Judd Apatow has no plans to revisit Freaks & Geeks or broadcast series in general.
Deadline reports that at the TCAs, while promoting HBO’s upcoming Pete Holmes series Crashing, Apatow was discussed the possibility of a Freaks & Geeks reboot. The Paul Feig-created show has been bandied about a ton as being a likely candidate to reboot in this current climate where shows like Gilmore Girls, Arrested Development and Twin Peaks have all returned.
“I don’t want to do more Freaks & Geeks because we liked how it ended, so I feel it’s unwrapping something and seeing if you can not screw it up; I don’t think we would do that,” said Apatow. “Also, the world has changed so much. Back then in 1999, we were talking about the pre-computer and cellphone age that was before YouTube, Google, Snapchat. I don’t close the door on anything but my inclination is that we said all we had to say.”
Apatow, who is an executive producer on Netflix’s Love and HBO’s Crashing and Girls, also commented on his disinterest in returning to network television where he worked on Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared.
“I’m not interested in broadcast networks because I feel their shows are too short, I do not like the commercial interruptions, and I do not like the waiting on ratings to determine whether you are going to survive. There are limitations on content, and I hated the idea that they waited to get the ratings the next day, and if they are bad, they might pull the plug,” said Apatow. “I’ve been canceled midseason three times, and I’ve had enough of it. I like it at places like HBO where you get your season; I feel like the streaming services have created a world where there is a creative incentive to do amazing original work, and I don’t think the (broadcast) networks for all sorts of reasons could do it in a way that some other networks and streaming services can.”