Revamped drama will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

"One Tree Hill" has only been away for a few months, but it'll feel like years when the formerly high school soap returns in January.

The fifth season of "One Tree Hill" will premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 8 with a two-hour episode that establishes the show's revamped format. "OTH" will settle into the Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET time slot the following week, airing after encores of "Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants."

As a result, The CW has opted not to air repeats of "Reaper," though the freshman dramedy will return with original episodes later in the season.

"One Tree Hill" concluded its fourth season in June with the core group of characters on the brink of leaving Tree Hill and heading off for the summer before college. As was previously announced, the fifth season will kick off four years later, allowing creator Mark Schwahn and his team of producers to skip over the fact that most of the cast looks too old to be starting university.

The previous four years won't be entirely forgotten, though. The CW press release says that sometimes incidents from those college years will pop up in brief flashbacks or, possibly, for an entire episode.

So what's up with Nathan and Haley's baby? Did Lucas publish his book? Is Brooke a hit in the fashion world? What about Skills and Mouth and Dan and Karen and the rest of the "One Tree Hill" family? And what does any of it have to do with guest star Kevin Federline? The answers are coming.