The doctor is in, and he… ZOMG it’s Dawson Leery!
Dawson’s Creek grad James Van Der Beek is joining the cast of Mercy in the major recurring role of Liam West, the hospital’s new ICU chief, sources confirm to me exclusively.
Cocky, womanizing, and manipulative, Dr. West will frequently clash with Sands, Harris, and the nurses. But beneath the alpha-male swagger lies a brilliant MD whose primary goal is to make Mercy Hospital money. The new doc is also hiding a deep, dark secret.
Word has it that Van Der Beek could become a series regular if the character clicks.
That raises the question: Do you think the character will click?
Photo Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos
i think hes very appealing but the FORGOTTEN ep he was on had that shows lowest numbers
Poor James. He hasn’t had a decent job since DC ended. And Dawson didn’t even get the girl (a point that still grates). Anyway, I hope it works. The character sounds complex and different to what he’s done before!
I was going to say the same thing. He will always be Dawson Leery. Serves him right.
What about on How I Met Your Mother? I guess that was only for one episode, but it was still pretty funny…
I love this show! I know it’s like the ghetto/white trash cousin of “Grey’s Anatomy,” but Taylor Schilling is fierce! Thanks for posting, Mike!
Lol! That sums it up perfectly! I love the rough edges around this show and the fact that the characters aren’t the typical middle class vanilla characters
haha! You just made me want to tolerate another episode…maybe. Love it!!
“Cocky, womanizing, and manipulative.” That described his One Tree Hill role last year.
Van Der Beek never clicks with anyone!
Agreed. I just don’t see how he’s going to fit with this cast.
He looks too young for that role.
I agree, If the doctor is suppose to be the head of ICU then he should be older like 40 or 50 not 30ish
I can’t believe that I’m going to write this, but I might have to check out Mercy now.
Honestly, I’ll check out anything the Beek has to offer. I even watched Medium and One Tree Hill because of this guy.
The thing is, I think most people can only handle him in small doses, which is why he’s a pretty good guest star, but I think people get annoyed with him when he’s a series regular.
I might have to start watching Mercy too. I love James Van Der Beek in anything he’s in. And I was glad he didn’t get the girl in Dawson’s Creek.
agreed, Pacey was so much better! Hence why Joshua Jackson has done more since then. He’s a more likeable character, “dawson” always seemed way to into himself
agreed! i kind of love him.. and he was great on HIMYM
Same. I’m actually quite excited by this news, surprisingly enough. I guess I have a new TV show to watch!
Some comments above show how being a teen idol is a dead end street. Girls who love their idols never want to see them grow up to be men. ‘He will always be Dawson to me’.
Thus, they end up as has-beens [2 Corys] or ‘behind the camera’ directors if lucky, such as Jason Priestly or Fred Savage.
Very few are able to jump to adult roles, such as Leo DiCaprio or J. Depp.
Teen idol or not, I think talent has more to do with career direction. I can’t see Jason Priestly or any Corey being nominated for an Oscar like the amazing Mr. Depp. Dawson’s ok, I guess.
Priestley has been nominated for Golden Globes.
For acting?
Yes, for acting. For his work on BH90210 in the early 90s. The show itself was nominated, too.
I thought Mercy was canceled? Van Der Beek should do a guest spot on Fringe instead
why, so Josh can make him look bad on that one too?! lol
haha! You guys are a mess!!
I’m still ticked at the way NBC dumped Southland and Medium. The ratings average about the same if not better than Mercy, and the peacock hasn’t cancelled it yet.
Ok now i`m going to have to start watching this– seriously
sounds steamy and I love a good hidden secret
i love him and this seems better than his stint on One Tree Hill, which stank. He really deserved better. kudos to him.
I always thought it was great karma at work that Van Der Beek could have been such an egotistical demanding diva behind the scenes on the Creek and thinking he was way above it all, only to then get left behind career-wise by all his co-stars. But I think enough time has gone by that he maybe deserves another chance at something decent with a steady paycheck. Good luck to him.
I thought he did a great job in the 2-parter on Criminal Minds.
OMG his stint on criminal minds was amazing. Totally freaked me out. His acting depends on the quality of the writing/show–he can do dark, twisty stuff when the writing and the other actors are good(ie criminal minds). I think he’ll do well on Mercy so long as they don’t write him as “earnest” which I don’t think they will given the character’s description. He’s only “always gonna be Dawson” to people if he has crap to work with.