I don’t wanna wait… for the Dawson’s Creek reunion any longer. Thankfully, my lack of patience wasn’t annoying because it happened on September 22. The original cast came together for a table read of the very first episode of Dawson’s Creek. This event benefits F Cancer and James Van Der Beek, who told fans about his stage three colorectal cancer diagnosis in 2024. Unfortunately, prior to the event, Van Der Beek announced via Instagram that he wouldn’t be able to participate in the Dawson’s Creek reunion, however; Lin-Manuel Miranda would take his place.
That’s right, the ten dollar founding father without a father will step in as Dawson for this special event. We certainly didn’t see that coming but it is a delightful bit of news. The reunion event will take place at Richard Rodgers Theater in NYC, which is where Hamilton has its shows. Van Der Beek says he is currently not feeling well with a stomach illness and gave fans the details on what’s going on.
“This is the evening I’d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January,” he wrote. “So you can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment. Despite every effort… I won’t get to be there.”
He continued, “But I DO have an understudy. A ridiculously overqualified replacement who would have been #1 on my wishlist (had I ever dreamed he’d be available). Someone my kids would definitely consider an upgrade over me… Plus, he already knows how to get to the theater. So that’s convenient. The role of ‘Dawson,’ usually played by James Van Der Beek…Will be played by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Can’t believe I just got to type that.”
The cast also included Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps. Philipps, Smith and Monroe did not join the cast until after its first season. But they read different roles from the 1998 pilot episode. It’s lovely to see everyone coming together for a great cause.
According to People, fans did get a surprise when Van Der Beek appeared via video during the Dawson’s Creek reunion. We have a snippet of the live event, thanks to Back to You, Bob!, a podcast about the series.
So far, there’s no video of the script reading online, so we will have to wait and see how Lin-Manuel measured up at Dawson. We are sure he did really well in the room where it happens.
Originally published September 22, 2025.