Near the end of the episode, Jen mentions the show Roswell is airing in 5 minutes. This was an inside joke, as Roswell aired after Dawson's Creek on the WB. The lead character of that show was played by Jason Behr, who played Chris Wolfe for 6 episode in the second season of Dawson's Creek.
Kevin Williamson creator of Dawson's Creek (1998) also created the more popular The Vampire Diaries (2007). Several themes and even names of characters overlap in this episode, namely the 'Bennett's' and barring innocent people in a church and setting on fire.
Kerr Smith does not appear in this episode.