Dawson’s Creek Is About to Hit Netflix—Without the Original Theme Song

Netflix confirmed that Dawson's Creek will arrive on the streaming service on Nov. 1. But here's why you shouldn't expect to hear "I Don't Want to Wait."

By Jonathan Borge Oct 20, 2020 4:00 PMTags
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Imagine watching Friends without singing along to "I'll Be There for You" or 7th Heaven without mouthing its instantly-recognizable jingle? 

Well, one ‘90s sitcom is about to be reintroduced to the world without the theme song that's made so many viewers feel warm and fuzzy. Dawson's Creek will hit Netflix on November 1, giving us another opportunity to fall in love with James Van Der Beek's Dawson, Katie Holmes' Joey, Joshua Jackson's Pacey, Michelle Williams' Jen, Kerr Smith's Jack and Busy Philipps' Audrey. However, there's a catch.

Netflix confirmed on Twitter that "the episodes won't have the original theme song (sorry)," which, womp, sucks because part of the fun is jamming to Paula Cole's "I Don't Want to Wait." Why, you ask? Because the series ran into some rights issues after its six-season run, forcing new fans catching the show on DVD and streaming services to instead nod their heads to Jann Arden's "Run Like Mad," which was already used as the theme song in international markets, according to HuffPost.

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Fun fact? Dawson's executive producer Paul Stupin told HuffPost in 2012 that the song he initially wanted to run before each episode was Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket," but it proved too expensive to use. Since its finale in 2003, Dawson's fans have had a chance to watch the show on platforms like Hulu, which currently uses the "Run Like Mad" track. 

Despite that one kind of major edit, the show will otherwise remain the same for Netflix obsessives.

The WB

And while some sort of Dawson's revival would be ideal, that idea has been repeatedly shut down in the past. In 2019, creator Kevin Williamson cleared the air at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. 

"We keep talking about it, but no, as of now, it's not in the pipeline," Williamson said. "We kind of ended it. The last episode was five years in the future. We put a nice button to it. Jen died. What are we going to do? We've talked about it, but until we can find a reason to do it…what are you going to do?"

For now, reruns and group texts about Pacey vs. Dawson will do.