Between Joshua Jackson and Adam Brody, elder millennials are enjoying a very nostalgic fall
Former teen heartthrobs star in new shows Doctor Odyssey and Nobody Wants This
What in the name of Pacey's frosted tips is happening in pop culture right now?
There's something almost magically nostalgic in the air this fall as not one, but two former late '90s/early 2000s teen heartthrobs are back with new series. JoshuaJackson, i.e. Pacey Witter from Dawson's Creek, a.k.a.every elder millennial's first TV boyfriend, stars in the new network drama Doctor Odyssey.
At the same time,Adam Brody ie.Dave Rygalski in Season 3 ofGilmore Girls, a.k.a. The O.C.'s Seth Cohen, alternate title: thehot geek who gifted us "Christmukkah" plays a rabbiin the new Netflixseries Nobody WantsThis.
Pacey andSeth gracing our screens? At the same time? And on top of that,Oasis is back, Sarah McLachlan is touring,the J. Crew catalogue is relaunching, and hold our psychedelic notebooks there's a Lisa Frank docuseriescoming to Prime Video.
If you were looking for a sign that millennial nostalgia is huge, this is it. We're one more throwback away from clicking the heels of our Converse three timesand opening our eyes in Stars Hollow. (If only.)
People of a certain age, of course, are loving it, with headlines declaring Brody, 44, has "never been hotter," and that we're in the midst ofa"hot rabbi fall."Socialmedia users have noted thatJackson, 46, is "aging like a fine wine," and that having both him and Brody back on screen is"something so special for us late 90s/early 2000s teen drama enthusiasts."
Millennial nostalgia is certainly having its moment,saidZorianna Zurba, a pop culture expert andassistant professor inthe Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University. And this allows millennials,whoare generally approaching middle age andno longer the main focus of popculture, to relive a time in our lives that we long for and feel sentimental about,Zurba told CBC News.
"Now we're getting media that's for us once again. It's centred on people our age, who are like us," she said.
And people are, seemingly, into it.
"One day, you're a kid crushing on Joshua Jackson and Adam Brody's fictional characters and the next thing you know, you're an adult crushing on Joshua Jackson and Adam Brody's fictional characters," parenting news site Scary Mommy wrote in an Instagram post this week.
"If Joshua Jackson ever realizes how much power he has over elder millennial women there is truly no stopping him," wrote X user Katey Rich in September.
"Pacey Witter and SethCohen cresting at the same time which millennial woman is holding the monkey's paw," wrote another X user, Marlow Stern, last week.
'The moment has arrived'
But do people like the shows? Well,the trailer for ABC'sDoctor Odyssey, a medical drama, recently set a record for being the most-watched trailer for a new broadcast TV show ever (the prior record, according to Deadline, was held by the trailer for This is Us).
The series follows Max Bankman, played by Jackson, a doctor whotakes a jobonboarda luxury cruise ship called The Odyssey. It premiered Sept. 26, and, according to TvInsider.com, raked in4.2million viewers. That makes itABC's most-watched drama debut in five years.
And much of this is due to the "Joshua Jackson element of it," Vulture TV critic Kathryn VanArendonk recently told CBC's Commotion.
Jackson, who was born in Vancouver, is best known for playing Pacey Witter on the 1998-2003 teen drama Dawson's Creek. But fans also know himfor his breakout role in the 1992 movie The Mighty Ducks, 1999's Cruel Intentions, the 2008 Canadiana nostalgia film One Weekand hisrole in the TV series Fringe.
"It has been a while since he has been a lead on a show, abig network show like this,"VanArendonk said.
"It's like you needed that space for him to age into Daddy, and now that he's there it'slike, 'Oh my God, it makes sense again. We're here. We're ready. The moment has arrived.'"
'Things aren't done at middleage'
Nobody Wants This, which also premiered Sept. 26, is the second-most popular show on Netflix globallywith more than 10.3 million views,according to the company's ratings.
The rom-com stars Brodyas Noah, whose life goal is to be named head rabbi at his synagogue,and his love interest Joanne, a sex-and-dating podcasterplayed by Kristen Bell.
Fans have gushed online about both the show, and the rabbi."Yep, I still have a crush on Adam Brody," wrote a user on X Sept. 26.
Fans of Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) will remember Brody as Lane's adorable boyfriendDave Rygalskifrom Season 3. But Brody is best known for his role as Seth Cohen on teen drama The O.C., which ran from 2003 to 2007, which made him a teen icon.
"One of the biggest breakout characters in teen TV history, Brody's character was the sensitive, Jewish dork who stole the hearts of teenage girls (mine included)," wrote contributorChristobel Hastings in the U.K. magazine Red.
There's more of a shift in pop culture recently to represent people in their 40s,Zurbaexplained. And not only is that proving to bevery popular, but more than that, when you add in the nostalgia element,it'shopeful.
"It's not just about a nostalgiafor the past, but also about reviving the kind of hope that we had in our teens and in our 20s," Zurba said.
"It's about that feeling that there is another possibility for us, even as we're going through a different life stage, that things aren't done at middle age."
You know. Like there finally was for Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes.
WATCH | Pacey's frosted tipsappreciation post:
With files from CBC Commotion
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