James Van Der Beek Heads To CBS’ CSI Spin-Off Series


As far as the industry goes actor James Van Der Beek has nine lives. That’s the only possible way we can explain how many cancelled shows Van Der Beek survived while managing to keep his fan base in tact.

While Van Der Beek managed to charm the pants off of viewers in the ill-fated ABC sitcom Don’t Trust The B — In Apt 23, the actor hasn’t been able to cash in on a quality show the way he has his post-Dawson’s Creek meta-persona. Fortunately the news that Van Der Beek has snagged a co-starring role in a new CSI spin-off seems like his most promising project yet.

According to The Hollywood Reporter the Friends With Better Lives actor will star alongside Medium actress Patricia Arquette for the CBS spin-off show CSI: Cyber. The title of the new CSI spin-off show says it all. It’s a show that will see Patricia Arquette and James Van Der Beek’s characters take on cyber crimes that occur on the Internet.

Arquette takes on the role of special agent Avery Ryan who is the head of the Cyber Crime Division in the FBI while Van Der Beek’s character Elijah Mundo is a FBI agent/adrenaline junkie who is known for his war affairs in Afghanistan. For Van Der Beek this role seems different than anything he’s tried on before. Stepping away from comedy, the actor will have to slip into the shoes of someone who is very familiar with weapons, bombs, and vehicles. Although Van Der Beek isn’t the first person we picture for this role, the actor seems up for the challenge.

The former Dawson’s Creek star announced the news via Facebook and Twitter last night.

In addition to Patricia Arquette and James Van Der Beek’s roles on the show actors Peter MacNicol and Charley Koontz will also star. Prior to his new job at CBS the actor was in an ensemble comedy on the same network called Friends With Better Lives. The show premiered on March 31 following the series finale of the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Network executives hoped that the show would be a strong lead in to launch a similar comedy, but ratings dropped week by week before Friends With Better Lives was pulled off of the schedule. Despite this Van Der Beek seemed to be in great spirits.

According to Deadline, the actor was taking pitches for both comedy and drama projects, including the Netflix comedy Grace & Frankie, before taking on CSI: Cyber.

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