Joshua Jackson has come a long way since his days as wisecracking Pacey Witter in the teen drama Dawson’s Creek. His frightening turn as Christopher Duntsch (aka Dr. Death) made that quite clear. But now, the actor is switching genres by signing on for a new romantic drama after declaring Pacey and Joey forever.
The new drama was announced as part of Starz’s television upfronts on May 19. The Dawson’s Creek veteran will co-star in the untitled drama alongside Eternals’ Lauren Ridloff. Queen Sugar creator Ava DuVernay will serve as executive producer for the developing series. The network has great confidence in the drama as it ordered a script-to-series commitment if the series is officially greenlit. Through this commitment, the upcoming series will get three six-episode seasons if the cable network approves the pilot. DuVernay couldn’t help but express her excitement over bringing the romantic drama to TV viewers.
I’m thrilled to develop this passion project with Lauren, Josh, and Kat [Candler]. STARZ and Warner Bros. Television have made a bold production commitment to immediately explore three seasons, and we’re revved up and ready to begin what I hope will be a beautiful journey for all involved.
Given its focus on romance, the half-hour drama will follow two opposites who turn each other’s world upside down upon becoming entangled in a love affair. The series will see Jackson and Ridloff having to navigate their new romance as a hearing person and a deaf person. Not only will they deal with the physical limitations, but they’ll also have to push against other issues like race, gender, and class. The two lovers will continue to become emotionally and physically intertwined despite adversity.
This isn’t the first time that the series leads have played opposite each other. The Dr. Death actor and the Eternals actress played romantic interests in a 2018 revival of the Tony-nominated play Children of a Lesser God. DuVernay is also bringing over some cohorts from her OWN drama series Queen Sugar. Kat Candler and Paul Games will serve as executive producers alongside the Wrinkle in Time director. Candler will also write the pilot and serve as showrunner for the untitled drama. DuVernay will be in charge of the writers’ room while STARZ VP Kathryn Tyus-Adair will oversee the production.
Joshua Jackson is Joey and Pacey’s Number One Supporter
Throughout the series’ run, it was obvious that Katie Holmes’ Joey and James Van Der Beek’s Dawson were intended to be the endgame couple. But watching Joey and Pacey’s scenes together made the argument that the two friends were the true endgame.
Recently, Jackson let everybody know that he’s the number one Pacey and Joey shipper. The actor admitted to Entertainment Weekly that he was the onscreen couple’s biggest advocate during his time on the WB drama.
I am the advocate! I was like ‘Hell no! No. No. No. That’s not gonna work for me.’ I had a whole conversation with Kevin [Williamson] about this. Like ‘Look, I get it. This is the idea that you had in your head, but I’m just gonna ask you to watch the tale of the tape and this is the more interesting end for these characters.’
But his overzealousness didn’t stop at pestering series creator Kevin Williamson. The TV and film actor spilled that he would get giddy when the scripts featured Joey and Pacey scenes. He recalled his favorite episode being “Castaways” from Season 6 (one of Dawson’s best) where the couple got stuck inside a K-Mart after hours despite his strong opinion on the final two seasons. After hammering home his agenda to Williamson, The Affair actor still wasn’t sure if the series was going to fulfill the promise until Williamson came back for the series finale.
[Kevin Williamson] only came back to write the finale. So, I knew whenever we got the finale script.
Of course, the teen drama ended with the couple living their best lives in New York. The new developing Starz series may be Jackson’s next big TV romance. It would mark the actor’s first ongoing series regular role since The Affair ended in 2018, as Dr. Death was a miniseries. Romance isn’t the only thing on the Fringe vet’s mind as he and Lizzy Caplan are attached to bring the classic erotic thriller Fatal Attraction to Paramount+ as a television series. If you want to be kept updated on these shows, you can check out our 2022 TV schedule for premiere dates.
In the meantime, you watch all six seasons of Dawson’s Creek by getting an HBO Max subscription.
