There are a few more familiar faces returning for One Tree Hill‘s ninth, and final, season — plus a few new ones! Warner Bros. has confirmed that, not only will Barbara Alyn Woods reprise her role as Nathan’s (James Lafferty) pill-popping cougar mom Deb for one episode, but Richard Burgi will also recur as Brooke’s (Sophia Bush) oft-discussed-but-never-seen father!

Of course, these might not be the happiest family reunions — and they certainly won’t come without some drama. As Sophia teased during HollywoodLife.com‘s recent trip to One Tree Hill’s Wilmington, N.C., set:

“You’re going to meet someone who’s very relevant to Brooke’s life who you’ve wanted to see for eight years.”

This is obviously huge news for longtime fans of the series, especially those with a soft spot for Brooke… and her daddy issues. Seriously, if you thought Brooke and Victoria (Daphne Zuniga) had a rocky relationship as mother and daughter, just wait until dear ol’ daddy enters the picture.

And then there’s Nanny Deb, who we last saw during a heated confrontation with Dan (Paul Johansson) in season six. They exchanged fiery words about — what else — Keith’s (Craig Sheffer) death, so it’ll be very interesting to see what their relationship is like when they reunite in season nine.

OK, One Tree Hill fans, it’s your turn to rant. What kind of crazy new drama do you think Nathan’s mom and Brooke’s dad will bring to town? And who else are you hoping will make a surprise return for the show’s final season? Hit the comments section with your thoughts!

— Andy Swift

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Daphne’s the latest One Tree Hill star to tell HollywoodLife.com that the show needs to stay!

With the eighth season of One Tree Hill still in limbo, the show’s stars are rallying together to give it another year on the air. And the latest plea comes from former Melrose Place-er Daphne Zuniga, who plays reformed meanie Victoria Davis on The CW series. “If it works, don’t get rid of it,” Daphne told HollywoodLife.com exclusively March 7 at The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide magazine’s 11th Annual Children Uniting Nations Awards Celebration & After Party in Beverly Hills. “It’s working.”

“It’s a really solid show,” she argued. “It’s a great show. People — young people, older people — love it. We have fans all over the world!”

Don’t worry, Daphne… we know how great the show is. And we’ve got lots of readers who feel the same way!

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It kills us to see these two having so many problems. Are you hoping Brooke & Julian will patch things up?

Things have been rough for Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols‘ characters on “One Tree Hill” ever since Julian started working on a movie with Alex (Jenna Kramer), the face of Brooke’s clothing company. (Hey, remember when this show used to be about high school basketball?) Anyway, Brooke and Julian’s future isn’t looking any brighter in this clip from the show’s big Jan. 18 return to The CW.

There’s been serious tension between the Brooke and Julian (or as their devoted fans call them, “Brulian”) ever since they learned Brooke could never have a baby. And now even more problems are coming between them! Julian’s worried that Brooke is cheating on him with her new employee (Mitch Ryan) who was hired by Brooke’s mother (Daphne Zuniga) to design a new men’s line for their company, Clothes Over Bros.

But would Brooke really do that right after her own boyfriend got too close to someone he was working with? We don’t think she’s that big of a hypocrite. What do you think?

— Andy Swift

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