Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Freaks and Geeks

  • TV Series
  • 1999–20001999–2000
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 44m
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
145K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
424
61
Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine, Seth Rogen, Martin Starr, and Jason Segel in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
Home Video Trailer from Shout! Factory
Play trailer2:01
8 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDrama
A high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.A high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.A high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
145K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
424
61
    • Paul Feig
  • Stars
    • Linda Cardellini
    • John Francis Daley
    • James Franco
    • Paul Feig
  • Stars
    • Linda Cardellini
    • John Francis Daley
    • James Franco
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 238User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated TV #63
    • Won 1 Primetime Emmy

    Episodes18

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated
    1 Season

    Videos8

    What to Watch After "I Am Not Okay With This"
    Clip 3:39
    Watch What to Watch After "I Am Not Okay With This"
    Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series
    Trailer 2:01
    Watch Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series
    Freaks And Geeks: What Are You Gonna Do?
    Trailer 0:44
    Watch Freaks And Geeks: What Are You Gonna Do?
    Freaks And Geeks: Join Us
    Trailer 0:39
    Watch Freaks And Geeks: Join Us
    Freaks And Geeks: Battle Of The Bands
    Trailer 0:37
    Watch Freaks And Geeks: Battle Of The Bands
    Freaks And Geeks
    Trailer 0:39
    Watch Freaks And Geeks
    The Evolution of Busy Philipps
    Video 4:05
    Watch The Evolution of Busy Philipps
    The Evolution of Nerds
    Video 3:44
    Watch The Evolution of Nerds

    Photos458

    Tom Wilson in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Samm Levine and Shaun Weiss in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Linda Cardellini in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    John Francis Daley in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, and Stephen Lea Sheppard in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Linda Cardellini and John Francis Daley in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    John Francis Daley and Natasha Melnick in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Samm Levine in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Linda Cardellini and Busy Philipps in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Ben Stiller and Dave Allen in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    John Francis Daley, Pamela Gordon, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, and Stephen Lea Sheppard in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Busy Philipps and James Franco in Freaks and Geeks (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Linda Cardellini
    Linda Cardellini
    • Lindsay Weir
    John Francis Daley
    John Francis Daley
    • Sam Weir
    James Franco
    James Franco
    • Daniel Desario
    Samm Levine
    Samm Levine
    • Neal Schweiber
    Seth Rogen
    Seth Rogen
    • Ken Miller
    Jason Segel
    Jason Segel
    • Nick Andopolis
    Martin Starr
    Martin Starr
    • Bill Haverchuck
    Becky Ann Baker
    Becky Ann Baker
    • Jean Weir
    Joe Flaherty
    Joe Flaherty
    • Harold Weir
    Busy Philipps
    Busy Philipps
    • Kim Kelly
    Jerome Elston Scott
    Jerome Elston Scott
    • Jermaine…
    Steve Bannos
    Steve Bannos
    • Frank Kowchevski
    Dave Allen
    Dave Allen
    • Jeff Rosso
    Sarah Hagan
    Sarah Hagan
    • Millie Kentner
    Jerry Messing
    Jerry Messing
    • Gordon Crisp
    Natasha Melnick
    Natasha Melnick
    • Cindy Sanders
    Stephen Lea Sheppard
    Stephen Lea Sheppard
    • Harris Trinsky
    Chauncey Leopardi
    Chauncey Leopardi
    • Alan White
      • Paul Feig
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Arrested Development
    8.7
    Arrested Development
    Chappelle's Show
    8.8
    Chappelle's Show
    Parks and Recreation
    8.6
    Parks and Recreation
    Curb Your Enthusiasm
    8.8
    Curb Your Enthusiasm
    It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
    8.8
    It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
    Silicon Valley
    8.5
    Silicon Valley
    Community
    8.5
    Community
    Seinfeld
    8.9
    Seinfeld
    Undeclared
    7.9
    Undeclared
    Nathan for You
    8.9
    Nathan for You
    30 Rock
    8.3
    30 Rock
    Workaholics
    8.1
    Workaholics

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      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 cancelled, and that all of his subsequent movies are the continuous adventures of those characters.
    • Goofs
      The weathered and worn Pontiac Trans Am that Daniel Desario drives is a design that was available no earlier than 1979. Since the show takes place in 1980, it is highly unlikely that a high school student from a low-income family could afford what was then a fairly new car - and almost equally unlikely that it would look so aged within one year.
    • Alternate versions
      There are many differences between the master copies of the show, and the versions that aired. Some scenes are added in the masters, and some of the music is changed. This may have been due to time problems with the network and copyright problems with music, but nothing is confirmed.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 52nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2000)

    User reviews238

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    One of the best shows of all time.
    The show's creative team seems to have an eye for the high school experience and their vision transcends the setting. Freaks and Geeks is set at a Michigan high school in 1980 and the opening shot of the series sets us up for who the show will be about. We track across a football practice and up to the bleachers where a player and cheerleader are discussing how they love each other so much, it's scary. We linger briefly on this generic moment before moving underneath the bleachers to real life and a conversation about Molly Hatchet and Led Zeppelin. These are the Freaks. Then come the Geeks. They are three boys quoting Caddyshack, are bullied for it, and then saved by a girl. It's through these freaks and these geeks that we will relive the high school experience. Sure the names of the groups change, their lingo and the bands they listen to, but everyone can relate to the horrors and beauties of high school and the relationships that reside there.

    So many characterizations about this period of life are presented through the eyes of characters that virtually no one was. The characters are either too smart, quoting Kierkegaard at fourteen and making their own label-worthy clothing, or they are perfect, as if everyone's capable of making the game-winning shot. Our story here is presented through the lives of Lindsey and Sam Weir. Lindsey is the oldest. She's a former "mathlete" and "that girl in English who got an "A."" However, dissatisfaction with her life and an attraction to the easygoing ways of Daniel Desario, the head freak, leads her to a new group of friends and a shift in direction. Her successes as a student and the perception of her as a perfect daughter have left her feeling empty. So she trades her plaid dress for her dad's old army jacket and forsakes the library for the smoking patio. But Lindsey's is not simply a story of "teenage rebellion." Her's is a journey into the genuine as she finds a home in the murky adventures of friendships and a real life lived.

    Sam and his friends, Bill and Neal, are freshman, learning from the outset that "high school sucks." But their stories are not simply the ninth grade torture chamber they could have been. No, Sam, Bill, and Neal are redeemed by their acynical, wide-eyed approach to life and their affection for one another. This care they have for one another is refreshing and truthful. In one episode (The Garage Door), Sam suspects that Neal's dad is being unfaithful in his marriage. Bill reminds Sam that he has to tell Neal what he saw. There are no secrets. "Remember that time in science class when I tried to sneak out a fart and it came out a…poop? Do you think I wanted to tell you that?" Their innocence isn't simply an extension of their naivete, (well, Bill is a little naïve) but flows more from their trust in one another and willingness to be faithful. In "Smooching and Mooching," Neal and Bill discuss strategy for spin-the-bottle at an upcoming make-out party. Bill asks, "What if they don't wanna kiss us?" Neal replies, "That's the genius part of the game. They have to." "I don't know. I just don't want to see the expression on their face when they see that the bottle lands on me," says Bill, gently. The geeks are not understated, and yet never over the top. They get their friendship just right.

    Freaks and Geeks also gives us two of the great television characterizations that I've ever seen, Bill, played by Martin Starr, and Nick, played by Jason Seigel. Bill is the anti-Eddie Haskel. He's brimming with authenticity and his laid back ways provide some of the shows greatest comedic moments. In "Girlfriends and Boyfriends," Bill gets to be study partners with Cindy Sanders, one of the cutest girls in school and Sam's big crush. At a study session, her getting up from a chair is accompanied by a noise that either came from her or from the vinyl seat covering. When she leaves the room he immediately switches chairs and scootches around on it to see if indeed the sound came from Cindy or the vinyl. (It wasn't the vinyl…) Nick isn't quite so self-assured. If he is wide-eyed, its because he's staring into headlights. In fact, there are times when he comes off as manipulative and creepy and yet there is a sadness in his character that I haven't quite seen before. He is afraid. In "I'm With the Band" Lindsey encourages him to try out for a local band and fulfill his dream of being a rock-n-roll drummer only to find that his skills don't quite match his passion for the music. In "Discos and Dragons" he finally finds something he's good at, disco, and yet it's revealed to the viewer that the disco will close within a weeks time. He's the friend that has to be taken care of. (Ken smashes Nick's guitar so that he won't sing an embarrassing love ode to Lindsey.) Yet he wants to be the spirit of the group. ("Laser Floyd is playing at the laser dome!") But Nick isn't simply sad because bad things happen to him. He wants to be a deep thinker, but can't scratch the surface of things and conventional modes of "finding your way" seem only to backfire. He has glimpsed his place in the world, and he can't bear it.
    helpful•30
    4
    • mikefogerty
    • Mar 28, 2006

    FAQ1

    • What are the songs played in Freaks and Geeks?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 25, 1999 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Ulysses S. Grant High School - 13000 Oxnard St, Van Nuys, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Apatow Productions
      • DreamWorks Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 44 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby
      • (original broadcast)

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine, Seth Rogen, Martin Starr, and Jason Segel in Freaks and Geeks (1999)
    Top Gap
    What was the official certification given to Freaks and Geeks (1999) in Japan?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page
    Add episode

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.