During those few years when it seemed like TV was rebooting every beloved show from your childhood, there was a brief moment when Dawson’s Creek was almost among them.
When Dawson’s Creek ended in 2003, the generation-defining series wrapped up its story with a mix of happy endings and heartbreak. Spoilers for 22 years ago, obviously, but Joey (Katie Holmes) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson) finally made it work after so, so many tries, while Dawson (James Van Der Beek) became the ascendant filmmaker he always wanted to be. But as they all looked ahead to the future, they also said goodbye to Jen (Michelle Williams), who died of heart failure in the final episode after imparting wisdom and love on each of her friends.
It all seemed so buttoned up, yet the show’s original creator, Kevin Williamson, says there were conversations about going back to the Creek. Speaking exclusively to TV Insider on the set of his upcoming Netflix drama series The Waterfront, which was shot in Wilmington, North Carolina (where Dawson’s Creek also filmed), Williamson reveals those discussions happened in the time after the rush of charity cast reunions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prospect of a revival even piqued the interest of the original cast.
“I thought Dawson’s Creek was behind me and in the past, but they desperately kept trying to get me to go back to it when there was that reboot craze,” Williamson says. “They kept trying and trying to get me, trying to get James, trying to get Katie, and get us all involved.”
Sony Pictures / Everett Collection
According to Williamson, the cast was into the idea, but the timing never seemed to work out. “James wanted to do it, but then Josh was busy,” he says. “Katie wanted to do it, then James was busy. No one could come to terms at the same time to put it together.”
Williamson wouldn’t divulge how far into these discussions he and the cast went, but ultimately, the scheduling struggles opened up a bigger conversation about whether or not they should reopen the book of Dawson’s Creek at all.
“We kind of just went, ‘We did it and it was good,’” Williamson explains. “And what would it be today? We did the finale, we felt it was complete, we did five years in the future. You could definitely do a story about the children of [these characters] if you wanted to. You could maybe even do a This Is Us sort of thing. But ultimately, we felt like maybe it could live again in another way, but not as a reboot.”
What way that might be has yet to reveal itself, and it’s not like the scheduling issue has gotten any easier. Jackson stars in ABC’s Doctor Odyssey and the upcoming Karate Kid: Legends film. Holmes just returned to Broadway in the revival of Our Town and guest-starred in the second season of Peacock’s Poker Face. Van Der Beek continues to raise his sprawling family, and pop up in projects like Overcompensating and Sidelined: The QB and Me.
Williamson has also never been more booked and busy. In addition to directing Scream 7, he is about to debut a very personal story with The Waterfront, which not only brought him back to Wilmington, but also incorporates elements of his own life, similar to what he did with Dawson’s Creek. He will premiere the series with the cast at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on May 29, in addition to participating in a career retrospective and a fireside chat with frequent collaborator Julie Plec.
In other words, don’t expect Williamson, Van Der Beek, Jackson, and Holmes to be able to sync up their calendars for a return to Capeside anytime soon.