SPOILERS: One Tree Hill's Ninth And Final Season Premieres

It's official: there are only 12 more episodes of CW's One Tree Hill left before the show bows out after nine seasons.

Creator Mark Schwahn is about to take fans on a roller-coaster ride, as he revealed in the first three minutes of the premiere, which flash forward to the mayhem the Scotts will endure in what Schwahn calls "a 13-part miniseries" that will be "a little darker and a little more controversial" than what we've seen before, according to TV Guide.

The three-minute opening that subtly reveals where the characters will wind up was made possible by the unique filming of season nine — they shot the entire thing before the premiere, giving them plenty of time in the editing room, reports Entertainment Weekly. "So we planted these seeds," Schwahn said, "but you don't know what context you're going to be seeing them and you don't know when they're going to happen."

One thing you can count on: Stephen Colletti's Chase and Jana Kramer's Alex start out the season blissfully happy — not to mention half naked. "It was cool for Chase to get an apartment," Colletti told E! Online, "but bittersweet because then you have the opportunity to be roaming around in your underwear. Thankfully it is only in one episode for me, so I'm happy to get it out of the way." Hint: If you're looking for more of Colletti in his skivvies, you're going have to hope his next role is equally revealing.

Sophia Bush's Brooke Davis was all about her new family, as the twins she was so precariously carrying last season have arrived and she is looking forward to a future of motherhood and marital bliss and with hubby Julian (Austin Nichols). But it's a fair bet that things are going to get shaken up for the new mom. Schwahn also revealed that he's not necessarily interested in delivering "happy endings," as his teaser pointed out.

You can catch the final 12 episodes of One Tree Hill on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST.