Judd Apatowcan’t stop talkingFreaks and Geeks and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I think that everybody tried to write and perform and direct from their heart,” says Apatow.
So I’ll always be proud of it.
The cast of ‘Freaks and Geeks.'.Chris Haston/NBC
And it’s everybody’s origin story!"
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: We’re more than 20 years removed from this show being one season and done.
Considering that, how shocked are you that you’re still talking aboutFreaks and Geeks?
The ‘Discos and Dragons’ episode of ‘Freaks and Geeks.'.NBC
That’s how I rationalized its lack of mainstream success at the time.
So it’s amazing that people are still watching it.
And it does, so it doesn’t seem to age.
Do you think that is why it’s still connecting with people and finding a new audience?
It’s just been a consistent thing for the last 20 years.
It’s always drifted in and out.
Especially since not everybody still has their DVD player.
I’m holding onto mine, but I understand if they let it go.
It seems like it’s always been one step at a time with the show.
Was it frustrating at times over the years that it took so long to have it fully available?
The big holdup had long been the music, right?
I heard that they resolved all those issues forever now.
That’s something we’ve had to catch up on with all of our contracts.
How tough a call was that at the time?
It wasn’t a hard call because it was significantly less than what we were shooting it for.
And we had agreed that we were never going to do anything that might ruin the show.
The idea of having it return in some substandard way was too scary.
We were always aware that what was happening was a little bit of a creative miracle.
And if we did anything else, it would probably be way worse than what he just accomplished.
Let’s imagine thatFreaks and Geekswas never made in 1999, and instead you were making it today.
Obviously the landscape of television is unrecognizable compared to then.
So how different do you things would have been?
The show always had the feel of an independent movie.
I mean, isn’t John currently directing aDungeons & Dragonsmovie?
That’s literally the perfect trajectory for Sam Weir.
The whole thing ends when John’sDungeons & Dragonsmovie comes out, because the circle will have been closed.
They all seem to have very high standards and they’re trying to do projects they are proud of.
People aren’t just working, they’re working on great stuff.
It certainly would be a grab bag.
That seems about right.
I think that everybody tried to write and perform and direct from their heart.
People really gave it up to the show.
And as a result, people connect in a very deep way.
So I’ll always be proud of it.
And it’s everybody’s origin story!
No matter, you’re always going to share that first time.
When we inject shows directly into people’s consciousness!
Read more fromI Want My Teen TV, EW’s summerlong celebration of teen shows past and present.
