The cult classic television series Freaks and Geeks is headed to Hulu. Coming to the streamer January 25, all of its iconic songs on the original soundtrack will appear in the series, as reported by A.V Club.
Trading in jocks and cheerleaders for burnouts and Dungeons & Dragons, Freaks and Geeks was different from the start when it aired for one season in 1999 on NBC. Created by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, the Heat), and executive produced by Judd Apatow (Knocked up, King of Staten Island), it was a coming of age dramedy that turned a searing eye on all the awkwardness of being a teenager in the midwest during 1980.
The series started the career of several household names in Hollywood, including James Franco (127 Hours), Jason Siegel (End of the Tour), Seth Rogen ( The Interview), and Busy Phillips (Cougar Town) who all played tough and gritty burnouts. Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me) starred as Lindsay, a former math genius who goes through an identity crisis which leads her to befriend the burnouts.
The geeks were played by John Francis Daley (Bones), Martin Starr (Silicon Valley), and Samm Levine (Sydney White and the Seven Dorks), who all went on to have long careers in Hollywood as well.
Known as a one season wonder, Freaks and Geeks was ahead of its time in its nuanced treatment of its characters, in contrast from other popular teen series at the time like Fox’s 90210. Though it was critically acclaimed, it could never get a reliable fan base to tune in which led to its cancellation. The series then faded into the abyss until the rise of the streaming era.
Now Freaks and Geeks will be made available to stream on Hulu starting next week and notably it will have all of the original songs from the soundtrack. It had songs from everyone including the rock bands Styx, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Van Halen, Joan Jett, and more. A.V Club reached out to Feig and asked him how he felt that his series is headed to Hulu. He said: “I’m so thrilled that Hulu is bringing Freaks And Geeks back to the [airwaves] with the original music… For me, the thought of our show without all the original music intact is like running the series with several of the characters cut out. The music is as big a part of this show as the writing and the performances. This is the only way to see our show and I can’t thank Hulu enough for putting us back on the air.”
Rogen also celebrated on Twitter that Freaks and Geeks is coming to Hulu, writing,: “Watch our show. (I’m still promoting this show after 22 years and I’ll keep promoting that s**t!).” Rogen was only seventeen when he got to play the role of Kenny, a particularly angry and mysterious burnout. In his debut role, he’s gone on to work with both Apatow and Feig several times since.
See Rogen’s full tweet below: