Freaks and Geeks and network television were star-crossed lovers. Here’s how things played out behind scenes of the cult hit.

Before McKinley High in Lima, OH gave the underdogs and outcasts a show of their own, Freaks and Geeks took a stab at giving the story to the kids in background of the typical high school sagas on network television. The series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, reflected the story as much off screen as it did on screen.

From premiere to cancellation Freaks and Geeks’ production had as many cringe-worthy moments behind the scenes as it did on film. The story was messy, it was imperfect, and yet it gave audiences something to root for. Viewers who caught on early were the first push the series needed to boost it up in DVD sales and post-mortem cult obsession. Here we pull back the curtain to give first time viewers and fans of the series alike a look at what was actually going on at NBC, in the writers room, and in the minds of Apatow and Feig as the series came together and fell apart all at the same time.

Casting Call

The story begins with an idea, but comes to life when the casting calls are posted. This is where the seemingly fairytale-esque tale begins. Once upon a time Paul Feig called up his friend Judd Apatow with an idea. Apatow knew which direction the yellow brick road would lead to Oz and ultimately the wizard who would send them on their way to a deal at NBC. The show was sold and put into production almost immediately. The world looked good behind those complimentary green tinted lenses from the Oz gift shop.

Casting the “freaks” and the “geeks” met no hurdle it could not overcome. The biggest concern for Paul Feig was the cast had to look like real kids. Lea Michele’s with dorky glasses need not apply. No offense to the beautiful actors and actresses of the world, but for Feig’s vision to work the cast had to be a sampling of High School X, Anywhere, USA. James Franco was the only actor that was considered “too pretty” for his role as Daniel. Sam Levine’s audition for Neal on the other hand, was sealed when his William Shatner impression made a last minute appearance at the end of his tape.

As Linda Cardinelli walked into the room and instantly gained the approval of Feig, two more characters came in and created roles for themselves. Kim Kelly was a less than developed character from the outset, but Busy Phillips’ audition demanded attention be paid. In a similar vein a small feeble kid, Stephen Lea Sheppard sat at the end of a casting call hallway reading a fantasy novel. The casting directors would eventually link arms with him and take him on the journey to Freaks and Geeks as the guru.

18 episodes and no movie

How many petitions arose when series were pulled from a network this season alone? In 2000 there was no Yahoo! Instant streaming or Netflix to pick up a failed series and give it a second chance. As Freaks and Geeks began its journey on NBC, the network was, at first, very supportive of the direction the show took off in. Executives, creators, and the cast were all on the same page– give the show its best chance of staying afloat. The pilot looked promising when reviews trickled in praising the hour dramedy airing Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. But the feeling among the audience echoed the unanimous sentiment, “Oh, I should check that out if I remember and I am home on Saturday night.”

Early notes trickled down from the network, but things began to change when “Kim Kelly is My Friend,” the fourth episode of the series, was pulled before it was due to air. All of a sudden, the dark line was crossed in terms of material and the network feared that the backstory of a girl’s abusive household would do less to show great storytelling and more to isolate an already fleeting audience. The show went on to air, “Tests and Breasts” but the storyline that brought Kim Kelly and Linsey Weir together was lost in the current and audiences had to accept that these two became fast friends over night.

Order: Essential, or not?

NBC is not the green-headed monster that they may seem to be on the surface. The decision to take Freaks and Geeks off the air for two months following the fourth episode “I’m With the Band,” and “Girlfriends and Boyfriends,” was to benefit the show. Nothing was working to get the audience to tune in on Saturday at 8:00.

An extended hiatus allowed the show to come back with what essentially was a second pilot. The only catch was that second premiere could not be the episode “Girlfriends and Boyfriends.” Prior to this news the storyline set up between “I’m With the Band” and “Girlfriends and Boyfriends” acted as a two-part episode. The latter was meant to show almost immediately that Lindsey knew she was in over her head with her relationship with Nick. Instead as the series was set to come back, the network thought an episode that could welcome audiences back into the show would play better.

That episode became, “Carded and Discarded.” Mr. Rosso in a band, fake IDs, what could go wrong? Everything was in place for the lighthearted introduction to the “freaks” but having the “geeks” finally get a girl into their group, Maureen, only to have her ditch them for the popular kids in the end proved to both NBC and the writers what this show was all about.

It became clear that if they wanted a story to play out and see resolution, they needed to contain it to an episode or it would never be told. The series would be cancelled six episodes later.

Post mortem: A DVD collection worth the cost of viewing

Where exactly do those yellow and white wires go? Does my new HD ultra blue ray wireless system even have the capability to play those things? It may be worth figuring out. DVD box collections are expensive and not exactly a hot ticket item for fans of series in today’s age of digital downloads. But like most convention, Freaks and Geeks DVD collection is worth subverting the digital for the hardware.

The collection’s deleted scenes give you a look at the moments that were too cringeworthy, or long for the networks to air. Here is a look at one scene in particular that showcases Mr. Rosso at his finest.

Ben Stiller plays a Secret Service agent who speaks with Mr. Rosso about President George H. W. Bush’s impending visit to McKinley High. But Stiller gets a little more counseling than he plans to and in this eight minute unedited cut you see just how well these two play together.

Hypable’s ReWatchable podcast is working through watching Freaks and Geeks in its entirety on their weekly podcast. Watch along with the hosts and check out some of our other feature articles on the series!

• Thirteen must-have songs on your Freaks and Geeks playlist

• Freaks and Geeks: Where are they now?

• Freaks and Geeks deserves a rewatch: A superfan’s account

• Freaks and Geeks I learned from Tumblr

Special thanks to the AV Club’s Walkthrough reporting on the series from 2012.