James Van Der Beek and Katie Holmes starred as Dawson Leery, Joey Potter, Pacey Witter, and Jen Lindley. A total of 128 episodes were produced, spanning six seasons. The show was created by Kevin Williamson and premiered on The WB as a mid-season replacement. It has been credited with kicking off a boom of teen-centered shows in the late 1990s that continued into the 2000s.
Dawson Leery is an introspective 15-year-old and aspiring filmmaker in the small New England town of Capeside, Massachusetts. Since childhood, he has been best friends with Josephine "Joey" Potter, who routinely comes over to his house through a ladder into his bedroom for movie-watching and platonic sleepovers. The series explores the characters' coming-of-age, dealing with topics such as first love, death, coming out, homophobia and homophobia.