Miley Cyrus set to celebrate in ‘Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special’
Miley Cyrus stars as Miley Stewart on Disney Channel’s ‘Hannah Montana.’ (Disney Channel/Bob D’Amico via Getty Images)
She’s had the best of both worlds for the last 20 years.
Miley Cyrus is set to reunite with her signature blond wig in Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special, a televised event that will celebrate the milestone anniversary of the iconic Disney Channel series. It will debut to Disney+ on March 24.
This new special will be filmed in front of a live studio audience. Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper will interview Cyrus about the creation of the fictional pop star and chat about the show’s lasting impact.
Cyrus will also revisit the memories she has from her time on the show as never-before-seen archival footage is shared. Additionally, former sets from the show, such as the Stewart family’s living room and Hannah’s closest, will be rebuilt for the special.
“Hannah Montana will always be a part of who I am. What started as a TV show became a shared experience that shaped my life and the lives of so many fans, and I’ll always be thankful for that connection,” Cyrus said in a press release. “The fact that it still means so much to people all these years later is something I’m very proud of. This ‘Hannahversary’ is my way of celebrating and thanking the fans who’ve stood by me for 20 years.”
Disney Branded Television President Ayo Davis said that Hannah Montana opened the door for fans to dream, sing and embrace every part of themselves.
“Partnering with Miley on this special is a dream, and we want it to be a love letter to the fans, who remain as passionate today as they were when the series debuted almost 20 years ago,” Davis said.
Disney+ shared a video to its socials announcing the special on Tuesday. It features a car with a front license plate that reads “HM 20” pulling up in a studio lot. Both Cyrus and Cooper collaborated on the video, which is set to the show’s theme song, “The Best of Both Worlds.”
“Going back to where it all began,” the caption reads. “The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special premieres March 24 on Disney+. #MileysMemories.”
David Jonsson and Tom Blyth star in ‘Wasteman.’ (James A. Demetriou)
David Jonsson has a long history with his new film Wasteman.
The prison thriller follows parolee Taylor, whose hope for a new start is jeopardized by the arrival of his new cellmate, Dee (Tom Blyth). It’s now playing in select theaters.
Jonsson stars as Taylor. Although he’s been the lead in many movies now, such as Rye Lane, Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk, he told ABC Audio that Wasteman was the first film he ever auditioned for.
“The first film audition that came through that I thought was worthwhile going for was this. And that was years ago,” Jonsson said. “I thought I did quite a good audition and heard nothing, but it turns out the film just fell apart.”
Luckily, it was able to come together several years later, and Jonsson got to play the first-ever film part he auditioned for, now with the career experience he didn’t have beforehand.
“I look back now and I’m like, ‘I wasn’t ready to do it then,'” Jonsson said. “It wasn’t the right time.”
Now, though, was the perfect time, he said, calling the journey full circle.
“As a young actor, you’re just trying to build a body of work. And if you have some choice to put the things inside your tool kit, you should be varied and find the things that actually really speak to you,” Jonsson said. “This film always did.”
And while Wasteman wasn’t made with a large budget, Jonsson said it was made with passion.
“The only way you can make a film that is doing something [like this one] is if you’re willing to put the hours into working. I think that’s a principle that I try and live by, but particularly with this, you have to embody that,” Jonsson said. “That’s the alchemy for making a film like this.”
James Van Der Beek arrives at the premiere of Prime Video series ‘Overcompensating’ at Hollywood Palladium on May 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for starring in the teen TV drama Dawson’s Creek and films including Varsity Blues, has died. He was 48.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” reads a note posted on Van Der Beek’s Instagram page. “There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Van Der Beek revealed in a November 2024 Instagram post that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, stating that despite the diagnosis he was “in a good place and feeling strong.”
Later that month, the actor further revealed to People that he was battling Stage 3 colorectal cancer. Van Der Beek shared that he received the diagnosis after a colonoscopy.
In December 2024, Van Der Beek joined Good Morning America to discuss his mindset and emotional state during his ongoing battle with the disease.
“And thus began the full-time job of having cancer, signing up for all the various medical portals and getting on the phone with insurance and creating appointments. … I was not prepared for just how much of a full-time job that it really is,” Van Der Beek said.
“I’m going to make changes that I never would have made otherwise, that I’m going to look back on in 30 years and say, ‘Thank gGod this happened.’ So, what can I do right now in order to make that the case? And that’s how it was, about 90 percent of the time,” he went on. “But 10 percent of the time, I was a sobbing, terrified mess, which I feel like is a pretty good percentage.”
Born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, Van Der Beek began acting while in middle school and made his professional debut at age 16 in a 1993 off-Broadway production in New York City. He continued to appear in various amateur and professional productions throughout high school and while attending New Jersey’s Drew University.
It was while he was a student at Drew in 1998 that Van Der Beek auditioned for and won the title role of Dawson Leery in The WB network’s new show Dawson’s Creek. Van Der Beek dropped out of Drew University to star in the show for the whole of its six-year run, opposite fellow cast members and future stars Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson.
“That was when life was at its craziest,” Van Der Beek said about his time on the hit show in a 2020 interview with Good Morning America. “At 20 years old I got stupidly lucky and found myself in a zeitgeist, cultural phenomenon TV show, and I was suddenly famous.”
Van Der Beek also admitted his sudden stardom was difficult to handle. “My reaction to fame was to run away from it,” he said, though looking back he said he would tell his younger self to “relax, be grateful, enjoy it.”
Despite having already begun a small film career with roles in films like the 1996 romantic drama I Love You, I Love You Not, which also starred Claire Danes, Julia Stiles and Jude Law, Van Der Beek’s Dawson’s Creek fame earned him the headlining role in the 1999 coming-of-age sports drama Varsity Blues. Van Der Beek’s character of Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, the backup quarterback on a small-town Texas high school football team, remains the film performance for which he’s best remembered. It also earned him the best breakout male performance award at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.
“It was a movie I really, really cared about, it was a role I really cared about,” Van Der Beek told Good Morning America. “It was a role I really had to fight for. I had to fight for that role, nobody wanted me for that role initially.”
The success of Varsity Blues led to roles in other films, including 2000’s horror film send-up Scary Movie, in which Van Der Beek made a cameo appearance as his Dawson’s Creek character, the 2001 Western Texas Rangers and the 2002 dark comedy Rules of Attraction. Later film roles included the 2009 thriller Formosa Betrayed, 2013’s Labor Day with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, and the 2019 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Yet Van Der Beek remained a larger small-screen presence, appearing on dozens of hit TV shows over the years in starring or guest roles, including How I Met Your Mother, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, One Tree Hill,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Cyber and Modern Family, as well as providing the voice of Boris Hauntley on the Disney animated children’s series Vampirina. Van Der Beek also placed fifth on season 28 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2019. In 2025, he was announced as a recurring character on the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle.
In September 2025, the cast of Dawson’s Creekreunited for a one-night-only live reading of the show’s pilot episode to raise money for the nonprofit F Cancer and for Van Der Beek. A stomach virus prevented him from attending in person — Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda stepped into the role of Dawson Leery in Van Der Beek’s place — but he shared a video message in which he thanked those who attended and shared his disappointment for not being unable to “stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most.”
Van Der Beek was married twice. He’s survived by his wife, film producer Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
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