Trivia
The pilot was filmed in an actual school, and after the show was picked up, school sets were built that matched the original school almost exactly, and the rest of the series was filmed on these sets. The hallway set was actually just one "T" section of hallway, and it was constantly redressed to make it appear as if more of the school was being shown. The extras walking down the hall would pile up at the end of the hallway after every shot, as there was literally nowhere for them to go.
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The creators were determined not to end each show with a typical "happy ending". One notable exception is the pilot episode, which the creators purposely wrote as a self-contained story, in case the show was never picked up for production.
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About halfway through the season, it was evident that the show was in danger of being canceled. The rest of the episodes were put on hold, while the creators wrote and filmed the final episode (which was written in a way as to serve as both a series finale if the show was canceled, and a season finale if the show would've gotten picked up for a second season). Several episodes later, it was canceled.
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Busy Philipps orginally auditioned for the part of Lindsay Weir. The producers did not think she was right for the part but asked her to try out for the supporting role of Kim Kelly.
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Stephen Lea Sheppard only auditioned because his friend, who he was living with at the time, asked him to go.
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The smoking patio where the freaks hung out was actually filmed at several different locations.
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While the show took place in Michigan, it was shot in California. Outside scenes proved to be difficult to shoot because no palm trees were allowed to be seen in the shot. If you look closely you may see at least one.
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The bottom "leaf" on Mr. Rosso's tree says "Peter Warrick FSU", who was a wide receiver Florida State, for now playing for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL
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John Francis Daley is the only cast member to be the age of his character (14) during filming.
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In one scene, Sam Weir is discussing Stripes. Joe Flaherty, who plays Weir's father, had a small part in that film.
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Nearly everything that happens to the characters happened to Paul Feig or other members of the crew - for example, the blue suit that Sam Weir wears in "Looks and Books", the showering in the locker room storyline in "I'm With the Band".
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Paul Feig's inspiration for the show was Rainer Werner Fassbinder's epic Berlin Alexanderplatz, which dealt with the lives of outsiders and misfits in Berlin before World War II.
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According to executive producer Judd Apatow, the "look" of the show was heavily inspired by the works of director Hal Ashby, particularly Harold and Maude and The Last Detail.
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Creator Paul Feig wrote the pilot in a series of hotel rooms while traveling cross-country in an attempt to sell his independent feature, Life Sold Separately.
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Jason Segel admitted it was very easy to act intimidated of his father in the show, played by Kevin Tighe, because he was intimidated by Tighe in real life.
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Linda Cardellini (Lindsay) and Busy Philipps (Kim) were both born on June 25th. However, Cardellini was born in 1975, while Philipps was born in 1979.
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James Franco and 'Busy Philips' were said to have hated each other in real life, in spite of the fact that they play a couple in the show.
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Series producer Judd Apatow told Vanity Fair in 2012 that whenever he sees an opportunity to use anyone from the show he does. It is his way of refusing to accept that the show was canceled, and that all of his subsequent movies are the continuous adventures of those characters.
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Lizzy Caplan auditioned for both the roles of Lindsay Weir and Kim Kelly before being later cast as Sara.
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