Entertainment
James Van Der Beek’s Best Show Is Unavailable To Stream
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Recently, beloved actor James Van Der Beek passed away at the heartbreaking age of 48. He leaves behind a rich, creative legacy, full of projects that have moved and inspired millions of fans. Understandably, most of those fans have been reminiscing about his performance in Dawson’s Creek, the popular teen drama that transformed Van Der Beek into a household name.
However, I would argue that his best performance was in Don’t Trust the B— In Apartment 23, an overlooked sitcom featuring future Marvel icon Krysten Ritter. In this show, he played a hilarious, fictionalized version of himself, one that Ritter’s character playfully dubbed “the Beek from the Creek.” Sadly, this show is not currently available to stream outside of buying individual episodes, which is a shame because it is one of the funniest series ever made.
Never Afraid To Poke Fun At Himself
The premise of Don’t Trust the B— In Apartment 23 is that Krysten Ritter plays a party girl engaged in a constant scheme: she finds new roommates, gets rent money upfront, and then drives them away with her increasingly weird antics. Eventually, she lands a roommate (played by Gossip Girl supporting actor Dreama Walker) who refuses to leave. The two ladies soon settle into a life of wacky television shenanigans, which also involve James Van Der Beek, who plays a cynical, darkly comedic version of himself.
Even though Don’t Trust the B— In Apartment 23 was a lighthearted TV comedy, James Van Der Beek gives a performance that can only be described as fearless. He is never afraid to be the butt of the joke, and he’s always in on the show’s raucous sense of humor. In an age where countless celebs are afraid they’ll be mocked by fans, Van Der Beek cheerfully laughed at himself across two seasons of unhinged sitcom entertainment.
A big part of his self-parodying performance involved poking fun at Dawson’s Creek and his former status as a ‘90s teen icon. It helps that he had such a great comic partner in the form of Krysten Ritter, who imbues the show with her trademark brand of acidic, playfully sarcastic humor. Her character isn’t impressed by being BFFs with a major celeb, and Van Der Beek’s character isn’t all that impressed at being a major celeb; together, these two craft a shocking amount of comedy gold.
Shamelessly Stealing Every Scene
While he’s a regular in the cast of Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23, James Van Der Beek isn’t the focus of the show; that honor goes to Krysten Ritter and Dreama Walker, who were basically doing their own version of the successful Two Broke Girls formula. This makes it all the more notable that Van Der Beek manages to steal almost every scene he’s in. Sure, the writing for the show is great, but it can’t be overstated how the Dawson’s Creek legend can turn even the simplest glimpse or line delivery into something jaw-droppingly hilarious.
This was what startled fans most about Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23: that James Van Der Beek is an almost shockingly good comic actor. He has often been written as a kind of generic leading man, and his career suffered for it; personally, I found his character the worst in the cast of Dawson’s Creek, despite him being the titular main character. In this later, much more cynical sitcom, he is unleashed from the burden of being a leading man, and he quickly reveals himself to be the funniest member of the entire cast.
The Best Way To Process James Van Der Beek’s Death
Fans of James Van Der Beek have been returning to his earlier performance in Dawson’s Creek as a way to honor his memory, but this arguably isn’t the best way to grieve the actor’s death. Many viewers watched that teen drama when they were youngsters, so returning to the Creek is a surefire way to stir up your own traumatic memories even as you process the loss of a Hollywood icon. This is why I’m so sad that Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23 isn’t available on streaming: watching this show is the best way to both honor Van Der Beek and unpack your feelings regarding his untimely death.
That’s because this is a show where Van Der Beek himself has moved on from the show that made him famous and is willing to constantly poke fun at something he once took so seriously as an actor. There’s a lesson in here for his legion of fans that instead of dwelling on the loss of such a talented performer, we should find joy in how many great performances he had to offer. And by watching Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23, you can stop crying about Van Der Beek’s death and do what the actor would have wanted you to do instead: laugh like there is no tomorrow.