“Freaks and Geeks” — a.k.a., the show that was canceled too soon — has been the subject of a possible reboot since it was axed by NBC after just one short season back in 2000.
Though creator Paul Feig has shot down revival rumors in the past, on Sunday at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif., exec producer Judd Apatow said there is a glimmer of hope.
“I don’t think so,” he said, talking to a small group of reporters, when asked if he’d want to revisit the “Freaks and Geeks” characters. “I think we had a beautiful poetic ending, and it’s a miracle that it worked so well. You don’t want to see what happened in the diner after ‘The Sopranos’ ended. As much as at the time it threw you, as the years passed you think, that was a brilliant ending so I don’t think we would mess with it, but you never know — anything can happen.”
He continued, “There’s something about the show that’s timeless because we were trying to write about the era before technology so it doesn’t look goofy because they’re holding tiny cell phones, so we’re very lucky that way.”
While there is no revival in the works, Apatow raved about the cast, which included James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segal, Busy Philipps and Linda Cardellini.
“They’re so talented and we knew it at the time, and that’s why it was so heartbreaking [the show was canceled] because we had a sense that it was an amazing collection of people,” Apatow told reporters.
During his “Love” panel, Apatow was asked the question and joked, “All of those characters died in a super max prison … You never know, It could happen. This year it won’t happen. We’ll see. I think James Franco has already made a ‘Freaks and Geeks’ reunion.”
However, the “Freaks and Geeks” team is still very much in touch — so much so that Apatow will have a cameo appearance in Franco’s upcoming film “The Disaster Artist.”
“The other day, I did a brief cameo in the movie that James Franco is directing about the making of the movie “The Room” so it’s just fun to go, ‘Wow, look at James. He’s directing,'” Apatow, who was at TCA to support his Netflix series “Love,” said. “And Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg] are directing. And look at what Linda Cardellini is doing on ‘Bloodline’ and all the movies. I’m very proud of everybody.”
Back in 2014, Apatow spoke to Variety about “Freaks and Geeks” being canceled too soon. “Even to this day, I think I didn’t want to admit that ‘Freaks and Geeks’ was cancelled … Everything I’ve done, in a way, is revenge for the people who cancelled ‘Freaks and Geeks.’ It’s really demented, but it’s just like ‘you were wrong about that person, and that person and that person. And that writer and that director.’ And I really should get over that.”
As for another reboot, Apatow is bringing back Pee-wee Herman for a Netflix flick “Pee-wee Herman’s Big Holiday,” which will launch this year.
“I love Pee-wee Herman, and I always wanted more Pee-wee Herman movies and TV shows so I’m very excited to see the film, which is really funny and silly and stays to the spirit of all his other work,” Apatow said at TCA. Of actor Paul Reubens, who portrays Pee-wee, Apatow added, “It was a pleasure for Paul and I to collaborate with him. He knows exactly what he wants to do and what the voice of that work is, so we tried to help in any way we can, but it really is a world he has invented. We’re just trying to help to make another one. It was fantastic. It was a dream come true.”
