Hilarie Burton Teases the One Tree Hill Reboot Will Be Produced Through a ‘Female Lens’ (Exclusive)

Hilarie Burton Morgan is opening up about her experience on the One Tree Hill reboot is already different from filming the original series.

The actress, 42, tells PEOPLE how working with a female-led team “this go-around” is proving to be a healthier experience for her than the original series was.

“What I can say is that this go-around, being able to work with a team of women and look at these stories [and] these characters through a female lens is something that — whether I was doing a reboot or a brand new show or a different movie at this phase in my life, female teamwork is something that is so vital to me,” she says while discussing her partnership with Olly to launch their new Mellow Menopause supplements. 

Burton continues of the reboot, which she and Sophia Bush are spearheading, “It is the core of anything I’ve done that’s successful. So I’m excited to be able to team up with people that I look up to, people that I love dearly.”

Burton, who played Peyton Sawyer for six seasons on the hit teen drama series, adds that the “stories” she wants to tell in this “phase” of her life “are very different than they were when I was 20,” and that perspective is influencing the reboot, too.

“That certainly affects how you tell stories,” she says.

Burton also discussed the news of the reboot being “leaked” in August, which took both her and Bush, 42, by surprise. However, she says “the nicest thing is seeing the positive fan reaction to it and all of our friends from the show commenting on posts and just getting to show enthusiasm, because obviously we want Netflix to greenlight it.”

Earlier this week, Bush, who played Burton’s onscreen BFF Brooke Davis, also talked about the news getting leaked on her Drama Queens podcast.

“Do I wish that the news hadn’t leaked before we could announce it was official? Sure. But if it happens, I will be so freaking proud, much like we said, that every single person gets to bring their expertise to the table now,” she said.

Bush also revealed that conversations have been going on regarding a potential reboot for “close to half a decade.”

“We’ve been able to all sort of divide and conquer in the coolest way. And those of us with TV producing experience are having some really exciting conversations,” she said.

News of the reboot comes nearly seven years after Burton and Bush were among the 18 former female cast and crew members who accused One Treel Hill creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harassment.

“Mark Schwahn’s behavior over the duration of the filming of One Tree Hill was something of an ‘open secret,'” wrote the women in the letter in Nov. 2017. “Many of us were, to varying degrees, manipulated psychologically and emotionally. More than one of us is still in treatment for post-traumatic stress. Many of us were put in uncomfortable positions and had to swiftly learn to fight back, sometimes physically, because it was made clear to us that the supervisors in the room were not the protectors they were supposed to be.”

“Many of us were spoken to in ways that ran the spectrum from deeply upsetting, to traumatizing, to downright illegal,” they continued. “And a few of us were put in positions where we felt physically unsafe. More than one woman on our show had her career trajectory threatened.”

Schwahn has never spoken about any of the allegations, but he was later removed from his role as showrunner of E!’s The Royals after a group of 25 female cast and crew members on the series released a joint letter in which they claimed Schwahn “felt the inclination to abuse his power and influence in an environment where he had it over women who felt they did not.”

“This manifested itself in the repeated unwanted sexual harassment of multiple female members of cast and crew,” the letter said.

One Tree Hill can be streamed in full on Hulu and Max.