Why James Van Der Beek Doesn’t Want His Kids to Watch ‘Dawson’s Creek’

Even though Dawson’s Creek remains a fan-favorite among millennials and even the younger generations, thanks to streaming, James Van Der Beek has no plans to show it to his kids. The father of six starred on the beloved late WB drama as the titular Dawson Leery. The show is streaming on Tubi, Hulu, and Prime Video, giving fans old and new plenty of access, unless you’re Van Der Beek’s child.

While appearing on The View, the actor looked back at Dawson’s Creek’s popularity, and when he was asked if he lets his kids watch the show, he shared that he doesn’t. “It’s a great show, I love the show,” Van Der Beek said. “I think other kids can watch it. I don’t think my kids need to watch their dad pretend to go through puberty. That’s my stance on it.”

Van Der Beek’s reason does make sense, since he was a 21-year-old acting like he was a high schooler. Of course, Van Der Beek can’t always keep track of what his kids are watching, and it’s very possible in the future, one of his kids will eventually wind up watching Dawson’s.

That being said, just because the Van Der Beeks don’t watch Dawson’s Creek doesn’t mean they aren’t up to speed with the memes. The Varsity Blues star shared a story of how he sent his daughter a meme of him dancing when she got a phone, and she immediately sent back the iconic Dawson crying meme.

Meanwhile, since Dawson’s is still so loved, will there ever be a reboot? Perhaps one more appropriate for James Van Der Beek’s kids? Katie Holmes shared in 2023 that she wasn’t sure how it would do in “the setting of today’s world” but said there have been discussions in the past. There are always reboots and revivals happening these days, and it can definitely be a hit or a miss. It would be hard to reboot a show like Dawson’s Creek because you can’t just capture that same magic or the same drama today, but you never know what could happen.