‘Dawson’s Creek’ Writers Once Explained Why Pacey Worked as a Stockbroker: ‘It Seemed Like the Right Job’
Heading back to Capeside to revisit Dawson’s Creek? The teen drama went off the air in 2003 but it remains one of the most memorable TV shows of the late ‘90s and early 2000s.
Looking back on the series, some fans still have lingering questions. Like what was with Pacey Witter’s (Joshua Jackson) as a stockbroker? Thankfully, the show’s writers and creator have the answers.
Dawson Leery, Pacey Witter, and Joey Potter were in a love triangle
Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek) was a movie-obsessed teen when viewers first met him in 1998. The show’s title character, Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) and Pacey were his best friends.
As the show progressed, the biggest storyline became a Joey-Dawson-Pacey love triangle. Over the course of six seasons, Joey dated both Dawson and Pacey before ultimately making a decision in the series finale.
Pacey Witter became a stockbroker because the show’s writers liked a particular movie
Some of the people behind Dawson’s Creek reunited at the ATX Television Festival in June 2015. The show’s creator, Kevin Williamson, participated in a panel discussion with a handful of writers.
At one point, he asked Anna Fricke, a writer who penned eight episodes of the series from 2001 to 2003 according to IMDb, why Pacey had a brief stint as a stockbroker.
“How did that happen?!” Williamson said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Fricke’s response? She and the rest of the Dawson’s Creek writers were obsessed with a crime drama about stockbrokers.
“We were really into that movie Boiler Room,” she said of Pacey’s short-lived job he took instead of attending college. “It seemed like the right job for Pacey, who was so incredibly smart but not bookish.”
As for Williamson’s take on the character’s trajectory: “I always wanted Pacey to have that Officer and a Gentleman feel. … The whole second season was, as I call it, ‘Pacey’s Pond.'”
So what did Pacey do after he left his corporate job? He went in a completely new direction.
‘Dawson’s Creek’ ended with Pacey Witter running the Ice House
In the drama’s sixth and final season, everyone in Capeside jumped ahead five years from where the season began. Pacey no longer worked as a stockbroker. Instead, he ran the Ice House back in Capeside.
As for Dawson, he finally got to live his dream of being a filmmaker. And he had a meeting with his hero, Steven Spielberg, planned. He never forgot about Joey but she moved on. Working as a book editor in New York City, she put an end to the will-they-or-won’t-they saga involving her, Dawson, and Pacey. Joey chose to be with Pacey.
At the time of publication, Dawson’s Creek is streaming on Netflix and Hulu.
