The Legally Blonde prequel series just added TV royalty to its cast. James Van Der Beek is back, joining the upcoming series Elle alongside Lexi Minetree, who will star as Elle Woods during her high school years. Van Der Beek will play Dean Wilson, described as “the city’s new mayoral candidate and current school district superintendent.”
The cast also includes series regulars June Diane Raphael, Tom Everett Scott, Gabrielle Policano, Jacob Moskovitz, Chandler Kinney, and Zac Looker. Jessica Belkin, Logan Shroyer, Amy Pietz, Matt Ober, Chloe Wepper, David Burtka, Brad Harde, Kayla Maisonet, and Lisa Yamada will play recurring characters.
Van Der Beek’s television credits include the ’90s teen drama Dawson’s Creek, in which he played the titular character. He’s also played a fictionalized version of himself on Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 and CSI: Cyber as FBI Agent Elijah Mundo, and Matt Bromley on the first season of the FX drama Pose.
Laura Kittrell created Elle and serves as co-showrunner and executive producer alongside Caroline Dries. Original film star Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter will also be executive producers via Hello Sunshine, along with Marc Platt.
As yet, there’s no word on a potential premiere date for Elle, but 2026 would seem a good bet.
