90s TV icon Joshua Jackson earned heartthrob status for his ‘charming’ role as Pacey Witter and now fans can revisit the series in full on ITVX.
Coming-of-age drama Dawson’s Creek, which ran for six seasons, gained a cult following for its portrayal of teen struggles. Set in Massachusetts, it follows the lives of a tight-knit group navigating friendship and romance, as well as tackling homophobia, class disparity and mental health issues.
Over its five-year run, from 1998 to 2003, the series cemented its young cast as TV stars. Jackson starred alongside Katie Holmes as tomboy Joey Potter, Michelle Williams as the new girl in town, Jen Lindley and James Van Der Beek as the titular character Dawson Leery.
Penned by Kevin Williamson, who is behind iconic titles including The Vampire Diaries, Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, Dawson’s Creek gave Jackson his breakout role.
His character Pacey is the class clown of the group, despite having a difficult home life. His parents mistreat him by calling him names and his family has a history of alcoholism.
In spite of this, he won fans over for being a romantic at heart. The series placed Jackson’s character at the heart of a love triangle between Dawson, Joey and Pacey that fans are still discussing 26 years after its premiere.
The divisive love triangle stemmed from an early episode of the drama where Joey and Pacey are partnered up for a school project and their chemistry was clear to viewers. Even so, the writers paired the teen girl with Dawson until season three when Pacey finally gets the girl.
One fan, who watched the series as it aired, shared on Reddit their experience rooting for Pacey and Joey to end up together: “I was definitely in the minority. I think by mid season three about 70% of the fandom had jumped aboard the [Pacey and Joey] train.”
Viewers have since debated if Joey should have stayed with Dawson but they are on the same page about Pacey’s charm. On Reddit, another fan asked: “Why is Pacey Witter the perfect man? I am a grown woman and I can’t get over the perfection that is Pacey Witter. I don’t even understand how one person can have such charisma. That is all.”
Another viewer responded, praising the actor: “I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. And also Joshua Jackson embodied Pacey’s character with his superb acting skills, charm, charisma and ad-libbing. I don’t think anybody could have played the role of Pacey Witter better.”
A third user joked: “I’m watching Dr Death now and Joshua Jackson plays an insane serial killer surgeon and while he is absolutely nailing it, in the back of my mind I’m always like ‘Pacey no why what are you doing?!'”
Good news for UK viewers, the teen adventures of Pacey and the gang are available to stream for free.
Dawson’s Creek is available to stream on ITVX