In his final acting role before his death, James Van Der Beek stars in the new Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle.
Released July 1, the eight-episode Amazon Prime Video original stars newcomer Lexi Minetree, 25, as future lawyer Elle Woods, the character originated by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 romcom and its 2003 sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.
Van Der Beek, who died aged 48 in February after being diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer, appears posthumously in four episodes as Dean Wilson.
He joins the comedy series in the third episode titled “You’re Not the Girl I Thought You Were,” which is dedicated to his memory.
*Warning: spoilers for Elle season one to follow*
Dean is the first friendly face to greet Elle and her parents after her father moves them from Los Angeles to Seattle. Dean, the school district’s superintendent and a mayoral candidate, eventually befriends Elle’s mother, Eva (June Diane Raphael), and invites her to join his campaign.
It’s eventually discovered that Dean has been blackmailing Elle’s high school principal (Matt Oberg) into stealing money from the school to fund his political ambitions. Dean is eventually arrested for his crimes.
The show’s release comes months after Van Der Beek’s death in February, prior to which he had been receiving treatment for stage 3 colorectal cancer.
“The hardest part has been the patience this has required, as I’ll, say, make a plan and then not be able to follow through on it,” he told the Today show’s Craig Melvin in December 2025.
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“It’s been a longer journey than I ever thought it would be. It’s required more of me — more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong. I didn’t know I was this strong. But I feel good.”
Following his death, Witherspoon, who serves as an executive producer on Elle, reacted to the tragic news in an Instagram post, saying: “Devastated to hear about James Van Der Beek. What an extraordinary, talented man who also showed great kindness and grace in every action. Praying all the angels watch over his family during this difficult time.”
Speaking to Digital Spy at the U.K. premiere of Elle, Chandler Kinney, who portrays mean girl Kimberly, said that she was “so incredibly grateful to have been able to share time and space with [Van Der Beek].”
Remembering him as “an angel of a human,” she added, “That is so rare that you come across a person like that, who is so wise. It’s like he had lived so many lives and was so generous with his time and his energy and his wisdom, his advice. It was such a beautiful time.”
