Dawson's Creek: Why you can't hear the original theme song on Netflix

All six seasons of the hit show have been released on the streaming service

Dawson’s Creek fans are thrilled after all six seasons of the hit Nineties show were released on Netflix.

However, many will have noticed that the theme song, “I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole, is missing from the opening credits.

Instead, the show opens to “Run Like Mad”, a song by Canadian singer-songwriter and actor Jann Arden.

“Run Like Mad” was actually the first pick for the show’s theme, and was written by Arden especially for the show.

However, after “I Don’t Want to Wait” was used in promotional adverts for Dawson’s Creek ahead of its premiere, executives at the WB network suggested using that for the theme instead.

Unfortunately, the network’s deal with Paula Cole had to be renegotiated when Dawson’s Creek was later released on DVD. Disappointing sales led to a budget cut, which resulted in the show having to give up its use of “I Don’t Want to Wait”.  

The Netflix UK and Ireland account noted this as Dawson’s Creek appeared on the streaming service.

“Note: The Dawson's Creek theme is *not* the one you remember. It's a long and fascinating story (and not our fault),” the comment read.

It linked to a Huffington Post article from 2012 that detailed the “tortured saga” of the Dawson’s Creek theme song.

“I ended up swapping out a good chunk of unclearable music for the later DVD releases,” executive producer Paul Stupin said at the time.

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“And then there came to be a point, where the studio said, 'Listen, we can’t afford the Paula Cole song.' That's when Jann Arden was put back in.”

See the full list of everything new to Netflix in November here.