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DAWSON'S CREEK CAST TO DO PSAThe WB net will air its first primetime Public Service Announcement for an anti-drug campaign called "Think About It." The first announcement premieres on Oct. 14 during "Dawson's Creek." Top WB talent will be featured in the spots, including "Dawson's Creek" superteens James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson. (--- UltimateTV, 10/13/98)
NEWS: STORM HITS DAWSON'S CREEKWorst of all, however, Bonnie had Dawson Leery up that creek of his.
Production was shut down and cast and crew evacuated from the Wilmington, North Carolina, set of Dawson's Creek earlier this week as Bonnie approached. In all, 450,000 people in the region were forced to flee inland from the storm. (A film titled Takedown also closed down.)
So far, no serious injuries have been attributed to Bonnie.
Although James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Josh Jackson, Michelle Williams and pals escaped unscathed, there's no word yet on damage to the studio or to Wilmington-area locations used by the series, says a WB rep. All the show's teen angst-capades are shot in the Tar Heel state.
The cameras are set to begin rolling again Friday, with shooting going through the weekend to get production back on track.
In any case, the second season of Dawson's Creek will still kick off October 7. But don't look for a Bonnie-inspired storyline to pop up on the show anytime soon. "We did that one last year, an episode called 'The Hurricane,' " WB publicist Julie Kingsdale says. "I guess we were a little ahead of our time." (-- Marcus Errico, E!Online, 08/27/98)
Felicity Gets Dawson Time SlotPASADENA, Calif. - Overflowing with momentum from Dawson's Creek, The WB is sailing toward fall with another highly anticipated coming-of-age drama.
Felicity, the saga of a 17-year-old girl's first brush with college life and New York City, already is buoyed by favorable buzz from both TV critics and rival network executives who now wish they had it. The WB used the show to kick off its leg of the marathon summer "press tour," which ends Sunday with a presentation by the struggling UPN network.
Promoted as a show "that can change the way you look at the choices you make in life," Felicity will inherit the 8 p.m. Tuesday time slot that Dawson's Creek took by storm in January. The show initially was pitched to ABC, which may rue the day it said no.
Co-creator Matt Reeves - who directed Friends star David Schwimmer's first major feature film, The Pallbearer - said the traditional big broadcast networks may be a bit befuddled these days.
"I think it's a hard game for them to figure out what's going to work," he said Saturday. "I don't know how our show would fare on a bigger network. They have certain levels of [audience] expectations, and it's a huge risk to take a chance on a show like this. . . . We have nothing to lose. We're just going for broke."
Launched in January 1995, The WB already is No. 1 with teen viewers according to Nielsen ratings for last season. Shows such as Dawson's Creek (which is moving to Wednesdays at 7 p.m. this fall), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 7th Heaven and The Jamie Foxx Show have given the fledgling network cachet among Clearasil users. But Dawson's has become a juggernaut in so-called "upscale households," too. Nielsen Media Research data for the May sweeps said the show ranked fourth - behind only Seinfeld, Ally McBeal and Frasier - in homes with incomes of over $75,000. That enabled The WB to charge upward of $285,000 for a 30-second commercial during the show. Programs with older-audience appeal, many of them on CBS, can't get even half that price.
Felicity, which stars former Mouseketeer Keri Russell in the title role, shares at least one trait with The WB's other new dramas, Hyperion Bay and Charmed. All have co-stars who had roles on Dawson's Creek.
Scott Foley, who played high school jock Cliff on Dawson's, is a dorm advisor with a crush on Ms. Russell's character in Felicity. Dylan Neal, cast as Pacey Witter's browbeating, ambiguously gay older brother on Dawson's, is a brooding older bro in Hyperion. And Lori Rom stars as one of three comely witches in Charmed after playing a snooty beauty pageant hopeful in a Dawson's episode.
Asked whether the originally titled Hyperion was given a Bay in deference to Dawson's Creek's success, producer Joseph Dougherty joked that Felicity and Charmed soon will be renamed Felicity's Reservoir and Charmed Estuary.
Compensating for its losses, Dawson's Creek will add three characters this season, including brother and sister Jack and Andie McPhee (Kerr Smith and Meredith Monroe). The McPhees, newcomers to the show's home base of Capeside, will complicate the budding love lives of the incumbent foursome. Also look for a return appearance by teacher Tamara Jacobs, who had a Mrs. Robinson-esque affair with 15-year-old Pacey last season. (--- Ed Bark, Dallas Morning News, 07/26/98)
Dylan Neal (Deputy Doug) Leaves Show"There had been a whole bonding session between me and Pacey; it explained why I was being so tough on him. It turned out that our father was not that nice of a guy," said Neal. "We had this moment, and that story line was going to lead to the next year; but what you saw in the end gave no reference to that."
Although Neal probably will not be returning to "Dawson's Creek" next year, the former soap star will be returning to The WB. He co-stars with Mark-Paul Gosselaar ("Saved By the Bell") in the upcoming drama "Hyperion Bay." Neal will play Gosselaar's older brother, Nick, a former high school football star whose glory days are over. Neal said that he enjoyed working on "Dawson's," but cited a problem with logistics in shooting the new show as the reason for leaving the WB hit. (--- UltimateTV, 07/31/98)
KATIE HOLMES vs MICHELLE WILLIAMSNEW CAST MEMBERS: ANDIE & JACKThe success of the teen soaper ``Dawson's Creek'' has the producers scrambling to expand the cast. When the series goes back into production in North Carolina next month, they plan to have two more young actors on board to play new characters ``Andie'' and ``Jack.'' Currently being sought are a cute teen version of Meg Ryan and a thoughtful, quiet boy who knows as much about art and literature as James Van Der Beek's Dawson knows about films.
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