Mischa Barton has decided to stay out of Tinseltown for the time being.

After suffering the canning of her show The Beautiful Life so soon after her spectacular meltdown in LA, Barton is trying to pick up the pieces in the city she loves – New York.

“I grew up in the city, so there’s a lot to love about it,” she said. “All my close friends are here. I feel it’s a fun city to lay low in and you get treated right.”

The Beautiful Life was dropped after just two episodes because of poor ratings.

Barton had thrown herself into the show, trying to prove to friends and collaborators she was on the road back from a hair-raising summer during which she was briefly admitted to a psychiatric ward in LA.

Now she is looking at other opportunities. “There’s a bunch of projects I always wanted to make, so I’m going back to thinking about things again. I just started looking at films.”