When an audition changed TV forever

One season. Eighteen episodes. Cancelled by NBC before three of those episodes could even air. On paper, Freaks and Geeks was a massive ratings failure. But in reality, it was the birthplace of modern Hollywood comedy. How did a single cancelled 1999 teen drama incubate the careers of Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, Busy Philipps, Martin Starr, Samm Levine, and John Francis Daley? This is the untold story of how eight legendary auditions—and a revolutionary casting philosophy that rejected the "pretty kid" era of Dawson's Creek—rewrote the history of comedy forever. We break down the roles that were cut in half, the future Oscar nominees who were nearly rejected, and the historic "revenge mission" that systematically turned a group of high school misfits into the biggest stars in the world. If you love movies like Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, or shows like The Office and Parks and Rec, they all trace their roots back to this exact casting room COPYRIGHT NOTICE: The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a “fair use” of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: “Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” This video and our YouTube channel, in general, may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. Fair Dealing: Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 (UK) section 30 states “Fair dealing” with a work for the purposes of criticism or review, of that or another work, does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement. Copyright in a work is not infringed by the use of a quotation from the work (whether for criticism or review or otherwise).