Havre de Grace, Maryland where a new "town square", gas station and Friendly's restaurant were built for the production of the show at the intersection of Congress Avenue and North Washington Street. Wilmington and Charlotte, both in North Carolina, had been considered possible filming locations for the series. Sponsorship Young Americans was originally supposed to be a mid-season show in 2000 but was put on hold until Coca-Cola offered to sponsor the show. The character of Will Krudski was then written into Dawson's Creek to associate Young Americans with one of The WB's established shows. When Dawson's Creek went on hiatus in the summer of 2000, Young Americans occupied its timeslot of Wednesdays at 9 P.M. Repeats were shown at 9 P.M. on Fridays. The Coca-Cola Company paid $6 million to be the primary sponsor, the show being billed as "Coca-Cola Presents Young Americans". Young Americans was profiled by Steve Carell on the August 22, 2000 episode of The Daily Show in the Ad Nauseam segment due to the Coca-Cola tie ins. Carell constantly referred to "The Beginning" as an "hour-long commercial". Some of the scenes also took place in a Friendly's restaurant, which was built from an old pizzeria for the show. Coca-Cola products are seen or mentioned in most episodes. The unaired pilot episode does not contain the product placement. Among the changes to the pilot is a scene that was reshot in order to show the characters drinking Coca-Cola. Promotion A scene from the pilot, which was heavily promoted prior to the show's premiere, where the characters and other students at Rawley run in slow motion to the school's lake while stripping off their clothes was parodied in another WB show, Grosse Pointe. Episodes The main character, Will Krudski, was introduced late in season three of Dawson's Creek as a childhood friend of the group who has kept in contact with Pacey Witter. In a three-episode story arc, Will goes to Capeside to visit with old friends while on spring break. After briefly dating Andie McPhee, he leaves Capeside to attend Rawley Academy. Pilot Season 1 (2000) Music The soundtrack features several songs with Nick Drake from his album Pink Moon. Nick Drake – "Pink Moon" (ep 1.1 and 1.7) The Getaway People – "Six Pacs" (modified) (ep 1.1 and theme song) Nick Drake – "From the Morning" (ep 1.1) Blur – "Tender" (ep 1.1) Hans Zimmer