Back in the ‘90s, Dawson’s Creek was the quintessential coming-of-age drama, making its cast stars overnight. Decades later, they are reuniting in support of one of their own, delivering on all the feels.
Television in the late ’90s to the early 2000s was considered to be the heyday for coming-of-age series, making its young stars among the most recognizable faces on the small screen. Shows like Roswell, Felicity, and Young Americans, among others had fans rushing home and tune in week after week to find out what happens next. But the show that pretty much started it all was a little series about four friends—Dawson, Joey, Pacey, and Jen—living in the fictional town of Capeside. Dawson’s Creek, which ran for six seasons on the WB from 1998 to 2003, became a runaway hit, making James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams stars practically overnight.
The show was both lauded and criticized for creator Kevin Williamson’s unconventional approach to the teen genre where the central characters—the nerdy filmmaker Dawson (Van Der Beek), the shy tomboy Joey (Holmes), the ‘can’t wait to grow up’ Pacey (Jackson), and city girl Jen (Williams)—would talk about love, relationships, and yes, sex, as though they learned to talk in the school of Aaron Sorkin. Twenty-seven years later, the show is still as much beloved now as it was back then.
On September 22, Dawson’s Creek’s cast reunited anew for Dawson’s Creek: A Class Reunion for a very special reason. The one-night-only event, held at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, was organized by Williams to help raise money for the organization F Cancer, and as a show of support for Van Der Beek, who had been battling colorectal cancer since 2023. The cast would do a live reading of the show’s pilot episode, alongside reminiscing about their days on the show. Aside from the four leads, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, Busy Philipps, John Wesley Shipp, Nina Repeta, Mary-Margaret Humes, and everyone’s favorite Grams, Mary-Beth Peil also made it out.
A few days before the show, Van Der Beek announced on his Instagram page that he would not be able to make it to the event due to illness. He expressed his disappointment, saying “This is the evening I have been looking forward to the most…despite every effort, I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in that theatre for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it the most.” He did announce an “a ridiculously overqualified replacement”—multi-awarded actor and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda—describing his as someone “my kids would definitely consider an upgrade over me…”
According to reports, the cast had a fun time reliving their moments on the show by way of their reading of the pilot episode. Especially Jackson a.k.a. Pacey’s misadventures with love and relationships, much to the delight of the audience. Not one to be left out of the evening’s affair, Van Der Beek did make a surprise appearance via video to share a message of appreciation to everyone in the room. He also came on a second time to introduce a musical performance by Norm Lewis.
Twenty years later
It was in 2018 when the world was granted another glimpse of the Dawson’s Creek cast together— on the cover of a special double issue of Entertainment Weekly (EW) in celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary. It was the first time they would be photographed together since the series finale.
In that interview, Holmes shared, “I think we’ve all sort of seen each other over the years, but not everybody all together, and never for long enough….It’s just a very, very special time in my life.” Jackson also praised show creator Kevin Williamson for taking a unique perspective on teen shows, saying “We had a feeling that we were pioneering a different way of telling stories about young people. Kevin never insulted the audience and never insulted [the actors] by dumbing us down. I loved that part.”
The special EW issue featured a cover with all four of DC’s lead actors, as well as individual covers featuring Holmes, Van Der Beek, Jackson, and one of Williams with co-star Busy Philipps—all of whom were eagerly snatched off the shelves by loyal fans.
A cancer diagnosis
In November 2024, Van Der Beek revealed that he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer in August the year before, and was undergoing treatment. He shared the news via People Magazine, saying that “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.” Juggling between treatments and time with family, the actor continued to work, taking on a guest appearance in Walker, then reprising his role as Leroy Lahey in Sidelined 2: Intercepted. He will next be seen playing Dean Wilson in the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle, set to premiere in 2026.
In an interview with Today.com in July, Van Der Beek describes his cancer journey as a process and a “full time job,” adjusting his lifestyle and habits as he saw fit. His priority in the midst of it is to focus on “the beauty of just taking things a little bit more slowly and prioritizing rest and really allowing that to be the job.” On his birthday last March, Van Der Beek shared a very personal message on his Instagram account, hoping to encourage others who are facing similar issues.
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I Don’t Wanna Wait
One of the most poignant moments on Dawson’s Creek: A Class Reunion was the cast coming together to sing the show’s now-classic theme song, Paula Cole’s I Don’t Wanna Wait, to the delight of fans in the house. The moment that hit home? When Van Der Beek’s two daughters walked on stage to sing a short solo, before the rest of the family joining in to close the show.
And as with most reunions, there were many happy tears and a few laughs as it drew to a close. But even more beautiful memories – for both the cast and the fans of one of television’s most beloved shows.
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