By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Recently, the beloved actor James Van Der Beek died at the age of 48. He leaves behind a rich, old legacy, filled with projects that have moved and inspired millions of fans. Understandably, most of those fans have been missing his performances in the Dawson’s Creekthe popular teen drama that turned Van Der Beek into a household name.
However, I would argue that his best performance was in between Don’t trust B— In apartment 23an underrated sitcom starring future Marvel icon Krysten Ritter. In the show, he played a funny, fictional version of himself, which Ritter’s character playfully called “the Beek from the Creek.” Sadly, this show is not currently available to stream without purchasing individual episodes, which is a shame because it’s one of the funniest series ever made.
Never Be Afraid to Have Fun
The foundation of Don’t trust B— In apartment 23 that Krysten Ritter plays a party girl who is involved in an ongoing scheme: she finds new roommates, gets rent money up front, and then kicks them out with her increasingly crazy antics. Eventually, he finds a roommate (played by Gossip Girl supporting actress Dreama Walker) who refused to leave. The two women soon find themselves living the glamorous life of television, featuring James Van Der Beek, who plays a funny, funny version of himself.
Anyway Don’t trust B— In apartment 23 was a simple TV comedy, James Van Der Beek gives a performance that can only be described as fearless. He’s never afraid to be a joke, and he’s always in the show’s loudest jokes. In an era when many celebrities fear being ridiculed by fans, Van Der Beek has laughed with joy in two seasons of the unedited sitcom.
A large part of his pretend performance involved making fun of it Dawson’s Creek and his previous status as a ’90s youth icon. It helps that you have a great comedic partner in the form of Krysten Ritter, who fills the show with her trademark acidic, playful comedy. Her character isn’t impressed with being BFFs with a big celebrity, and Van Der Beek’s character isn’t impressed with being a big celebrity; together, these two make a shocking amount of comedy gold.
Shamelessly Stealing Every Scene
Although he is used to acting Don’t trust the B— in the 23rd apartmentJames Van Der Beek is not the focus of the show; that honor goes to Krysten Ritter and Dreama Walker, who were doing their own version of the winners Two Broken Girls the formula. This makes it all the more remarkable that Van Der Beek manages to steal almost every scene he’s in. Dawson’s Creek fiction can turn even a cursory glance or line delivery into something funny.
This is what scared the fans the most Don’t trust the B— in the 23rd apartment: that James Van Der Beek is an almost shockingly good comic actor. He was often written as a typical leading man type, and his career suffered as a result; Personally, I found his character to be the worst in the cast of Dawson’s Creekdespite being a respected protagonist. In this, later, dirtiest sitcom, he’s relieved of the burden of being the leading man, and quickly proves himself to be the funniest member of the cast.
The Best Way to Process the Death of James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek’s fans have been coming back to his previous performances Dawson’s Creek as a way to honor his memory, but this is not the best way to mourn the death of a player. Many viewers watched that teen drama at a young age, so returning to The Creek is a surefire way to stir up painful memories as you process the loss of a Hollywood icon. That’s why I feel bad about that Don’t trust the B— in the 23rd apartment not available for broadcast: watching this show is the best way to honor Van Der Beek and express your feelings about his sudden death.
This is because this is a show where Van Der Beek himself has moved on from the show that made him famous and he is determined to always make fun of something he once considered important as an actor. There is a lesson here for his legion of fans that instead of focusing on the loss of such a talented player, we should appreciate how many great plays he has made. And with a view Don’t trust the B— in the 23rd apartmentyou can stop crying over Van Der Beek’s death and do what the actor would have wanted to do: laugh like there’s no future.
