Editing Freaks and Geeks (section)

==Cancellation and legacy==
One of the cited reasons for its early cancellation was its inability to gain an audience due to its "erratic scheduling" and poor time slots, competing with the high-rated ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (American game show)|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire]]''. The producers created a website for the series, but NBC would not share its URL because "they didn't want people to know the Internet existed; they were worried about losing viewers to it", as explained by Judd Apatow. ''Freaks and Geeks'' was only averaging under 7 million viewers, while other NBC series such as ''[[Frasier]]'' and ''[[Friends]]'' were averaging over 14 million viewers each.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why was there never a second season of 'Freaks And Geeks', the cult show that's now on Netflix?|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/tv-blogs/freaks-and-geeks-season-2-1969369|work=NME|first=Larry|last=Bartleet|date=February 7, 2017|access-date=May 25, 2017}}</ref>

NBC and the creative directors of ''Freaks and Geeks'' did not have the same vision for the series. After the network picked up the pilot, [[Garth Ancier]] replaced [[Scott Sassa]] as president of NBC Entertainment. Ancier "didn't understand public school life" and its relevance because he went to a boarding school and then on to Princeton. Creator Paul Feig expressed the "irony of the situation", as everyone involved wanted ''Freaks and Geeks'' to be a success, but the network didn't understand the concept of realistically showcasing life as ordinary teenagers. Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow had multiple arguments with the network concerning "lack of victories" in the script and that the characters needed to be "cool." The writers wanted to produce something that would represent the average high school experience, but the network wanted to produce something that would make high school seem cool. Because the network did not think the series would be a success, they let the writers add things to the script that they "wouldn't have if they thought the show would resurface the next season", like the use of the phrase, "ambiguous genitalia".<ref>{{cite web|last=Elan|first=Pryia|title=Making the grade|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/jan/31/freaks-geeks-90210-gabe-sachs|work=The Guardian|date=January 30, 2009|access-date=May 25, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=2 Good 2 Be 4Gotten: An Oral History of Freaks and Geeks|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/01/freaks-and-geeks-oral-history|magazine=Vanity Fair|first=Robert|last=Lloyd|date=December 6, 2012|access-date=May 25, 2017}}</ref> Apatow said in 2014 that "Everything I've done, in a way, is revenge for the people who cancelled ''Freaks and Geeks''."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2014/scene/news/judd-apatow-freaks-and-geeks-1201129436/|title=Judd Apatow: Everything He's Done Is Revenge for Canceling 'Freaks and Geeks'|work=Variety|first=Whitney|last=Friedlander|date=March 11, 2014|access-date=May 25, 2017}}</ref>

===Syndication and cast reunions===
[[File:PaleyFest 2011 - Freaks and Geeks Reunion - the cast (full).jpg|thumb|left|350px|Cast of ''Freaks and Geeks'' at PaleyFest 2011]]
In June 2010, it was announced that [[Independent Film Channel|IFC]] had acquired the rights to air both ''Freaks and Geeks'' and ''[[Undeclared]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/Freaks-Geeks-Undeclared-1020096.aspx|title=Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared Return to TV|work=TV Guide|date=June 30, 2010|access-date=August 12, 2010}}</ref> ''Freaks and Geeks''{{'}}s 18-episode run on IFC finished with all episodes having aired as of October 29, 2010. ''Undeclared''{{'}}s IFC run began on November 5, 2010. Both shows have also joined [[TeenNick]]'s lineup as of June 13, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teennick.com/blog/freaks-and-geeks-undeclared-coming-to-teennick.html|title=Freaks and Geeks & Undeclared – Coming Monday!|work=TeenNick|date=June 9, 2011|access-date=June 15, 2011}}</ref>

A reunion of several cast members and producers of both shows took place at the [[Paley Center for Media]]'s PaleyFest on March 12, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paleycenter.org/paleyfest2011-freaksgeeksundeclared|title=Freaks and Geeks / Undeclared Reunion|publisher=PaleyCenter.org|date=March 12, 2011|access-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/115/1155388p1.html|title=Freaks and Geeks Still Rocks|work=IGN|date=March 14, 2011|access-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref>

===Documentary===
A documentary directed by [[Brent Hodge]] chronicling the history and production of ''Freaks and Geeks'' and featuring interviews with the cast and crew, ''Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary'', debuted at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]] on April 21, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-freaks-and-geeks-documentary-chronicles-one-of-tvs-most-infamous/ |title=Freaks and Geeks documentary chronicles one of TV's most infamous cases of 'cancelled-too-soon' |work=The Globe and Mail |first=Marsha |last=Lederman |date=April 20, 2018 |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/paul-feig-freaks-geeks-future-at-doc-premiere-tribeca-film-festival-2018-1105075 |title=Tribeca: 8 Revelations From 'Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary' Premiere' |work=The Hollywood Reporter |first=Evan |last=Real |date=April 23, 2018 |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> The documentary had its television debut on July 16, 2018, on [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/tv/2018/07/16/freaks-and-geeks-cultureshock-ae-documentary/ |title=Freaks and Geeks cast remembers 'awkward' teen years in A&E documentary |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Joseph |last=Longo |date=July 16, 2018 |access-date=July 16, 2018 |archive-date=July 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716185848/http://ew.com/tv/2018/07/16/freaks-and-geeks-cultureshock-ae-documentary/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>