Dawson's Creek: The 90s teen drama that 'wore its heart on its sleeve'

James Van Der Beek talks to BBC Radio 1 about Dawson's Creek coming to an end in 2003Full confession. Dawson's Creek was my guilty pleasure in the late 90s. Truthfully, I was probably a little too old to watch it in my early 20s, but my friends and I would often find ourselves under the duvet on the sofa on a Sunday morning after a big night out, nursing our hangovers with a cuppa and a side of American teen drama.We might have giggled at the unrealistically articulate monologues, but secretly wished we'd also had that pitch-perfect snappy riposte to dole out to a disappointing boyfriend (or two).The hit show was created by Kevin Williamson, who was also behind the Scream franchise and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and has previously described working on the Dawson's Creek as "a charmed experience".It followed a group of teenage friends living in the fictional small town of Capeside, Massachusetts, navigating the ups and downs of adolescence.And Dawson Leery – played by James Van Der Beek, who has died aged 48 – was always at the centre of the series, which ran from 1998 to 2003.The aspiring floppy-haired filmmaker could be sensitive but manipulative, loveable yet irritating. And Van Der Beek made the role his own.Getty Images"The show was built around him," Emily Longeretta, director of features at Variety, told BBC News."The creator Kevin Williamson has said many times… that Dawson was based on him [Williamson] and he had to find the right person to do that, and James immediately stepped into that role," she added."He took this character that was not a jock or the cool kid in high school and… made him loveable, someone that people fall in love with, that was not afraid to be emotional, something that a lot of men on TV, especially young men… it's frowned upon. "James Van Der Beek was able to do that with such eloquence, his emotional connection and authenticity really came through the screen."The show made stars of its key cast, including Dawson's childhood friend and love interest Joey (Katie Holmes), his friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson), new girl in town Jen (Michelle Williams) and Audrey (Busy Philipps).While the series had a very respectable if not huge audience in the US for the time – averaging about six million viewers throughout its run – it was also broadcast in 50 countries, including the UK and Australia, where it enjoyed a cult following. A world away from the glamour of other teen shows such as Beverly Hills 90210, it tackled real-life issues such as loss, grief, sexuality, mental health and heartbreak but in an accessible and gentle way that connected with young viewers.TV critic Scott Bryan told the BBC: "The show was a breakthrough because it was one of the first that talked to teens like adults. "It was a show that very much had its heart on its sleeve, with the characters openly talking to each other about their feelings (and their feelings for each other). It didn't look down on its audience, and it featured performances that were more fleshed out than its rivals."Indeed, parental figures were very much on the periphery. Joey's mother had died and her father was in prison; Dawson's parents become preoccupied with their divorce; Jen lived with her grandmother and Pacey had a difficult relationship with his alcoholic father.Getty ImagesThe teens were almost precociously self-aware, which admittedly made us roll our eyes at some of the dialogue on occasion.But with few grown-ups available to model emotional literacy, the kids had no choice but to attempt it themselves.The main focus of all the handwringing was, of course, the love triangle between Dawson, Joey and Pacey.Dawson ugly-crying as he "sets Joey free" to be with Pacey is still a hugely popular meme. We may have groaned, but, as Anita Singh wrote in the Telegraph on Wednesday: "It's a testament to Van Der Beek that he maintained the character's popularity and his role at the heart of the series. Nobody wanted this hero to get the girl, but they did want him to be happy."Getty ImagesA cast reunion and cancer benefit took place last year; Van Der Beek was too ill to attend but sent a video messageDawson's Creek was also groundbreaking. It featured one of the first gay kisses on primetime US TV – certainly the first between two teenagers – when Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) and Ethan (Adam Kaufman) locked lips in series three.Television in the 1990s and early Noughties wasn't exactly famed for LGBT inclusion, so the moment when Pacey defended his friend Jack after he was asked by a teacher to read aloud a personal poem he had written about coming out, felt seismic.Showrunner Williamson told Entertainment Weekly in 2018: "I had just, in my 20s, gone through the coming-out process and had told my parents I was gay. "I had taken that whole journey, and I wanted a character on the show to represent that journey and to represent that side of me."Speaking of his own role in his first Dawson's Creek interview after joining the show at the age of 20, Van Der Beek said: "I'm reliving all my adolescent nightmares, the girlfriends who dumped me, the lonely nights at middle school dances. They're all coming back to haunt me now! "But I'm having a great time," he reflected. "This is what I wanted to do."Additional reporting by Kate Moore.'One in a billion': Dawson's Creek stars lead tributes to James Van Der BeekDawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek dies aged 48