Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000)

A television show about two unique groups of teenagers dealing with life in high school during the 80's.

Creator:

Paul Feig

Stars:

Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Linda Cardellini	...	Lindsay Weir (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
John Francis Daley	...	Sam Weir (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
James Franco	...	Daniel Desario (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Samm Levine	...	Neal Schweiber (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Seth Rogen	...	Ken Miller (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Jason Segel	...	Nick Andopolis (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Martin Starr	...	Bill Haverchuck (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Becky Ann Baker	...	Jean Weir (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Joe Flaherty	...	Harold Weir (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Busy Philipps	...	Kim Kelly (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Michael Beardsley	...	Humphries (14 episodes, 1999-2000)
Shawn Soong	...	Stroker (14 episodes, 1999-2000)
Sarah Hagan	...	Millie Kentner (12 episodes, 1999-2000)
Steve Bannos	...	Frank Kowchevski (12 episodes, 1999-2000)
Jerry Messing	...	Gordon Crisp (11 episodes, 1999-2000)
Natasha Melnick	...	Cindy Sanders (10 episodes, 1999-2000)
Dave Allen	...	Jeff Rosso (10 episodes, 1999-2000)
Stephen Lea Sheppard	...	Harris Trinsky (10 episodes, 1999-2000)
Chauncey Leopardi	...	Alan White (9 episodes, 1999-2000)

Storyline

It's the 1980s and at McKinley High, there's two different groups of teenagers, the Freaks with cool and charismatic Daniel Desario and tomboy Lindsay Weir and the Geeks with Lindsay's shy younger brother Sam, gentle Bill Haverchuck, and self-proclaimed ladies' man Neal Schweiber. The show chronicles the normal teen/adolescence problems any teenager goes through including acceptance, drugs, drinking, and bullying.

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Plot Keywords:

geek | high school | 1980s | high school student | teacher | 

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Taglines:

It's 1980 and this is what high school was like for the rest of us.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Freaks & Geeks

Filming Locations:

City of Industry, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apatow Productions, DreamWorks Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (18 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Francis Daley is the only cast member to be the age of his character (14) during filming.

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Goofs

In the opening credits when Nick Andopolis has his school picture taken, he is wearing a black blazer over a T-shirt. When the black and white yearbook pictures are shown at the end of the opening credits, the blazer has disappeared and he is wearing only a long-sleeved shirt.

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Quotes

Neal Schweiber: Friday night, always a good night for some Sabbath.
[Lindsay looks at him]
Neal Schweiber: ... 'cause, you know, Friday? is the the Sabbath... for the Jews.

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Connections

Referenced in The Fairly OddParents: Bad Heir Day/Freaks and Greeks (2009)
title reference

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Soundtracks

"Bad Reputation"
(Main Title Song)
Written by Joan Jett, Kenny Laguna, Ritchie Cordell, Marty Kupersmith
Performed by Joan Jett
Courtesy of Blackheart Records

User Reviews

The best shows are always cancelled...

"Freaks & Geeks" was a show that I thought would be on for years. It was so perfect and all the actors/actresses were great in it. It first aired the same fall that I started high school, so I found a lot to relate to in it. This is probably the best drama NBC ever had, but they dropped it. Why? They keep crap like Providence and Ed (yuck) on, but instead bail out on REALLY good stuff like this? The critics loved it, the fans loved it, it had a future. Each episode was an hour long, and focused around two social groups: The stoner crowd (Freaks) and the underclassmen/nerds (Geeks) and their experiences throughout the year. I was really looking forward to see what direction this show would take in it's oncoming years, but sadly, we will never see another new episode. I just pray for re-runs.