12 Things Only A Fan Of Freaks And Geeks Will Know

In 1999, the kings of awkward comedy, Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, gave the world a gift, in the form of “Freaks and Geeks.” The show followed Sam Weir's group of geeks and Lindsay Weir's group of freaks as they navigated the halls of the same high school. "Freaks and Geeks" is one of the best shows about high school ever made. It portrayed all the humor, but also all of the pain of being an outcast in high school. The characters weren't wrapped up in crazy circumstances or bizarre relationships. They struggled with their parents. They fought with and dated each other. They broke up. They got bad grades and joined bands. They had their first crushes, their first kisses, and lost their virginity. The kids on "Freaks and Geeks" were just like us. The show portrayed high school as it really was, which is why it became a cult classic.

The show also introduced us to some of our favorite actors: Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and John Francis Daley all got their start walking down the same halls of a dreary Midwestern high school. "Freaks and Geeks" introduced us to the awkward comedy of Judd Apatow as well, and the characters would inspire many of his later movies. In a sense, "Freaks and Geeks" is where it all started for the Apatow crew, who has become famous for making us laugh and cry all at the same time.

The show was canceled after a single season, but it still managed to gain a following of super fans. Here's some things those super fans have learned about the show and the cast that you should definitely know too.

12 A lot of now famous actors auditioned for the main roles

The main cast of “Freaks and Geeks” is full of powerhouse actors who are now famous including Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel, and Lisa Cardellini. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing the roles of Ken, Danny, Nick, and Lindsay, but it turns out a lot of  actors who are now famous were looking to get their start on “Freaks and Geeks.”

Shia LaBeouf, most famous now for his roles in the "Transformers" movies, was one of the actors who tried out for the part of Sam's best friend Neal Schweiber. Lizzy Caplan, of "Mean Girls" and "Masters of Sex" fame, auditioned to play both Lindsay Weir and Kim Kelly before she was cast as Sara, which was her debut television role. Funny enough, Busy Phillips, who ended up playing Kim Kelly, also auditioned for the role of Lindsay before being cast. Kaley Cuoco, who would become Penny on 'The Big Bang Theory' wanted to play Cindy Sanders. And finally, Sam Weir was almost played by Jesse Eisenberg.

11 Two cast members had their first onscreen kisses on "Freaks and Geeks"

Most of the cast was pretty young and inexperienced. For many of them, “Freaks and Geeks” was their first major role, so there were a lot of onscreen firsts. Both John Francis Daley and Busy Phillips, who play Sam Weir and Kim Kelly respectively, had their first onscreen kisses on the “Freaks and Geeks” set.

John Francis Daley was only 13 years old when he was cast as Sam Weir and it was only his second onscreen role. Bonus fun fact: Daley was the only cast member who was the same age as his character. Most actors in high school shows are much older than their characters, and this was true for the rest of the cast, but not Daley. He shared his first onscreen kiss with Natasha Melnick, who played Sam's love interest Cindy Sanders.

Busy Phillips, who was 19 when she was cast, had only had two roles previous to “Freaks and Geeks.” She shared her first onscreen kiss with James Franco, who she ended up kissing a lot throughout the show.

10 The majority of the budget was spent on music

Everyone's high school experience is fueled by music and “Freaks and Geeks” was fueled by its soundtrack. The music was just as much a part of the show as the set or the costumes. It was a huge part of what made the show so authentic. The show was only 18 episodes long, but featured pieces of over 120 songs, and not just obscure indie songs either. There were some huge hits featured.

This killer soundtrack set the tone for the series, but it definitely wasn't cheap. The show creators were so dedicated to making sure that the show sounded right, that they spent the majority of the show's budget on licensing fees for the songs. In the end, some of the songs that they really wanted were too expensive, and they had to be swapped out for the show creators' second choices.

Bonus fun fact: When the show was picked up by Fox for re-runs they cut a lot of the songs because they didn't want to pay the fees. So, if you want the true experience of the show, watch it on Netflix.

9 The show seems so real life because it was real life

Paul Feig and Judd Apatow really wanted the series to convey an authentic experience of high school, so they went back to their own life experiences and the experiences of the other people who worked on the show. When they were brainstorming, and writing scenes Feig and Apatow would ask the cast and crew about their best, worst, and most embarrassing high school experiences. They then combined these experiences to create extremely realistic scenes.

So, when we're watching “Freaks and Geeks” thinking, “I can totally see that happening,” it's because it did happen to someone. The relatability of the characters and their lives is one of the main reasons the show has gained such a cult following in the years since its release. High school is a really weird time. Weird things happen, and we often feel like we're the only ones who feel the way we feel or experience the things we experience. “Freaks and Geeks” showed us our lives on a television screen, letting us all know we're not alone.

8 It's no surprise that the “Freaks and Geeks” alums went on to write their own movies

Judd Apatow and Paul Feig encouraged the cast to explore their own writing voices. Seth Rogen and Jason Segel often added their own jokes to the scripts. Franco described one day where Apatow and Feig literally pulled him in to their office and wrote a scene in front of him so he could see how the process happened. Busy Phillips, who played Kim Kelly, said that the writers were always willing to listen to ideas from the actors. They acted as mentors for the actors, encouraging them to pursue more than just acting.

Apparently, they did a pretty good job, because many of the cast have gone on to write and direct their own projects. Seth Rogen has 21 writing credits on IMDB, including his original movies “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” “The Green Hornet,” and “Sausage Party.” James Franco has 25 writing credits of his own, including multiple indie projects. Busy Phillips wrote the story for “Blades of Glory,” and Jason Segel has five writing credits including “The Muppets Movie,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” and “The Five Year Engagement.”

7 James Franco is a method actor and he brought that onset

Method acting involves completely becoming the character. The actor strives to understand the emotional states of the character so well that they begin to interact and react as the character, not as the actor playing the character. Anyone who's worked with a method actor can tell you that it can be really unpredictable. As the actors truly becomes their character, their reactions in scenes travel off script to a place they believe is more authentic.

James Franco, who played the bad boy stoner Daniel Desario, was a method actor and he created an entire backstory for Daniel without telling the rest of the cast or crew. He imagined that Daniel was raised by an abusive father, making him violently reactive. In one scene where Daniel was very upset, Franco was so in character that when Busy Phillips, his onscreen girlfriend, touched him, he shoved her to the ground. The whole cast was shocked by his reaction and it apparently created a lot of tension between Franco and Phillips, who didn't appreciate being unexpectedly assaulted by her costar.

6 Some of the cast skipped college for the show

Many of the actors were still in their teens when they were cast on the show and were still attending either high school or college. Seth Rogen actually lied about attending high school. He said he was keeping up on his school work remotely, but he'd actually dropped out. Seth Rogen wasn't the only drop out on set, though. Linda Cardellini and Busy Phillips both dropped out of college in order to continue their roles on the show. Jason Segel chose not to attend college at all.

The actors all knew that “Freaks and Geeks” was their opportunity to break in to acting and they put that ahead of their educations. Jason Segel and Seth Rogen have both joked that Judd Apatow gives them so many opportunities in his movies to make up for the fact that they all missed out on college in order to work on “Freaks and Geeks.” After passing up their education for a show that only ran one season, Apatow felt like he had to take care of the kids who'd given him so much of their young lives.

5 The women on the show were asked NOT to lose any weight

The major appeal of “Freaks and Geeks” was its realness and for Feig and Apatow, part of that realness included portraying real high school kids. High schools on television often look like they're packed with models. The high schoolers on TV don't usually look like the kids at my high school or any high school I've ever been to. But the girls on “Freaks and Geeks” did look remarkably real, and this was an intentional choice by the show's creators.

Apatow and Feig both described sitting down with Busy Phillips and Linda Cardellini and awkwardly asking them not to lose weight for their roles. The creators said that they wanted the girls to look like real high school girls, which meant not being rail thin.

So often, women are asked to lose weight for roles, even when they're playing high schoolers. It's refreshing to hear that Feig and Apatow went out of their way to tell their actresses to be real and not lose weight.

4 “Freaks and Geeks” is a who's who of 'before they were famous'

Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel, Lisa Cardellini, and John Francis Daley all went on to be extremely successful actors. It's really rare for so many talented people to get their start on the same television show. But they aren't the only super popular actors who appeared on the show long before they were famous.

Lizzy Caplan, better known as Janice from “Mean Girls” and Virginia on “Masters of Sex,” had a recurring role as Sarah who dated Jason Segel's character Nick. Sarah Hagan, who landed a major role in the last season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” after “Freaks and Geeks” was over, played Lindsay's former best friend Millie.

Leslie Mann, who would later appear in many an Apatow/Rogen film, made a guest appearance in one episode. Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, and Shia LaBeouf also made one episode appearances on the show.

3 For Judd Apatow, “Freaks and Geeks” was the beginning of it all

If you've seen any of Judd Apatow's movies, you know that he loves to cast the actors from “Freaks and Geeks.” In interviews throughout the years, Apatow has said that there are many reasons that he relies so heavily on these actors. For one, he really wanted to advance their careers. He'd become close to the cast, most of whom were relatively young when he worked with them on “Freaks and Geeks.” He wanted to see them to continue to work and to succeed. He also really loved working with them.

But another interesting reason he continued to work with these actors, especially Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and James Franco, is that he saw his later movies as a continuation of their character's stories. Apatow has said that he often imagined where Danny, Nick, and Ken's lives went as they got older and this began to translate in to new stories for new films.

If you think these characters and then watch movies like “Knocked Up,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshal,” and “Pineapple Express” it becomes clear that these movies are explorations of the future lives of the Freaks side of the “Freaks and Geeks” gang. It's even been suggested that all of Apatow's films exist within a “Freaks and Geeks” universe. You'll never watch his movies the same way again.

2 “Freaks and Geeks” was one of the lowest rated shows of all time

When “Freaks and Geeks” aired, it wasn't appreciated for the masterpiece it was. In fact, it was one of the lowest rated TV shows that ever aired on NBC. But “Freaks and Geeks” was almost set up to fail by the network.

Back in the days before TiVo, DVR, and streaming services, the time slot when a show aired matter a lot and “Freaks and Geeks” was plopped in one of the worst time slots ever: Saturday prime time. Nobody was at home watching TV on Saturday nights, and “Freaks and Geeks” ratings proved that. To make matters worse, they aired at the same time as “Cops.” They only managed to pull about 7 million viewers per episode, which wasn't enough to keep them from getting canceled.

Like many underrated shows from the late 90's and early 2000's, “Freaks and Geeks” became a cult classic post cancellation.

1 We missed out on a lot of juicy story lines in season two

It's a real shame the show was only given one season because Feig and Apatow had big plans for the characters in season two. They wanted to explore some really difficult topics through the Freaks. A major part of season two's story line would have involved Lindsay struggling with drug addiction. The season two opener was slated to show her being taken out of a concert on a stretcher, presumably from a drug overdose. They were also going to explore the struggles of teenage pregnancy by knocking up Busy Phillip's character, Kim. There was also talk of Franco's character, Dan, ending up in jail and Segel's character, Nick, ending up in the army.

There were some interesting plans for the Geeks as well. Sam was going to become a drama geek, something all of us drama geeks out there would have loved to see on TV. Martin Starr's character, Bill, was going to be taken under the wing of the Coach Fredricks and become a jock.

We missed a lot when this show was taken from us too soon.

“Freaks and Geeks” is still one of the best shows about high school out there. Instead of relying on outlandish drama, the show created authentic, relatable scenes that reflected the audience's experiences. It captured teen angst in ways that few shows ever have.

“Freaks and Geeks” is available on Netflix. If you've never watched it, do it now! And if you have, it's about time you re-watched it.