Millennial Nostalgia Fuels Buzz for Katie Holmes Joshua Jackson Rom-Com

There’s a kind of magic you only got from the late ’90s and early 2000s. It lived in the slow burn of teen dramas, made us root for love triangles, and turned Joey Potter and Pacey Witter into the ultimate will-they-won’t-they couple.

Now, decades later, that spark might be flickering again—this time on the big screen. Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson are reuniting for Happy Hours, a new film Holmes is directing herself, and the internet is, honestly, kind of freaking out.

But can nostalgia alone pull people back into theaters? Or are we just chasing the ghosts of Capeside again?

The Return of Joey and Pacey — Sort Of

In Happy Hours, Holmes is both behind the camera and sharing the screen with her old Dawson’s Creek flame, Joshua Jackson. The project started filming this summer and immediately set off a wave of millennial excitement—equal parts squeals, sighs, and those wistful what-ifs.

For fans who watched Joey and Pacey’s romance unfold week after week, this reunion feels like a dream that somehow escaped the confines of fan fiction. It’s not a reboot or a sequel, but it’s close enough to make you do a double take.

Their chemistry? Still there. Holmes’s signature smile—part shy, part mischievous, all Joey—still has that disarming effect.

Jackson’s easy charm and the twinkle in his eye? Instantly takes you back to the docks of Capeside. Together, they’re a kind of on-screen comfort food, the kind that makes you weirdly nostalgic for earnest young love and simpler stories.

More Than Just a Reunion Film

Early reports say Happy Hours isn’t just a one-off romantic comedy. It’s being imagined as a possible trilogy, which could mean Holmes and Jackson sharing the screen again and again.

The timing feels pretty spot-on: holidays are coming, and people are craving cozy, feel-good movies. Rom-coms set during the festive season have their own magic, and while Netflix and Hallmark have that market cornered, there’s this growing itch to experience that warmth in an actual theater again.

But here’s the thing—can a theatrical rom-com still work in a world where streaming rules? Holmes seems to be betting on nostalgia, not just for the genre but for the kind of emotional storytelling that used to define it.

If anything can get millennials off their couches and into theaters, maybe it’s seeing Joey and Pacey together again, even if they’re playing different characters.

The Power of Nostalgia

Let’s be real: nostalgia is Hollywood’s favorite trick right now. Reboots, reunions, you name it—they know we’ll show up for old favorites.

But Happy Hours feels like it’s playing a different game. It doesn’t come off as a cash grab; it’s more of a creative risk, rooted in something genuine.

Holmes isn’t just cashing in on her past—she’s reimagining it, channeling the emotional truth of her early career into something new. There’s something personal here.

She’s spent years carving out her identity as a filmmaker, picking intimate, character-driven stories over big-budget spectacle. Teaming up with Jackson isn’t just a trip down memory lane—it’s her taking control of her own story.

Why Millennials Are Losing It

Social media’s been on fire since the film was announced. TikTok edits, Reddit threads, nostalgic Twitter memes—they’re all echoing the same thing: *we’re not ready for this level of emotional damage.*

For a lot of us, Holmes and Jackson represent a time when TV felt more sincere, when relationships took their time, and love stories didn’t hinge on swipes or algorithms. The idea of seeing them together again, in a romantic setting, really hits that millennial soft spot.

There’s a bittersweet side, too. Fans know real life isn’t a TV show, and the line between fiction and reality gets blurry fast in the public eye.

If the chemistry between Holmes and Jackson feels too real, the internet will start speculating—are they just co-stars, or is there something more? If they deny it, people will say it’s just PR. It’s a no-win, but it adds a layer of intrigue to the whole thing.

Can Nostalgia Fill Theaters Again?

The theatrical rom-com has had a rough time lately. What used to be a box-office staple mostly lives on streaming now, where you can binge in pajamas.

But sometimes, a movie comes along that reminds us of the magic of watching romance unfold on a big screen, surrounded by strangers laughing and swooning with you. Happy Hours could be that movie—if the nostalgia is strong enough.

There’s precedent, right? The Holiday, Love Actually, While You Were Sleeping—they became holiday classics not because they reinvented the wheel, but because they made us feel something real.

They celebrated connection, vulnerability, and all the messy beauty of human relationships. If Holmes and Jackson can tap into that, and early buzz says they might, Happy Hours could bring the genre back to theaters where it belongs.

The Perfect Holiday Release?

Timing is everything, and putting Happy Hours out during the holidays could be genius. The film’s cozy, romantic vibe lines up perfectly with that year-end craving for comfort and nostalgia.

Picture stepping out of the winter cold into a warm theater, popcorn in hand, ready to watch two familiar faces fall in love again. Streaming just can’t give you that.

The holidays have a way of making us crave happy endings. We want hope, we want to believe love can find its way back, even after years apart.

Holmes and Jackson’s reunion offers that kind of emotional payoff, both on and off screen.

The Inevitable Irony

There’s a certain irony here. If Happy Hours turns out to be everything fans hope for—heartfelt, romantic, full of chemistry—the internet will probably call it a publicity stunt.

If Holmes and Jackson insist it’s all professional, no one will believe them anyway. That’s just how it goes with celebrity relationships, especially when nostalgia is in the mix.

But maybe that’s part of the fun. Maybe we don’t really want the mystery solved. Maybe what we crave isn’t closure, but the fantasy—the idea that somewhere out there, Joey and Pacey are still finding their way back to each other, one Happy Hour at a time.

What Comes Next

Whether Happy Hours turns into a runaway hit or just lands as a cult favorite, it’s already managed something rare. It’s made us feel again—really feel.

It’s a reminder of when love stories were earnest, when just a smile could melt your heart. Back then, two actors could somehow carry a whole generation’s hopes on their shoulders.

Holmes and Jackson aren’t Joey and Pacey these days, but the emotional echo of those characters hasn’t faded. I’ll admit, I’m happy to follow that feeling wherever it goes.

The nostalgia here? It’s strong. Maybe strong enough to make us believe, for a couple of hours anyway, that some stories never really end—they just find new ways to begin.