Actor James Van Der Beek will play the lead role opposite Patricia Arquette in a new CBS police procedural. Writing on Deadline.com, Nellie Andreeva reports that Van Der Beek, who cut his teeth in the WB series “Dawson’s Creek,” landed the male lead role on the spinoff “CSI: Cyber.”

Arquette will portray Special Agent Avery Ryan, who runs the FBI’s Cyber Crime Division, while Van Der Beek will play FBI Agent Elijah Mundo, who is an expert in battlefield forensics. Ryan recruits him based on his war experience in Afghanistan.

“A self-proclaimed action junkie, Mundo often will put himself at risk to seek permanent justice, while Ryan will level his diehard behavior with her expertise in psychology,” the story notes.

Andreeva adds: “I hear it was CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler and head of casting Peter Golden who came up with the idea to pursue Van Der Beek for the role. He became the top choice for the role and sparked to the idea after meeting with co-creators/executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Anthony Zuiker. This marks a return to the drama side for Van Der Beek after back-to-back comedy series, ‘Don’t Trust The B—- in Apt 23’ and ‘Friends With Better Lives.’”

James Van Der Beek