'Dawson's Creek' reunion! Cast reuniting to support James Van Der Beek amid cancer battle

"Dawson's Creek" fans don't have to wait much longer for a cast reunion.

The teen drama show's stars James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps are all set to reunite for a charity event on Sept. 22.

The actors will gather at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City for a live reading of the series' first episode to support Van Der Beek, who is battling colorectal cancer, and benefit the nonprofit F Cancer. Tickets for the event go on sale on Friday, Aug. 22.

"We grew up in Capeside, and that's a bond that will last a lifetime," Williams said. "We wanted to gather around our dear friend James and remind him that we are all here. We always have been and we always will be."

"Dawson's Creek," a popular drama about a group of friends in a fictional Massachusetts town, originally aired for six seasons, from 1998 to 2003, on The WB.

Philipps, Smith and Monroe, who were not in the "Dawson's Creek" pilot episode, they plan to read "various roles" during the live event. Series creator Kevin Williamson is also on board with the reunion as a producer.

"'Dawson’s Creek' changed my life," Williamson said. "What began as a personal story about a young man and his friends navigating their way through the challenges of life became so much more than I ever dreamed. It created an enduring fandom and legacy all over the world. I am so honored to be a part of it and to support our beautiful friend, James, as we continue to navigate our way through life and its many challenges."

Van Der Beek, 48, shared his diagnosis of colorectal cancer, or colon cancer, in a November 2024 statement to People magazine. At the time, the actor said he had been "privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it."

"There's reason for optimism, and I'm feeling good," he also told People.

Colon cancer is the third most common kind of cancer diagnosed in the United States, and it typically affects people 50 or older, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

In an interview with USA TODAY published in August, Van Der Beek shared that his cancer battle has given him a deeper sense of self-love.

"When I was getting treatment and away from the beautiful cacophony of six kids and 36 acres and five dogs and a bearded dragon and the beautiful chaos that is my life, in the quiet, I realized how negatively I was talking to myself," he said. "And so, that started a whole journey of just recognizing how important self-love is and how necessary and how simple it is."

Van Der Beek also shared that his cancer diagnosis led him to recommit to acting after he'd considered taking a step back. He's set to appear in the upcoming "Legally Blonde" prequel series, "Elle."

"For a minute, I thought, 'You know what? I don't need acting," he told USA TODAY. "I don't need it in the way that I did before. I'm very, very happy just doing this here with my family. And then, when I got cancer, I realized I love to tell stories. Acting is actually a real passion. Writing is a real passion, and I need to feed that. So, I joke that I'm the only guy I know who got cancer and realized I need to work more."

Contributing: Charles Trepany, USA TODAY