Unthinkable photos of TV star emerge

Former ‘The O.C.’ star Mischa Barton has joined the cast of ‘Neighbours’ as guest character Reece, an American new to Erinsborough who is not quite who she appears to be.

Every year Australia’s television awards The Logies feature an American celebrity who has been flown in for an unclear reason. It’s fun because you get to watch them wander around looking confused, concerned and out of context.

Flo Rida, Katy Perry and Matt LeBlanc have all attended the event in this capacity.

It is abundantly clear they have no idea who anyone is, and they are unsure why everyone loves Karl Stefanovic so much.

Mischa is going to have to binge watch MAFS and Nine’s Today Show just so she has some idea of what is going on.

I don’t want to alarm anyone but I don’t think she even knows who Sonia Kruger is.

I fear for the person who is going to have to explain why Kerri Anne Kennerley is such a force to be reckoned with.

Mischa is that Logies celebrity but instead she’s been sent to Ramsay St. She’s basically starring in her own version of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

Except, she’s signed a contract, and Julia Morris and the hot Bondi Vet aren’t around to supply the playful commentary.

Neighbours was famously cancelled in 2022 after an iconic 37-year run and before our tears could even dry, it was announced the show would be returning in 2023, and they’ve dragged poor Mischa into it.

“I’m excited to be part of this iconic show’s next chapter, and I am really looking forward to being back in Australia, a place I know and love,” she said in a statement.

Surely she could have saved herself the flight and just joined a reality show Andy Cohen produces?

Mischa was a bona fide ‘it’ girl in the early 2000s thanks to her role as Marissa on the teen drama classic The O.C.

She hung around with Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton during their party girl eras, and she has the DUI and court-appointed rehab stint to prove it.

The actor ended up leaving the teen drama at the height of its fame and she’s never really managed to secure a significant role since.

Well until now!

If this stint goes well, I’m seeing her appearing on Studio 10 and perhaps even The Project.

Now poor Mischa is wandering around Ramsay St, likely making small talk with Ryan Moloney, aka Toadie.

Yes, Moloney, the same man that did a civil construction course about driving excavators and building roads because he worried he’d be out of a job when the show ended.

Meanwhile, Mischa’s from Hollywood when people run out of work, they either do weight loss commercials or start starring in Lifetime movies.

The woman won’t know what to do with herself.

To add even more humour to this situation, Neighbours isn’t shot near anywhere trendy. It is shot in Melbourne’s Vermont South, a normal suburban area. There’s no Starbucks, fancy restaurants or Carrie Bickmore.

Maybe this is the beginning of something beautiful though.

Mischa is already getting into the spirit of things. She was spotted in a giant puffer jacket which is about as Melbourne as you can get, and she was even seen smiling in the photos. So, you can’t say this woman can’t act!

The idea that a Mischa will shoot scenes in Harold’s cafe or Lassiter Hotel feels utterly bizarre. They are so unglamourised and a far cry from stumbling out of luxury cars with Paris Hilton by your side.

Jokes aside if Ramsay St was good enough for Kylie and Margot Robbie then it will be good enough Mischa.

Plus what an experience! She’ll learn about Australian culture and with a little luck Toadie will share construction tips with her.