Are you still pissed off about Freaks And Geeks getting cancelled all the way back in 2000? I am, and let the record show Judd Apatow is too. In fact, the popular director and super producer still carries so much anger from the critically acclaimed show getting axed by NBC that it drives him to keep accomplishing more and more.
Speaking at the Paley Center yesterday, Apatow, who executive produced the Paul Feig created show, let his true feelings bubble forth for the first time. He admitted he’s still mad at the executives who didn’t give the show more time to find an audience because he feels like they wrote off all of the brilliant actors, directors and writers who were so absurdly talented. They could have created something even more special with more time.
Here’s a portion of his actual quote, as per Variety…
"Even to this day, I think I didn’t want to admit that ‘Freaks and Geeks’ was cancelled. Everything I’ve done, in a way, is revenge for the people who cancelled Freaks and Geeks. It’s really demented, but it’s just like ‘you were wrong about that person, and that person and that person. And that writer and that director.’ And I really should get over that."
The insane list of people who were involved with Freaks And Geeks and would go on to more famous things has been recounted numerous times before, but for funzies, let’s go over it again. Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), James Franco (Milk), Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), John Francis Daley (Bones), Martin Starr (Party Down), Linda Cardellini (Grandma’s Boy), Busy Philipps (Cougar Town), Paul Feig (The Heat), Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin). Beyond that, actors like Jason Schwartzman (I Heart Huckabees), Rashida Jones (Parks And Recreation), David Krumholtz (Numbers), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Ben Foster (310 To Yuma and Lizzie Caplan (Mean Girls) all found early work in small roles. Yet, despite all that talent and critical acclaim, the program only lasted a measly 18 episodes, all of which are cherished by fans.
Everybody needs something to drive them. Whether it be some perceived slight, a very real middle finger or a feeling of inadequacy, the most motivated people always have some kind of wound they’re trying to patch up or some kind of fear they’re trying to conquer. If being bitter about Freaks And Geeks is what Apatow needs to keep creating exciting projects, I say so be it. There are far stupider things to be mad about.
For a reminder of how drop dead brilliant Freaks And Geeks was, you can check out a scene from the dearly departed show below…
