Freaks & Geeks Revival Finally Happening? Seth Rogen Responds
Seth Rogen has shut down the idea of a Freaks and Geeks revival.
Seth Rogen is against anyone reviving cult favorite series Freaks and Geeks. The Sausage Party star told People, “I know enough now not to f— with that, to just let it be good and not try to go revisit it.” The inclusion of the expletive only serves to hammer home just how serious Rogen is about the subject.
Freaks and Geeks ran for a single season on NBC from 1999-2000. The show wasn’t a hit, at least not in the way networks care about ratings. It was, however, arguably one of the most influential series of the last 30 years.
Freaks and Geeks was like a breeding ground for the talent–both on and off the screen–that would dominate Hollywood in the years since its cancelation.
Freaks and Geeks not only gave Seth Rogen his big break, but one of his frequent collaborators James Franco also got his first exposure on the show. In addition to the Pineapple Express co-stars, Geeks introduced Busy Philips, Martin Starr, Linda Cardelini, Jason Segel, and John Francis Daly to the world.
All of the above actors went on to star in some of the most popular media of the last 20+ years including Bones, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Cougar Town, How I Met Your Mother, and Mad Men, just to name a few. And that’s just the actors.
Freaks and Geeks writers Judd Apatow and Paul Feig went on to direct hits like 40 Year Old Virgin and Bridesmaids among several other smash-hit comedies. John Francis Daly has been pulling double duty as both a writer and actor on the popular drama Bones as well as writing the popular films Horrible Bosses and the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Set in the early 1980s, Freaks and Geeks kicked off the ’80s nostalgia wave decades ahead of Stranger Things. Geeks also featured characters playing Dungeons & Dragons on-screen years before the tabletop game became “cool” and acceptable to the mainstream. The show was a pioneer in too many ways to count.
With remakes, reboots, and legacy sequels being the only things Hollywood seems to make anymore, it only makes sense for Seth Rogen to make his opinion known now before it’s too late. Rogen implores anyone looking to remake Freaks and Geeks to just “Let it exist.” Seth also called the show a rarity for its almost universally beloved stance among critics and fans alike.
Freaks and Geeks followed the exploits of Lindsey and Sam Weir as they navigate high school and find themselves drawn to one of two misfit cliques, the titular freaks, and geeks. Sam (John Francis Daley) gravitates toward the geeks and starts playing Atari and Dungeons & Dragons. Meanwhile, Lindsey (Linda Cardelini) finds herself drawn to the freaks, a group that includes a baby-faced Seth Rogen, and is more concerned with fake IDs and forming a high school band than playing games.
NBC canceled the show due to low ratings, but Freaks and Geeks later became a cult hit thanks to reruns and home videos. Fans that want to revisit the show are in luck. The entire series is streaming on Hulu, Paramount+, and Pluto TV.
