a very glam, small-town entrepreneurial mom life for Haley."


However, unlike Season 8, this final season of "OTH" isn't all about the laughs. "Things very quickly start to unravel," Joy admits. At first, it's manageable -- another local café owner, played by "Dancing With The Stars" alum Chelsea Kane, gives Brooke and Haley some not-so-friendly competition, and hijinks ensue.

Bethany Joy Galeotti

Then, real trouble comes a-knocking, as it always does in Tree Hill. And by "trouble" we mean Dan Scott (Paul Johansson), who returns to the series full-time this season after a few years with guest star billing. "Haley's trying to deal with having Dan around and deciding whether she's going to let this person back in her life and into her family's life. And Nathan is away, and that's taking a huge toll on their relationship. It's a lot about Haley finding out what her limits are," says Joy.

[...]

We've got more from our chat with Joy to share with you soon, including her hopes for Haley's ending and her own post-OTH plans. In the meantime, we'll leave you with Joy's description of Season 9:


"Near death experiences. Jealousy. Psychotic breakdowns. Post-traumatic stress. Comedy. Action. Drama, drama, drama. And romance. You've got to throw romance in there somewhere."


You know, in case you weren't already on the edge of your seat. January 11, 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Be there.

Read the ENTIRE story, HERE.