‘Dawson’s Creek’ Creator Kevin Williamson Lovingly Roasts the Late James Van Der Beek in Emotional Tribute

Few teen dramas left a mark quite like ‘Dawson’s Creek’. The series premiered on The WB on January 20, 1998, following aspiring filmmaker Dawson Leery and his friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts.

The show was created by Kevin Williamson, who based Dawson on his own experiences as a teenager. When it came time to cast the lead, he has said, he was essentially looking for himself, just a more camera-ready version.

That backstory gave extra weight to Williamson’s speech on October 3, when he accepted the Barbara Berlanti Hero Award at Greg Berlanti’s annual F Cancer benefit gala at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Remembering the late James Van Der Beek, he joked that the actor “started out as a brat.”

"Dawson’s Creek" creator Kevin Williamson jokes that the late James Van Der Beek "started out as a brat" on the beloved show: “I saw him go from a young kid to an extraordinary man, a husband, a father and a friend. James had a full character arc. He started out as a brat. He would get a script and he would call me, and he would be like, ‘Why do I have to say this word? Nobody knows what this word means.’ And I would say, ‘Well, don’t worry about it, the way you mumble nobody is going to hear it anyway.’ That was that was our relationship — Dawson talking to Dawson.” https://t.co/QeoVM77n61

— Variety (@Variety) October 4, 2026

Williamson was presented with the award by ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star Joshua Jackson and TV writer-producer Julie Plec. It recognized his work around a one-time ‘Dawson’s Creek’ table read held to support Van Der Beek following his cancer diagnosis and to benefit F Cancer.

Williamson said he was looking for a good-looking, handsome, camera-ready, great-jawline version of himself, and that Van Der Beek became that person. He called him the soul of the show and said he gave voice to his childhood. The actor, he added, was the ultimate upgrade.

Williamson said he watched Van Der Beek grow from a young kid into an extraordinary man, a husband, a father and a friend. Then he lightened the mood by joking that Van Der Beek had a full character arc, starting out as a brat.

He recalled how Van Der Beek would call after getting a script to complain about having to say words nobody understood. Williamson’s reply was that the way he mumbled, nobody would hear it anyway. He summed up their early dynamic to Deadline as “Dawson talking to Dawson.”

Van Der Beek died on February 11 at the age of 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer. He was diagnosed in 2023 and made his diagnosis public in 2024. Williamson told the crowd that losing him knocked him over, and that losing the man who gave life to his own youth is something he’s still unpacking.

He also called the September 2025 table read benefit one of the most special nights of his life. Van Der Beek couldn’t be there in person because his doctors wouldn’t let him travel, but Williamson said he still showed up in spirit.

Jackson told the audience that Van Der Beek’s health worsened in the days before the reading. He said Williamson gave both his time and his own money so that Van Der Beek’s family could be honored properly, allowing the actor’s children to sit in a room full of people celebrating their father.

The evening doubled as a mini reunion. Jackson was joined by co-star Mary-Margaret Humes, while Williamson, Plec and Berlanti also attended. Reports described the gathering as tearful, with Jackson and Plec both getting choked up talking about Van Der Beek.

Williamson also spoke about his mother, who died of lung cancer, noting that she was outraged that Joey picked Pacey over Dawson. His speech tied the personal and the on-screen together, from his mom’s loyalty to Dawson to the way Van Der Beek carried the character.

Rolling Stone’s tribute argued that the series hit arguably because of Van Der Beek, who made Dawson’s earnestness work from the very first episode. That sentiment was clearly shared by everyone in the room that night.

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