“Freaks go far” Freaks and Geeks only lasted one season, yet it launched some of Hollywood’s biggest talents.
Judd Apatow and Paul Feig created the 1999 NBC teen comedy. Set in a 1980s Detroit suburb, the series follows Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini), who falls in with lazy “freaks,” and her brother Sam (John Francis Daley), who navigates high school with his “geek” buddies.
“We spent two weeks locked in a room telling personal stories. I asked everyone what the best thing about high school was. Worst high school experience? Who did you love?'” Feig told Vanity Fair in 2014 about the series’ scripting process.
“There are most of our stories. Real-life is weirder than TV. I wanted the show to be personal for everyone.
Despite being canceled early, the NBC comedy got three Emmy nominations and was named one of Time’s “100 Greatest Shows of All Time” in 2007. Cardellini remembers what drew her to Lindsay.
“Here’s a girl who really wants to get free from her parents and what they know her as, but actually loves them,” she told Vanity Fair in 2014. It was more intriguing than reading about teens who disliked their parents.
While Apatow and Feig went on to have great careers behind the camera, they’ve both preserved a particular place in their hearts for Freaks and Geeks.
Apatow teased in March 2014 at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, “I still don’t want to accept Freaks and Geeks was canceled.” “Everything I’ve done is payback for Freaks and Geeks’ cancellation.”
Scroll down to see where the cast is now.
Rogen (Ken Miller)
The Canadian comic starred in Knocked Up, The Green Hornet, and Neighbors. When not acting, he writes and produces.
He married writer-actress Lauren Miller in October 2011 and lives in California. He recently worked with Charlize Theron in The Long Shot.
Franco (Daniel Desario)
After Freaks and Geeks ended, Franco won a Golden Globe for James Dean. After Spider-Man (2002) and 127 Hours (2010), he studied English at Yale.
Franco and Rogen have been friends since their NBC days. Pineapple Express (2008), The Interview (2014), The Disaster Artist (2017), etc.
Rogen said they wouldn’t cooperate again after Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by many women. James Dean explained why Rogen “had to answer” for him.
“I was in rehab for substance abuse and had addiction-related concerns. Franco remarked on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Podcast” that he used his recovery history to change who he was “In December 2021, when discussing his claims.
Moreover, “Human inclination is to halt anything like this. You simply want to apologize and get it done. You can’t do the task and see what’s below.”
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Segel (Nick Andapolis)
Segel also played Marshall Eriksen on How I Met Your Mother. The CBS series ran from 2005-2014.
Segel appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), I Love You, Man (2009), and The Muppets (2011). He’s an ordained minister who married Jay Leno in 2010. In 2020, he starred in AMC’s Dispatches From Elsewhere.
Cardellini (Lindsay Weir)
The Loyola Marymount graduate has since appeared in Mad Men, New Girl, and Dead to Me. She and her boyfriend Steven Rodriguez declared they were expecting in October 2011. The daughter was born in February 2012 and engaged in June 2013.
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Levine (Neal Schweiber)
Since Freaks and Geeks ended, the Illinois native has been in short films including I Love You, Beth Cooper, and Sydney White. Since March 2009, he’s been a regular on YouTube’s Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show. He engaged Rachel Cushing in March 2020.
B.P. (Kim Kelly)
Philipps starred in Dawson’s Creek from 2001-2003. From 2009 to 2015, she starred on ABC’s Cougar Town and had supporting appearances in White Chicks (2004), Made of Honor (2008),
He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), and I Feel Pretty (2018). Busy Philipps has been on Girls5eva since 2021 and hosts her own podcast.
Philipps is an outspoken champion for women’s equality and once hosted Busy Tonight. She has two daughters with ex-husband Marc Silverstein, whom she divorced in 2021 after 14 years. Philipps separated in 2022.
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Daley (Sam Weir)
Daley began writing with Jonathan Goldstein after a few minor parts. The team co-wrote Horrible Bosses (2011), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), and Horrible Bosses 2. (2014).
They co-directed Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman’s 2018 comedy Game Night. Goldstein and Daley are in talks to direct and script the Dungeons & Dragons reboot (2023). He married Corinne Kingsbury in 2016.
Starr (Bill Haverchuck)
He played Roman DeBeers on Party Down and Bertram Gilfoyle on Silicon Valley (2014 to 2019). He worked with Apatow on 2007’s Knocked Up, Superbad, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
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Flannery (Harold Weir)
Second City Theater alum appeared in The Legend of Tarzan (2001-2003) and Home on the Range (2004). In 2004, he began teaching at Toronto’s Humber College.