When James Van Der Beek announced via social media last November that he’d privately been receiving treatment for Stage 3 colorectal cancer, a generation of Dawson’s Creek fans were stunned and devastated. They’d grown up with this guy, and loved how, in his many family-centric social media posts, his real-life persona reflected the earnestness of Dawson Leery offset with warmth, wisdom and a great sense of humor. How could this be happening to someone so positive and healthy?

But the star’s inner circle had already been rallying around the actor, 48, for months — not just his friends and family, but also his Dawson’s crew. Because, while many stars of the golden era of teen shows may occasionally “like” each other’s Instagram posts, bonds go deeper than that for this group, proving that

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