20 years after its last episode, how 'Dawson's Creek' spawned a 'Wilmington model' of film

Not to state the obvious, but if you grew up as a teenaged fan of television drama "Dawson's Creek," well, you're not a teenager anymore.

One of the most popular TV series ever filmed in the Wilmington area, it's been 25 years since the first episode of "Dawson's Creek" aired Jan. 20, 1998, and 20 years since it ended on May 14, 2003.

Two decades after the final episode of "Dawson's Creek's" six-season run aired, however, the show's impact is still being felt in Wilmington.

Created by New Bern native Kevin Williamson, who shot to fame as the writer of 1996 horror movie "Scream," the show was set in the fictional Massachusetts town of Capeside and focused on the life struggles, family issues and romantic travails of four wholesome-looking teens: Dawson Leery, played by James Van Der Beek; his best friend, Pacey Witter, played by Joshua Jackson; Dawson's girlfriend, Joey Potter, played by Katie Holmes; and the new girl in town, Jen Lindley, played by Michelle Williams.

The show aired on Warner Bros. network The WB and quickly became a hit.

"Wilmington had done a little bit of series work before," said Wilmington Regional Film Commission Director Johnny Griffin, including "Matlock" and CBS show "American Gothic." "But 'Dawson's Creek' became the one that put us on the map — not just in terms of notoriety, but in the (film and TV) industry looking at Wilmington."

Griffin said "Dawson's Creek" gave rise to something studios called "the Wilmington model," where a show would pay top cast members a flat fee to temporarily relocate and then shoot a season of 20 or so episodes using local crew and locations.

A recent story in People Magazine noted that CW drama "One Tree Hill," which ran from 2003 to 2012, and Amazon Prime's massively popular "The Summer I Turned Pretty," which will air its second season starting in July, "have directly followed in the show's footsteps by also filming in Wilmington."

More local film: Wilmington locations in 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' show the area at its beachy best

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" in particular has drawn attention for being a so-called postcard for the Wilmington area, but with its lingering shots of area waterways, beaches and the Port City's small-town charm, "Dawson's Creek" did it first.

"I feel like 'Dawson's Creek' brought our beautiful city into the homes of people around the country," said Nina Repeta, a Wilmington-based actress and North Carolina native who was living in Los Angeles when she was cast as Bessie Potter, big sister to Katie Holmes' character Joey.

"The show was really a pioneer in the way it used music," Repeta said, with songs like Paula Cole's hit "I Don't Wanna Wait" becoming indelibly tied to "Dawson's Creek," and in "how each episode looked like a feature film," as opposed to the look of many popular '90s shows shot on sets. ("Dawson's" used some sets, but it was mostly location shoots.)

Past film and TV projects had shown Wilmington's gritty side ("Blue Velvet") or historic side ("Matlock"), but "Dawson's Creek" focused on the beauty of the Wilmington area in a way that made it almost aspirational as a place to live, and fans responded by coming to visit in droves.

"No one knew it was going to be a hit, but it was a huge hit," Griffin said. "It had this rabid fan base that wanted to see the locations."

Many outlets have done entire stories on the Wilmington locations used in Dawson's Creek. Just a few include the Hell's Kitchen bar and restaurant on Princess Street, Pender's Cafe on Front Street and the University of North Carolina Wilmington campus, which stood in for Capeside High School.

"Dawson's Creek" was the first show that spawned a measurable flow of tourist traffic to Wilmington, albeit one later topped by "One Tree Hill." Once the show got popular, "the crowds would show up" to where they were shooting on any given day, Repeta said.

She said one of her fondest memories is shooting at the old Ice House bar on Water Street, which has since been torn down but featured an outdoor bar built to look like a little tugboat. Fans had gathered across the street, and at some point Josh Jackson cajoled the crew into singing "Happy Birthday" to a fan who was there to catch a glimpse of the actors.

"I thought that was just the sweetest thing ever," Repeta said. "They never lost sight of, 'Without the fans, you're nothing.' I loved being a part of that."

On the show, Repeta's character was an unmarried mother with a biracial child, and "every episode, Joey and Bessie would fight, and then they would make up." She said the fans who reached out to her were often single mothers, or women with biracial children, or women who had difficult relationships with their sisters.

In 2020 "Dawson's Creek" hit the Netflix streaming service, reviving some interest in the show, which can currently be streamed on Hulu. Certainly, the fact that so many of its stars have gone on to high-profile careers hasn't hurt its longevity.

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Michelle Williams has been nominated for multiple Oscars and has talked about how her time in Wilmington shaped her. Katie Holmes went on to star in a "Batman" movie and had a high-profile marriage to mega-star Tom Cruise.

Josh Jackson has become an in-demand character actor, and recently returned to work in Wilmington for the first time since "Dawson's" wrapped, although the "Untitled J&L Project" recently shut down due to the Hollywood writers' strike.

The show's popularity has prompted questions of whether it could be rebooted, although it's been repeatedly shut down.

Wilmington film: Port City remakes -- 7 Wilmington movies or TV shows that could, or should, see new life

"Shout out to Kevin Williamson for choosing Wilmington, and then coming back" with other projects, like the "Scream" reboot in 2021, Repeta said. "I'm glad he saw the gem we had, not just the locations but the crew as well. He helped make Wilmington a place where filmmakers can live."

Before "Dawson's Creek," Repeta noted, "Wilmington was like was this secret little town."

It's not so secret anymore.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington show Dawson's Creek aired its final episode 20 years ago