Freaks and Geeks

I’ve said it before (here and here) and I’ll say it again: If you haven’t seen this show, get on it! It was a short lived, one season, hilarious and touching TV show written, produced and directed by Paul Feig and Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Bridesmaids) in 1999. It’s one of my favorite shows of all time.

The show is sort of based on the Weir siblings, Lindsay and Sam and their high school experience in 1980. Lindsay hangs with the burn outs at school, but is still a good girl, similar to Angela on My So-Called Life. Sam is busy playing D&D with his nerdy friends and getting picked on at school. Ok, so that makes it sound kind of lame, but it’s adorable, heartfelt and hilarious and contains some amazing acting. Just take a look at the cast. You know them all!

The Freaks

Linda Cardellini as Lindsay Weir

Best known for ER and Scooby Doo

James Franco as Daniel Desario

Best known for Pineapple Express and 127 Hours

Busy Philipps as Kim Kelly

Best known for Dawson’s Creek and Cougar Town

Jason Segel as Nick Andopolis

Best known for Forgetting Sarah Marshall and How I Met Your Mother

Seth Rogen as Ken Miller

Best known for Knocked Up and The Green Hornet

The Geeks

John Francis Daley as Sam Weir

Best known for Kitchen Confidential and Bones

Samm Levine as Neal Schweiber

Best known for small rolls in I Love You, Beth Cooper and Inglorious Basterds

Martin Starr as Bill Haverchuck

Best known for Knocked Up and Party Down

Take a look at some guest stars:

Samaire Armstrong as Laurie the Dead-Head

Best known for Entourage, The OC and Dirty Sexy Money

Lizzy Caplan as Sara

Best known for Mean Girls, True Blood and Party Down

Matt Czuchry as Lincoln Jock

Best known for Gilmore Girls and The Good Wife

Kayla Ewell as Maureen Sampson

Best known for The Vampire Diaries

Ben Foster as Eli

Best known for Six Feet Under, X-Men and 3:10 to Yuma

Joanna Garcia as Vicki Appleby

Best known for Reba and Better With You

Rashida Jones as Karen Scarfoli

Best known for The Office and Parks and Recreation

David Krumholtz as Barry Schweibe

Best known for 10 Things I Hate About You, The Closer and Numb3rs

Leslie Mann as Miss Foote

Best known for Knocked Up and Funny People

Blake Shields as Rick Phillips

Best known for Carnivale, K-Ville and Heroes

Jason Schwartzman as Howie Gelfan

Best known for Rushmore, Marie Antoinette and The Darjeeling Limited

(I could go on and on about Jason. I love him!)

Look at all those actors! That alone should make you want to watch it. I’m telling you, it’s a must see. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry. I don’t know anyone I’ve introduced it to that doesn’t love it, including my mom. You can get this show from Netflix (not streaming) or watch it on IFC. Or you can just buy it and watch it once a year like I do.