Dawson Bids "Creek" Goodbye

To paraphrase Paula Cole, if the kids from Capeside had waited much longer, their lives would be over.

Or at least any chance the actors had of parlaying six seasons on the WB's Dawson's Creek into any sort of viable film career.

Five years after Joey Potter first snuck into Dawson Leery's bedroom window, the WB is closing the curtains on the series that anchored the netlet as the number one teen destination. The show's launch generated the WB's highest ever ratings in January 1998 and was tops among young demos.

Lately, however, the show had seen a ratings dip and, with the cast's contracts up on the show, a mutual decision was made to pull the Creek's plug.

Fans will be consoled with a two-hour series finale on May 14.

"Dawson's Creek has been a wonderful, amazing experience and I feel very bittersweet about ending such a great show. We all thank the incredible fans that have supported us for these past six years," said girl-next-door star Katie Holmes in a statement released today.

Holmes' sentiments were echoed by WB entertainment president Jordan Levin in a statement released this weekend. "With deepest respect and appreciation, we have agreed to allow the writers, producers and cast of Dawson's Creek to end their series with the creative integrity and enthusiasm which they have so passionately and professionally maintained over the course of their long and continually successful run."

The network exec praised the series as a defining force at the Frog. "We will always carry an emotional attachment to Dawson's Creek for without it the WB would not exist," Levin said. "The show defined who we are and reflected the aspirational voice of the next generation of television viewers. The WB has grown up alongside the cast and in the process the series became a defining and life-altering experience for all involved.

It was all about timing, according to regular Kerr Smith, who played Jack McPhee. "It's been an unbelievable experience the last five years. It's the best crew and cast I've ever worked with. I'm going to miss everybody but unfortunately...its time to go," said Smith.

Created by Kevin Williamson, the teen drama began as earnest young Dawson & Co. sweated out puberty in sleepy Capeside, Massachusetts. After graduation, the series followed the titular lead, his five o'clock shadow and friends out into the real world.

Along the way the show made stars out of its original cast, James Van Der Beek, Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson, to varying degrees (who can forget Varsity Blues?), and newfound Hollywood whiz-kid Williamson was able to launch the Scream movie franchise. The Creek planted the first prime-time male-to-male smooch on network television and featured a rotating pool of up-and-coming hotties (including Eddie Cahill, Oliver Hudson, and Chad Michael Murray). The show was a pop-culture touchstone and pioneered the cross-promoting of everything from clothes to music.

With the clock ticking, one important question gripped fans on the WB's chat boards today: Who will end up with Joey? "I don't want to see Dawson's Creek end, but if it's going to then I think that Joey and Dawson should be together," opined Creekster Angel.

Not everyone wants to see the childhood buddies walk off into the sunset together. "Please, on everything that is good and holy, let Pacey and Joey really get back together," wrote Jackie E. "Why are people saying Dawson and Joey are meant to be? Have you watched the same show as I have? They've always made each other miserable," offered a fan named Fran.

A similar debate gripped Felicity fans last spring as the hair-today gone-tomorrow heroine had to choose between true loves Ben and Noel (she picked Ben.)

With Dawson's Creek joining the list of dearly departed WB shows, including Felicity, Roswell and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which jumped to UPN), the Frog's pond no longer looks as familiar. Cute college coeds are making way for more varied programming, which runs the gamut from family-friendly Gilmore Girls and Everwood, to half-baked reality series High School Reunion and Surreal Life.

Season to date, 7th Heaven retains its divine hold as the WB's number one show. Now in its seventh season, the Camden family drama attracted an average 7 million faithful. Meanwhile Dawson's Creek trailed behind Smallville, Gilmore Girls, Charmed and Reba this season. Just last week the aging rockers and has-been starlets of Surreal Life scored 3.7 million suckers to Dawson's 3.6 million loyal.