'The O.C.' will have fewer fall episodes

LOS ANGELES, June 29 (UPI) -- The fourth season of "The O.C.," Fox's show about Southern California teens, will start later and probably end earlier with just 16 episodes in 2006-07.

A typical season is 22 episodes, zap2it.com reported. In its first three seasons, "The O.C." never shot fewer than 24 episodes.

Fox could still add more episodes, a network spokesman said.

The show's characters will be changing, with several -- Ben McKenzie, Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson -- going off to college.

Mischa Barton, who played Marissa Cooper, left the show when her character died. Now her younger sister Caitlin, played by Willa Holland, will go live with her mother.

Scheduled on Thursdays at 9 p.m., "The O.C." will be up against three top hits -- CBS' "CSI," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and NBC's "Deal or No Deal."