One Season Wonders: Freaks and Geeks
Before he got Knocked Up, Judd Apatow, along with Paul Feig, created this critically praised, highly loved series about, well, Freaks and Geeks. It was cancelled after only 12 episodes but a fan-led campaign convinced NBC to broadcast three more episodes in July 2000. Three others would not be seen until September of that year when the cable channel Fox 
Family aired them in syndication.
Set in the early 1980’s, the show revolved around Lindsay Weir played by Linda Cardellini (Scooby Doo, ER) and her brother, Sam played by John Francis Daley (Waiting) and their life at McKinley High School. The Geeks included Samm Levine as Neal Schweiber, and Martin Starr as Bill Haverchuck. The Freaks were James Franco (Spider-Man) as Daniel Desario, Busy Philipps as Kim Kelly, Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Knocked Up) as Nick Andopolis, and Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Superbad) as Ken Miller. Ironically enough, several of the freaks have ended up playing geeks in many of Apatow’s movies.
The show received Emmy nominations in 2000 and 2001 for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and took home the Emmy for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series in 2000.
The complete series is now available on DVD and includes:
- All 18 episodes on 6 DVDs
- The director’s cut of the pilot with never-before-seen footage
- Deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, and outtakes
- 29 audio commentaries by the actors, writers, directors, network executives, parents of cast members, and obsessive fans
- 28-page booklet with an essay by “Freaks and Geeks” creator Paul Feig and a Q&A with producer/writer Judd Apatow
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