Entertainment TV Scripted TV Shows Chad Michael Murray Still Won't Watch 'One Tree Hill' : 'It's a Section of My Life That I Deleted' Chad Michael Murray admitted he would be "deathly afraid" to rewatch the drama series, which aired from 2003 to 2012 By Stephanie Wenger Stephanie Wenger Stephanie Wenger is a TV Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She joined the brand in 2021 as a digital news writer, covering stories spanning across the site's verticals. She previously contributed E! Online, Hollywood Life and Oscar.com. People Editorial Guidelines and Breanne L. Heldman Published on December 12, 2022 04:10PM EST Photo: Noel Vasquez/Getty Chad Michael Murray isn't ready to head back to Tree Hill. The 41-year-old actor revealed that it would be "too hard" to watch One Tree Hill — the beloved teen drama in which he starred as Lucas Scott — during a panel discussion with his former costar Bethany Joy Lenz at Christmas Con in Edison, New Jersey on Saturday. "It's a section of my life that I deleted. A lot of development, a lot of growth as a human being, and [I] just deleted so much of it," he explained. "I think we have hard drives, right? I'm probably like, you know when you get an iPhone that holds like 264 gigs: I'm down on a 32 gig phone because of old information, so booting everything up. So I think I'm deathly afraid." Chad Michael Murray Says There's 'Always Talk' of Making a One Tree Hill Reboot Lenz, 41, admitted that she was also "terrified" to rewatch the series when she began the Drama Queens podcast with her former castmates Hilarie Burton-Morgan and Sophia Bush. "When you think about where you were in your personal life, and the things that you went through, the mistakes you made, all those transitions," she shared. "Watching those things can really bring back all the memories, embarrassing moments, things you're ashamed about, choices you made that you're not proud of." She continued, "And so, it's been so cool. I was really afraid, watching back, that that's what I was going to go through, just a non-stop barrage of shame of all the stupid s— that I did in my life. It turns out, it's not been that experience." Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Noel Vasquez/Getty Despite his reservations about rewatching One Tree Hill, Murray said he's always happy to reunite with his former costars. "It's one of those things where it's a family," he said. "We grew up together in a lot of ways, and so you'll enter a room like this, and I could see Joy, Hilary, or anyone from across the room, and it's like, 'Family!' You can grab onto each other and feel a little bit safe, because it's your crew." Chad Michael Murray Says Wilmington, NC, Still Feels 'Like Home' 10 Years After One Tree Hill One Tree Hill premiered on the WB in 2003, airing its finale nine years later in 2012. The show originally followed estranged brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) in their shared ambitions of basketball greatness and winning their father's affection. The show was also driven by its female characters, particularly Brooke Davis (Bush), a cheerleader with a fun streak and a heart of gold; Peyton Sawyer (Burton-Morgan) a fellow cheerleader with an artistic eye and an extensive vinyl collection; and Haley James (Lenz) a student tutor with dreams of a music career. CW /Everett Last month, the cast reunited in Wilmington, North Carolina — where the series was shot — for the A Week in Tree Hill fan convention. "It was probably one of the best experiences I've had in a long time," Murray shared with the audience. "It was really nostalgic as far as getting together and everybody seeing everyone's faces, and then walking out and experiencing it with you guys." Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton and Bethany Joy Lenz Want to 'Reclaim' One Tree Hill with New Podcast In April, Murray opened up about a potential reboot of One Tree Hill while in conversation with New York-based Fox affiliate WNYW. "You know, I genuinely have no idea," he said at the time. "I have no idea. There's always talk. I will say that. There is always chatter." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Instead of stepping back into the shoes of his former character Lucas, Murray had a different idea of how the beloved drama could thrive in a new era. "I do believe that there should be a new Tree Hill generation," he said. "I think that there's so many issues today that society faces that could be handled on this show."