By Peter White
James Van Der Beek was one of the stars of Fox’s cancer special The Real Full Monty.
The network is now set to repeat the two-hour special following Van Der Beek’s death earlier this week from colorectal cancer.
The Real Full Monty will air on Wednesday, February 18, at 8 pm, replacing a repeat of The Masked Singer, as the network honors the actor.
Van Der Beek was battling the disease when he signed up for the special, which featured stars including Anthony Anderson, Taye Diggs, NFL’s Chris Jones, Tyler Posey, and Bruno Tonioli raising awareness for cancer testing and research by performing a striptease dance before a live audience.
During the special, the Dawson’s Creek star revealed to his peers that he had been in treatment. “For the last six months, I’ve been in treatment, I’ve done a whole bunch of therapies, holistic, integrative, and otherwise, and it’s been a journey, man. I say that with confidence now, but there, there were definitely some dark days, and there were definitely some moments when I felt like I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. When you’re staring at a positive diagnosis, then it’s like, okay, how deep within yourself are you willing to look,” he said.
A QR code will be visible throughout the broadcast, encouraging viewers to donate to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
The special is based on a British format and was produced by Spun Gold TV and Fox Alternative Entertainment. Ashley Edens served as showrunner and exec produced alongside Anthony Anderson, Dan Norris, Nick Bullen, and Daniela Neumann for Spun Gold.
