The O.C.'s kid creator, Josh Schwartz, has been mad busy dreaming up drama for Season 2, which kicks off Nov. 4 on Fox. So busy, in fact, that the ambitious 28-year-old hit the pause button on plans for his next big nighttime sudser.

"It's tentatively titled Athens," Schwartz tells TV Guide Online. "It'll be set in a New England college town — probably Boston — and it is going to chronicle the lives and loves of the professors, students and the townies who live around the college."

"We were rushing, at first, to try to get it on the air in January [2005]," he continues, "but it's extremely difficult to launch a new show after the first year of [The O.C.]. Year 2 is an incredible year for any television show. As The O.C. started up again, I started to feel myself potentially getting pulled away. I wanted both things to be great. I don't think anybody benefits if The O.C. suffers and the new show is not any good.

"So what we've done is we rolled Athens back a little bit and we're gonna try to get it on the air in August, right around the time The O.C. launched. That'll allow me to get through this year completely focused on The O.C. and then launch right into the second show."

Now let's dish our fave Orange County-based dramafest. You already know four newbies — including Skin's Olivia Wilde — are coming in to mix it up with Ryan, Marissa, Seth and Summer, all of whom are single again. "We don't have any big stunt-casting plans at this point," Schwartz notes. "The new cast members are all great, but there's no J.Lo." Forget her, what about Seth's Jewish nana, who was fighting cancer when last seen?

"Linda Lavin will definitely be back," Schwartz chuckles. "The nana was a very popular character. I'm happy to say that the chemotherapy, therefore, is working. She'll be back late in the spring, maybe around Passover again." Not for Chrismakkuh? "No," he responds. "We have enough holiday spirit with Chrismakkuh."

Speaking of special occasions, fans can't help but wonder if Benjamin McKenzie and Co. be graduating from high school anytime soon. Ryan's portrayer is 26, after all. "I think everyone's got a different opinion on this," Schwartz teases. "The actors and the network certainly have their own takes on it — and those two are probably not the same take. But I foresee at least this year and next year in high school. Then, I'll cross that bridge when we come to it at the end of Year 3, should we be lucky enough to come back for Year 4."

At least they're giving Ryan's bare-knuckled brawling a rest. "It's a long time before we really see any fists flying," he says, "and even then, it's not much of a fight."