Synopsis of TV Show

Right from the start, Dawson’s Creek was a different kind of teen show: it didn’t lapse into moralistic drama or goofball comedy. It simply pushed its characters to the forefront, building the stories around them instead of throwing them into contrived situations.

A combination of soap opera and teen coming-of-age story, Dawson's Creek focused on a quartet of teens living in the idyllic small town of Capeside, Massachusetts. Dawson was an angst-ridden but intelligent teen who idolized Steven Spielberg. When he wasn’t agonizing over his life and relationships, he spent much of his time trying to further his ambition of becoming a great filmmaker. On the best friend from, Dawson had Joey. She (yes, a she-Joey, and if you have a problem, you can take it up with Dawson) had known Dawson since childhood, and despite the fact that they were like brother and sister, she found herself falling for him romantically as they moved into their mid-teenage years.

However, Joey’s budding romance-to-be with Dawson was complicated by the arrival of Jen, a sophisticated girl who came to live with her grandparents in Capeside. As the new kid in town, she both tried to come to terms with Capeside’s small-town mentality and tried to forget the mistakes that caused her to leave her old home of New York City.

Pacey rounded out the starring quartet as the group's resident ‘outsider.’ He somehow managed to be even more angst-ridden than Dawson, and his need to follow his heart at all costs often got him into trouble.

Dawson’s Creek was the brainchild of Kevin Williamson, who became a red-hot screenwriter at the end of the 90’s by penning horror hits like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. However, his next writing venture took him in a different direction from both film and the horror genre when he decided to create a one-hour slice-of-life drama about teenagers for the WB Network. The result was Dawson’s Creek.

Dawson's Creek remains a potent force of teen hipness on the WB schedule. Though it has never been a smash hit in the ratings (mostly because of its place on the still-fledgling WB network), Dawson's Creek has maintained consistent popularity via a cult of teen and young adult viewers. The fans look up to Dawson and the gang because the show allows these characters to speak for themselves and make their own decisions as they work their way towards adulthood. This has allowed the young actors who play the characters to strike a universal chord with young adults all over the world. Each of the stars are successfully pursuing film careers thanks to their popularity from the show.

Another key element of the show’s continuing popularity is its ability to take a realistic sense of what it’s like to be a teen (the sweaty palms, glandular-driven emotional swings, constant daydreaming, sudden crushes, etc.) and place it in a fictional context that represents what people wish their teen years could have been like. On Dawson’s Creek, the people are attractive and intelligent, they always know the cool-sounding way to translate their thoughts and feelings into words, the town always looks heavenly, and the hip music of the moment is always underscoring the drama of the characters’ lives. As long as there are people who dream about having lives like this, there will always be room on television for Dawson’s Creek.

Release History of Prime Time Show

1/20/98 - ? WB

TV Sub Categories

drama

Television Network

WB

Television Studio

Columbia Tristar Television

TV Cast

Dawson Leery James Van Der Beek
Josephine "Joey" Potter Katie Holmes
Jennifer "Jen" Lindley Michelle Williams
Pacey Witter Joshua Jackson
Mrs. Gail Leery..Mary-Margaret Humes  
Mr. Mitchell Leery John Wesley Shipp
Evelyn "Grams" Ryan Mary Beth Peil
Bessie Potter Nina Repeta
Andrea "Andie" McPhee Meredith Monroe
Jack McPhee Kerr Smith
Abby Morgan (1998-99) Monica Keena
Nicole Kennedy (1999-) Madchen Amick
Eve Brittany Daniel
Belinda Vanessa Dorman
Kenny Reiling Colin Fickes
Unknown Scott Foley
Bodie Obi Ndefo
Colin Manchester (1999-) Nick Stabile

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