Where the heck do things go from here on One Tree Hill? Creator Mark Schwahn offers a preview of the new season, starting September 14, to Entertainment Weekly.

Here are some excerpts from the magazine's picking of Schwann's brain:

On whether the last season finale was written as a series finale: "I felt like it wasn’t fair to fans to write a bunch of cliffhangers in the season finale. I felt it wouldn’t be fair to the actors: Like, if you don’t take the deal, you’ll be under the bus."

On time jump 2.0: "We’re going to go 14 months. In a year, things change. We’re going to pick it up on Jamie’s 7th birthday. It allows us to put everyone together. Some new characters have been in the world for a year, and other new characters show up on that day."

Then and now: One Tree Hill is getting ready to reinvent itself ... again.

On the absence of Lucas (Murray) and Peyton (Burton) as explained on the show: "I know a lot of fans waqnt to see how we explain Peyton and Lucas’ absence. They’re gone, and there’s a gift from them for Jamie. They’re traveling, spending time with [Lucas’ mom] Karen and [her husband] Andy. They’re raising their child. They’re living their lives."

On Brooke searching for her happy ending: "I was concerned that since Julian and Brooke had such a great moment in the finale, the audience could feel like we missed all the good stuff [by jumping ahead]. The storyline in the first episode is: Is this the time when their relationship’s going to actually start in a real way?

On the new characters: "We have some ridiculously beautiful new people. Robert Buckley plays Clayton, Nathan’s sports agent. Quinn, played by Shantel VanSanten, is Haley’s older sister by a couple years. Jana Kramer is going to play Alex. She’s the new face of Clothes Over Bros."

On the obligatory off-the-wall plot line this season: "Dan Scott is still alive. And miraculously, he has never been in better health. Not only that, he has become a millionaire by telling a story of redemption. He has his own talk show."

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.