10:32 PM PST, March 2, 2015
Van Der Beek was The WB's golden boy from 1998-2003 as moody philosophical teen Dawson Leery on Dawson's Creek. After a brief but hilarious stint portraying a fictionalized version of himself on Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Van Der Beek returned to TV in 2015 as FBI field agent Elijah Mundo on CSI: Cyber.
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James Van Der Beek
The WB/CBS
Van Der Beek was The WB's golden boy from 1998-2003 as moody philosophical teen Dawson Leery on Dawson's Creek. After a brief but hilarious stint portraying a fictionalized version of himself on Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Van Der Beek returned to TV in 2015 as FBI field agent Elijah Mundo on CSI: Cyber.
Keri Russell
The WB/FX
Russell sent shockwaves when she chopped off her curly locks as the titular character on Felicity's second season, but as undercover KGB agent Elizabeth Jennings on The Americans, she can have half a dozen hairstyles in just one episode.
Joshua Jackson
The WB/Showtime
Jackson ultimately got the girl as easygoing best friend Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek, but he wasn't so lucky in his role as Ruth Wilson's husband Cole Lockhart in Showtime's Golden Globe-winning drama The Affair.
Lauren Graham
The WB/NBC
Graham has now been a part of two complicated mother-daughter duos on a pair of long-running, multigenerational family dramas. We laughed and cried and loved for nearly seven years with both Gilmore Girls' Loralei Gilmore and Parenthood's Sarah Braverman.
Chad Michael Murray
The WB/ABC
CMM started on The WB as smarmy prepster Tristan Dugray on Gilmore Girls, but came into his own as Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill. Nowadays, he's back to being smarmy on ABC's Marvel series Agent Carter.
Chris Pratt
The WB/NBC
Pratt's made quite a career out of playing variations on the lovable goofball, starting with Everwood's Bright Abbott and most recently as Andy Dwyer on NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (with a quick stop as Star-Lord in between).
Jared Padalecki
The WB/CW
Padalecki won our hearts as dreamy bag boy (and Rory's first boyfriend!) Dean Forester on Gilmore Girls and the network liked him so much they kept him around through the transition to the CW, casting him opposite WB alum Jensen Ackles as Sam Winchester on Supernatural.
David Boreanaz
The WB/FOX
Boreanaz traded in his bloodsucking brooder look on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel for his part as standard-issue FBI guy Seeley Booth on Bones but thankfully, he got to keep the leather jackets.
Emily VanCamp
The WB/ABC
VanCamp made her WB debut on the short-lived mid-season show Glory Days, but it was there that she caught the eye of Dawson's Creek writer and producer Greg Berlanti, who cast her as Amy Abbott in his first show, Everwood. After a regular part on Berlanti's family drama Brothers & Sisters, VanCamp landed her first headlining role as Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne on soapy ABC thriller Revenge.
Scott Foley
The WB/ABC
Foley's breakthrough role was as Keri Russell's RA Noel Crane on Felicity before landing recurring parts on Dawson's Creek and Scrubs. He nows stars on Scandal as intelligence officer (and Olivia Pope love interest) Captain Jake Ballard.
Sophia Bush
The WB/NBC
Bush played Brooke Davis on One Tree Hill for the show's nine-season run before joining NBC cop drama Chicago P.D. as Detective Erin Lindsay.
Matt Czuchry
The WB/CBS
Czuchry's carved out a nice niche for himself playing rich boys, first as Rory's playboy boyfriend Logan Huntzberger on Gilmore Girls, and most recently as ambitious lawyer Cary Agos on The Good Wife.
Jensen Ackles
The WB/CW
The Supernatural star got his start in soaps and guest-starring roles on Dark Angel and Dawson's Creek before becoming a series regular on Smallville as assistant football coach and Lana Lang love interest Jason Teague. After that, Ackles teamed up to hunt paranormal predators with another WB alum, Jared Padalecki.
Busy Philipps
The WB/ABC
Philipps made her TV debut on ill-fated Judd Apatow show Freaks and Geeks before being cast as Joey Potter's roommate Audrey Liddell on the final two seasons of Dawson's Creek. Nowadays, Philipps plays ditzy cake maker and new mom Laurie Keller on TBS's Cougar Town.
Milo Ventimiglia
The WB/ABC
Ventimiglia's breakout came as Luke Danes' nephew and Rory's love interest Jess Mariano on WB series Gilmore Girls. After starring as Heroes' nurse-turned-superhero Peter Petrelli, he will next appear as John Doe/Drew Bennigan on ABC supernatural series The Whispers.
Gregory Smith
The WB/ABC
Smith is probably best known for his role as Ephram Brown on The WB drama Everwood, but recently starred as Dov Epstein on ABC cop drama Rookie Blue. He has also stepped behind the camera to direct episodes of Rookie Blue and Arrow.
Jessica Pare
The WB/AMC
The future Mrs. Don Draper almost had an even more influential TV husband as future First Lady Courtney Benedict on the short-lived WB series Jack and Bobby. Pare traded in one pseudo-historical drama for another when she joined Mad Men in the show's fourth season as Megan Calvet, wedding Jon Hamm's character soon after.
Kerr Smith
The WB/ABC Family
Smith got his start on soap operas, but made history as the first man to have an on-screen gay kiss on U.S. television as Dawson's Creek character Jack McPhee. He now recurs as Callie's biological father Robert Quinn on ABC Family's The Fosters, following a two-season stint on the CW's Life Unexpected.
Katherine Heigl
The WB/NBC
Most fans know Heigl from her stint on Shonda Rhimes' medical drama Grey's Anatomy, but the actress got her start as Isabel Evans on Jason Katims' sci-fi series Roswell. Heigl now stars as CIA analyst Charleston Tucker on NBC spy thriller State of Affairs.
Steve Howey
The WB/Showtime
Howey got his first starring role as dimwitted son-in-law Van Montgomery on Reba McEntire's eponymous WB sitcom and kept his shirt off to play Shameless' Kevin Ball.
Mary Beth Peil
The WB/CBS
The talented actress and Broadway star was best known to WB fans as Jen Lindley's strict and religious grandmother, Evelyn "Grams" Ryan, on Dawson's Creek. These days, she recurs as Alicia Florrick's mother-in-law Jackie Florrick on CBS drama The Good Wife.
Scott Cohen
The WB/NBC
Cohen had a recurring role as Loralei's love interest and Rory's English teacher Max Medina on WB dramedy Gilmore Girls. He now stars on NBC spy drama Allegiance as American businessman turned Russian operative Mark O'Connor.