The Dawson’s Creek Cast Reunion Brought The Tears

The Dawson’s Creek cast “didn’t want to wait” any longer to reunite. On September 22, the stars of the seminal 1998 series, including leads Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, and Joshua Jackson, came together in New York for the Dawson’s Creek Class Reunion, where they performed a script reading of the pilot episode. And they made a very special gesture in honor of the co-star who couldn’t join them.

The event was set up by Williams to support James Van Der Beek, who played the titular role of Dawson Leery for all six seasons, and was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in November 2024. He was scheduled to participate in the reading, but announced on Instagram the day before that he had to drop out after developing “two stomach viruses,” saying he was “gutted” to cancel.

However, Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly, and their six children — 14-year-old daughter Olivia, 13-year-old son Joshua, 11-year-old daughter Annabel, 9-year-old daughter Emilia, 6-year-old daughter Gwendolyn, and 2-year-old son Jeremiah — still made the trip to New York for the event, and participated in a very special way.

After the reading, the cast came back out to sing the iconic Dawson’s Creek theme song, Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want To Wait.” This time, they were joined by two of Van Der Beek’s daughters, who got special solos, before the rest of their family came out to finish the song. During their performance, fans noted that Holmes and Jackson held hands.

James Van Der Beek’s Message

In lieu of his absence, Van Der Beek recorded a video message that aired before the reading, stating that he had been looking forward to the event “for months and months” ever since “my angel” Williams told him that she wanted to set up a reunion. He went on to share his gratitude for his Dawson’s Creek co-stars and all of the fans who attended.

“I can't believe I'm not there,” he said. “I can't believe I don't get to see my cast mates, my beautiful cast in person. I want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theater for being here tonight. From the cast to the crew to everybody who's doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you – you are the best fans in the world.”

Van Der Beek also took the opportunity to introduce his “understudy” Lin-Manuel Miranda, who he joked his kids “would consider an upgrade.” It was a fitting choice considering that the reunion took place at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre, the home of his iconic musical Hamilton. “You were a hero to my kids before,” Van Der Beek wrote on Instagram. “Now you’re a demigod.”