Scripted series · NBC
Freaks and Geeks
What high school was like for the rest of us.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
John Francis Daley
Sam Weir
18 eps
Linda Cardellini
Lindsay Weir
18 eps
James Franco
Daniel Desario
18 eps
Samm Levine
Neal Schweiber
18 eps
Martin Starr
Bill Haverchuck
18 eps
Jason Segel
Nick Andopolis
18 eps
Seth Rogen
Ken Miller
18 eps
Busy Philipps
Kim Kelly
18 eps
Joe Flaherty
Harold Weir
18 eps
Becky Ann Baker
Jean Weir
18 eps
Jerry Messing
Gordon Crisp
1 eps
Kristy Wu
Mousy Girl
1 eps
Kevin Ruf
Police Officer
1 eps
Mike White
Chip Kelly
1 eps
Paul Feig
Alex the Guitarist (uncredited)
1 eps
Omri Katz
Brad
1 eps
Kevin Corrigan
Toby
1 eps
Percy Daggs III
Mathlete #2
1 eps
Tava Smiley
Carol
1 eps
Alexander Gould
Ronnie Johnson
1 eps
David Krumholtz
Barry Schweiber
1 eps
Ben Stiller
Agent Meara
1 eps
Sam McMurray
Dr. Vic Schweiber
3 eps
Brianna Brown
The Cheerleader
1 eps
Tom Virtue
Mr. Sampson
2 eps
Jessica Campbell
Amy Andrews
2 eps
Claudia Christian
Gloria Haverchuck
2 eps
Kenn Michael
Calvin
1 eps
Maura Soden
Mrs. Kent
1 eps
Lyle Kanouse
Auto Shop Manager
1 eps
Amy Wheaton
Pretty Girl
1 eps
Leslie Mann
Miss Foote
1 eps
Sarah Hagan
Millie Kentner
11 eps
Bianca Kajlich
Piercing Girl
1 eps
Trace Beaulieu
Hector Lacovara
6 eps
Alan Simpson
Tom
2 eps
Rashida Jones
Karen Scarfolli
1 eps
Matthew McKane
Mike Stevens
3 eps
Ann Dowd
Cookie Kelly
2 eps
Chauncey Leopardi
Alan White
9 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Freaks and Geeks actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Freaks and Geeks reads strongest on Character Depth, Bingeability and Humour.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The story
What it's about
High school mathlete Lindsay Weir rebels and begins hanging out with a crowd of burnouts (the "freaks"), while her brother Sam Weir navigates a different part of the social universe with his nerdy friends (the "geeks").
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E15
Discos and Dragons
Daniel is sentenced to audio/visual class as punishment for attempting to pull the fire alarm to get out of taking a test. Lindsay is accepted to a two-week academic summit. Nick has a new girlfriend and takes up disco dancing.
S01E14
The Little Things
Sam discovers that life as Cindy's boyfriend is not nearly as exciting as he had imagined. Ken's girlfriend ,Amy, confesses a shocking secret, putting Ken in an awkward situation. Lindsay struggles with asking Vice President George Bush a question during an assembly.
- Directed by Jake Kasdan
S01E12
Chokin' and Tokin'
When Bill talks about being allergic to peanuts in class, Alan tries to prove he's lying but Bill ends up in the hospital after an allergic reaction. Lindsay smokes weed for the first time.
- Directed by Miguel Arteta
- Written by Judd Apatow
S01E17
Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers
Lindsay tries to convince Harold to let her join her friends at a Who concert. Kim and Lindsay accidentally run over Millie's dog. Kim starts hanging out with Millie. Lindsay wants to tell Millie the truth about her dog, but Kim doesn't. Meanwhile, Nick teaches himself to play guitar and writes a love ballad for Lindsay and decides to play it for her despite Kens' objections. Ms. Haverchuck stuns Bill with the news that she has been dating Coach Fredricks.
- Directed by Judd Apatow
- Written by Bob Nickman, Judd Apatow
S01E10
Looks and Books
A car accident results in Lindsay deciding to stop hanging out with her “freak” friends. She decides to rejoin the mathletes and start hanging out with Millie again. Sam adopts a new modern hair style in the hopes of impressing Cindy. When this fails, he seeks out a new wardrobe.
- Directed by Ken Kwapis
- Written by Paul Feig
S01E18
Noshing and Moshing
Neal wrestles with the dilemma of whether to tell his mother about his father's affair. Lindsay is given detention after coming to the aid of a girl being attacked by a boy. Daniel deals with pressures at home and with Kim. He escapes from his problems through punk music.
- Directed by Jake Kasdan
- Written by J. Elvis Weinstein
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S01E18
Noshing and Moshing
- Directed by Jake Kasdan
- Written by J. Elvis Weinstein
S01E17
Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers
- Directed by Judd Apatow
- Written by Bob Nickman, Judd Apatow
S01E16
Kim Kelly Is My Friend
- Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
- Written by Mike White
S01E13
Smooching and Mooching
- Directed by Jake Kasdan
- Written by Steve Bannos
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- David KnollerProducer
- Victor HsuProducer
- J. Elvis WeinsteinProducer
- Judd ApatowExecutive Producer
Writing
- Paul FeigWriter
- Jeff JudahWriter
- Rebecca Rand KirshnerWriter
- Gabe SachsWriter
- Mike WhiteWriter
- Steve BannosWriter
Direction
- Paul FeigDirector
- Danny LeinerDirector
- Bryan GordonDirector
- Ken OlinDirector
- Miguel ArtetaDirector
- Jake KasdanDirector
Cinematography
- Russ T. AlsobrookDirector of Photography
- Bill PopeDirector of Photography
Music
- Michael AndrewsOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon Prime VideoStreaming
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Paramount Plus PremiumStreaming
- Paramount Plus EssentialStreaming
- Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel Streaming
- Paramount+ Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- Paramount+ Roku Premium ChannelStreaming
- Amazon Prime Video with AdsStreaming
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
My So-Called Life
1994
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
The Carrie Diaries
2013
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Young Sheldon
2017
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Rebelde
2004
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Boy Meets World
1993
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Toradora!
2008
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
2008
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
The Wonder Years
1988
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Twin Peaks
1990
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Awkward.
2011
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Red Oaks
2014
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Merlí
2015
Character-driven drama · Sharp comic writing
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Lioness
2023
Stay with stories about power, and what it costs the people holding it.
Shameless
2011
A palate cleanser with real writing behind the jokes.
Friends
1994
Need something lighter afterwards? Start here.
The West Wing
1999
Another masterpiece of long-form storytelling, chosen to follow this one.
Smallville
2001
Another invented world built with the same seriousness — start at episode one.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation