For fans of Dawson’s Creek, the sight of Joey and Pacey together again is something many never expected to see — but Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes are making it happen.
The beloved former co-stars are reuniting for a new film project titled Happy Hours, a story that explores the evolution of a relationship over time. Holmes is directing and starring in the project, while Jackson joins her onscreen once again.
And according to Jackson, returning to work with Holmes decades after their iconic TV romance has been nothing short of special.
“That time in my life would be for most people like their college years, right?” Jackson said on the Today show on Tuesday, March 10, referencing his Dawson’s Creek days. “And there are these people in your life — she’s a lifelong friend now — and for us to be able to go back and do this again, and, honestly, for her to be able to create that space for us was kind of magical.”
For many viewers, Jackson and Holmes defined one of television’s most memorable slow-burn romances. Their characters — Joey Potter and Pacey Witter — eventually ended up together at the conclusion of the series, which ran from 1998 to 2003.
Now, more than two decades later, the actors are revisiting a very different kind of love story.
According to Jackson, Happy Hours is designed as a trilogy that follows a couple at three different stages of their relationship.
“Katie wrote this beautiful story for the two of us that is the three phases of a love story,” Jackson shared of the project. “So we shot the fun part, which is the falling in love, and she’s cutting it together now. And that will come out and hopefully it will give us the opportunity to go back and make the other two.”
Fans first caught a glimpse of the project in July 2025, when Jackson and Holmes were photographed filming scenes together on the streets of New York City. The images quickly went viral, with many longtime viewers noting how natural the pair looked together — even decades after their teen drama days.
Jackson says the experience of working together again lived up to the excitement.
“More than anything, for me, selfishly, it was an opportunity to get to work with Kate again,” Jackson said on the 3rd Hour of Today. “We spent so much intense time at a particular moment in our lives and then we have maintained our friendship for all of these years, but we’ve never had a chance to be on camera together, and it was magic. It was so nice to go back into that place. And, you know, you never know until you’re actually doing the thing, but to still have chemistry with somebody after all of those years is nice.”
While the reunion may feel nostalgic, Jackson joked that Holmes had no problem stepping into her role as director.
“Oh, she was bossing me around back there,” he quipped. “I was fully prepared for her to be my boss.”
Jackson also used the opportunity to reflect on a heartbreaking loss for the Dawson’s Creek family.
Their co-star James Van Der Beek — who played Dawson Leery — passed away last month at age 48 after being diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Speaking about Van Der Beek, Jackson shared an emotional tribute during his appearance on Today.
“He became what we used to just call a ‘good man,’ a man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that allowed him to face the impossible with grace, an unbelievable partner and husband, right?” Jackson said of Van Der Beek, who played Dawson Leery. “Just a real man who showed up for his family and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father. And so while on the one hand that’s beautiful and I think he did lead a very good life and he was a good man, it is also, the tragedy of that loss for his family is enormous.”
For Jackson, the reunion with Holmes and the memory of Van Der Beek serve as reminders of a defining chapter in his life — one that continues to resonate long after Dawson’s Creek aired its final episode.
