Drew Herrmann/FOX
One of James Van Der Beek‘s final projects is returning to the small screen.
Fox announced that as a tribute to the late Dawson’s Creek star, the network will re-air The Real Full Monty, a cancer awareness TV special, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The encore presentation of the special will feature an onscreen QR code that will encourage audiences to donate to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
Ray Mickshaw/FOX
The Real Full Monty, which originally aired in December 2024, saw six male celebrities perform striptease routines to raise awareness for prostate, testicular, and colorectal cancer testing and research. Van Der Beek appeared in the special alongside Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Taye Diggs (All American), Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), Bruno Tonioli (Dancing With the Stars), and the Kansas City Chiefs’ player Chris Jones.
The special was inspired by the series of six British TV specials, also titled The Real Full Monty, which launched in 2017. Those specials were inspired by the 1997 comedy film The Full Monty, which saw a group of unemployed men (played by character actors like Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, and Mark Addy) perform Chippendales–inspired routines to raise money so that one of them can visit their son. The movie also inspired a sequel TV series, a play, and a stage musical.
Van Der Beek died on Wednesday at age 48, less than two years after he announced his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis.
Shortly after taking his diagnosis public in November 2024, the Varsity Blues star said that he was shocked to learn he had the disease, as there was no history of cancer in his family, and he did not know how prevalent colorectal cancer has become in adults under 50. (Colorectal cancer prevalence in people under 50 increased 2.9% per year between 2013 and 2022, whereas it has only jumped by 0.4% per year in people between 50 and 64, according to the American Cancer Society.)
FOX
“That’s one of the reasons I want to talk about it and the reason I’m talking about it so openly,” Van Der Beek told PEOPLE shortly after revealing his diagnosis. “I’ve been dealing with this pretty much in secret for a while, and in the past, I’ve found it helpful and cathartic to share things publicly. And I’ve found a lot of support that way. But more than that, I really wanted to raise awareness.”
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The Real Full Monty encore broadcast will air on Fox on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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