Fox is set to reair its two-hour cancer awareness special The Real Full Monty in the wake of James Van Der Beek’s death, turning what was once a cheeky primetime event into an unexpected memorial for the Dawson’s Creek star and his advocacy around cancer and grief.


James Van Der Beek with the cast of Fox special The Real Full Monty
Promotional collage of James Van Der Beek and fellow participants in Fox’s cancer special The Real Full Monty. (Image credit: Deadline / Fox)

A Reality Special Becomes An Unplanned Tribute

When The Real Full Monty first aired on Fox, it landed as a light-on-its-feet, heavy-on-its-message event: celebrities baring (almost) all onstage to spark conversations about cancer screenings. Now, with the news of James Van Der Beek’s passing from colon cancer, the network’s decision to repeat the special takes on a very different emotional weight—part remembrance, part public-service announcement, and part snapshot of how TV increasingly processes grief in real time.


What Is The Real Full Monty And Why It Matters Now

Inspired by the 1997 British film The Full Monty and subsequent UK TV specials, Fox’s The Real Full Monty follows a group of well-known personalities who train for a one-night-only striptease performance. The hook is undeniably cheeky, but the aim is serious: to raise awareness about cancer, particularly around early detection and the stigma that still surrounds talking about bodies, symptoms, and screenings.

Van Der Beek emerged as one of the emotional anchors of the ensemble. Known to many as the eternally earnest Dawson Leery and to others as the meta version of himself on Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, he brought a mix of self-awareness and vulnerability to a format that can easily tilt into stunt TV. In light of his own battle with colon cancer, his presence now reads almost like a recorded testimony.

“If putting myself out there gets one person to schedule a screening they were putting off, then it’s worth every second of discomfort,” Van Der Beek said when promoting the special, underscoring the show’s blend of spectacle and advocacy.

James Van Der Beek’s Role: From Teen Icon To Cancer Advocate

Van Der Beek’s entertainment legacy stretches from late-’90s WB melodrama to self-parody, indie turns, and reality competition appearances. The Real Full Monty slotted into a later chapter of his career where he was increasingly open about personal struggles—from family loss to health challenges.

  • Relatability: He carried the “guy next door” energy that made uncomfortable topics feel more approachable for viewers who grew up watching him.
  • Generational bridge: As a millennial TV touchstone, Van Der Beek helped pull an audience that may not typically tune in to awareness-focused specials.
  • Emotional honesty: His willingness to talk about vulnerability synced with a broader cultural shift toward mental health and open conversations about illness.

In the special, that persona translates into the delicate balance these shows need: enough showmanship to stay watchable, enough sincerity to keep the cause from feeling like window dressing.

Television screen in a living room showing a broadcast special
Reality specials like The Real Full Monty turn living rooms into spaces for difficult but necessary conversations about health.

Why Fox Is Repeating The Special After His Death

From a network perspective, the decision to rebroadcast the two-hour event is both compassionate and strategic. Television has a long history of repurposing existing material after a key figure’s passing, but in this case, there’s an added layer: the show is literally about cancer detection, and Van Der Beek’s death from colon cancer underlines its urgency.

  1. Memorializing the star: The reairing functions as an accessible public tribute for fans who may not have caught the original broadcast.
  2. Amplifying the message: Scheduling the repeat in close proximity to the news keeps cancer-screening conversations in the cultural foreground.
  3. Programming pragmatics: In an era of shrinking linear audiences, event-style reruns with real-world resonance can still draw attention and social-media chatter.
Networks increasingly understand that “in memoriam” programming can be more than nostalgia; it can be a vehicle for public health messaging when the work itself engages with illness, grief, or advocacy.
Remote control pointed at a TV showing a scheduled broadcast
Strategic reairings let broadcast networks turn existing specials into renewed cultural moments.

Balancing Sentiment And Spectacle: Does The Format Work?

The core tension of The Real Full Monty has always been whether its central gimmick—celebrities stripping for charity—adds to or dilutes the message. On the plus side, the format is disarmingly effective: embarrassment becomes a metaphor for the vulnerability of discussing cancer, especially for men who are socialized to avoid talking about their bodies.

At the same time, the show occasionally leans into reality-TV tropes: engineered emotional beats, glossy montage sequences, and a few too many “we’re all in this together” soundbites. Those choices can flatten the distinctiveness of individual stories—Van Der Beek’s included—into something a little too neatly packaged.

  • Strengths: High visibility, approachable tone, and a format that encourages word-of-mouth and social media sharing.
  • Weaknesses: Occasional tonal whiplash between sombre reflection and variety-show theatrics; limited time for deeper dives into each participant’s experience.

From Dawson’s Creek To Advocacy TV: Cultural Context

There’s something striking about seeing a ’90s teen idol anchoring a 2020s cancer special. It reflects a broader shift in celebrity culture: the move from distant, curated mystique to a kind of radical transparency, where stars openly discuss miscarriages, surgeries, therapy, and chronic illness on talk shows and Instagram alike.

Van Der Beek’s arc—from American teen melodrama to self-referential comedy, parenting content, and then health-focused appearances—tracks with that evolution. Viewers who first met him as an avatar of adolescent longing now see him as a husband, father, and patient navigating real-world stakes. That layered familiarity heightens the impact of Fox’s reairing: the special becomes not just an awareness piece, but also a chapter in a much longer, very public narrative.

Living room television setup with soft ambient light
As audiences age alongside their TV icons, specials like The Real Full Monty resonate differently over time.

In that sense, Fox’s programming move sits at the crossroads of nostalgia TV and public health messaging—a place where networks can both honor a career and nudge audiences toward potentially life-saving decisions.


How And Why To Watch The Reairing

For viewers considering tuning in, it’s worth approaching the reairing on two levels: as a celebration of James Van Der Beek’s work and as a prompt to engage more seriously with your own health. The special is designed to be accessible even if you’re only half-watching, but it does pay off to give it some focused attention—especially during segments where participants share their personal connections to cancer.

  • Use commercial breaks to look up guidelines for cancer screenings relevant to your age and risk factors.
  • Consider watching with family or friends and using it as a low-pressure way to start conversations about medical checkups.
  • If you or someone close to you has been affected by cancer, be mindful that certain segments may be emotionally triggering and plan your viewing accordingly.
Person holding a remote control and watching TV at home
For many viewers, the reairing will be both a farewell to a familiar face and a nudge toward taking preventive health more seriously.

For official broadcast times, check Fox’s schedule or listings on platforms like IMDb or your local cable provider’s guide, which typically update air dates and episode details shortly after programming announcements.


A Farewell, A Reminder, And What Comes Next

Repeated now in the shadow of James Van Der Beek’s death from colon cancer, Fox’s The Real Full Monty feels less like a one-off stunt and more like a time capsule of where celebrity culture and health awareness intersect. Its mix of levity and earnestness won’t work for everyone, but the intent is clear: to turn discomfort into dialogue, and dialogue into action.

As TV continues to grapple with loss in public view, this reairing stands as both a tribute and a call to pay attention—to our icons, to our bodies, and to the quiet, preventive choices that rarely make headlines but can change outcomes. For fans of Van Der Beek, it may be bittersweet. For viewers on the fence about screening, it might be just insistent enough to matter.

The legacy of The Real Full Monty will ultimately be measured not just in ratings or social buzz, but in the number of people who see the special, pick up the phone, and schedule a test they’ve been avoiding. In that sense, the most meaningful sequel to the broadcast won’t air on Fox at all—it will happen, quietly, in clinics and doctor’s offices long after the credits roll.

Rating: 4/5 — impactful, if occasionally uneven, advocacy TV that takes on new resonance after Van Der Beek’s passing.

Television credits rolling on a dark screen
When the credits roll on The Real Full Monty this time, they’ll double as a farewell—and a prompt not to wait on that screening reminder.