Dawson's Creek

Dawson's Creek is an American serial television drama aimed at teenagers, which aired in hour-long episodes from 1998 to 2003. The show is semi-autobiographical, being based on the small-town childhood of its creator Kevin Williamson, who also wrote the slasher film Scream. The lead character, Dawson Leery, shares Williamson's interests and background. Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, the show was set in a small Massachusetts seaside town and focused on four friends who began their sophomore year of high school as the show began. The program, part of a craze for teen-themed movies and television shows in America in the late 1990s, made stars of its leads and was a defining show for its network, The WB. Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times declared in 2005 that "The WB is turning out to be the television equivalent of the United Nations" and that "Dawson's Creek was its Dag Hammarskjöld: It was the first series bold enough to pick up the mantle of Beverly Hills, 90210 and an inspiration for many variations on the teenage angst theme, including The O.C. on Fox".

Related Topics:
American - Drama - Teenager - 1998 - 2003 - Autobiographic - Kevin Williamson - Slasher film - Scream - Dawson Leery - Wilmington - North Carolina - Massachusetts - Sophomore - High school - 1990s - The WB - The New York Times - 2005 - United Nations - Dag Hammarskjöld - Beverly Hills, 90210 - Angst - The O.C. - Fox

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The show generated an unusual amount of publicity before its debut, with several television critics and watchdog groups expressing concerns about its anticipated "racy" plots and dialogue; the controversy even drove one of the original production companies away from the project but numerous critics praised it for its realism and intelligent dialogue that included allusions to American television icons such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. By the end of its run, the show, its crew, and its young cast had been nominated for over a dozen awards, winning four of them.

Related Topics:
Critic - Watchdog - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Mary Tyler Moore Show

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The series was known for the verbosity and complexity of the dialogue between its teen characters. The lead character Dawson often demonstrated vocabulary and cultural awareness to outdo the average graduate student, yet that was combined with an emotional immaturity and self-absorption reflecting actual teenagers. This precociousness has been a staple of a number of teen shows since, notably including Gilmore Girls and The O.C..

Related Topics:
Graduate student - Teenager - Gilmore Girls - The O.C.

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The lead production company was Columbia Tri-Star Television. Reruns of the show are currently seen in the US in syndication on TBS.

Related Topics:
Columbia Tri-Star Television - Syndication - TBS

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