History YMMV / FreaksAndGeeks

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: The sheer number of times that people from the show keep working with each other to this day, a huge sign of how much they became a family in the brief time they had together.
* Ben Stiller's character in "The Little Things" discusses how boring it is to guard the VICE President, since no one cares enough to try to harm him. After the attempted murder of Mike Pence during the January 6th riots, this idea seems a lot less funny.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The show was never going to last in network television. The period setting, mixed with the hour-long length (most American sitcoms clock in at under 30 minutes) and subdued, quirky humor, completely turned off most viewers. It didn't help that the show had the bad timing to air before '80s nostalgia really got into gear later in the 2000s. Plus, beginning the series at the very start of the '80s meant that the setting was culturally still very much the '70s, which might have also been confusing to viewers.

* UnconvincingUnpopularCharacter: Daniel is achingly cool, and a typical bad-boy, but he's been held back twice and certainly isn't one of the school's in-crowd by ''any'' means.

** The actor, Jerry Messing (that played Gordon Crisp, one of the nicest characters on the show), became famous more for the insulting "Fedora Guy" meme than his time on the show. Which he did at age thirteen. Especially galling when you find out that Messing never did anything whatsoever to deserve it.

** Sam was often made fun of for being short for a 14 year old. Cut to adulthood where Creator/JohnFrancisDaley is 6 foot, and now ''towers'' over most of the cast. This actually happened very shortly after the show was cancelled, meaning it would have had to deal with it if there was a second season.

-->'''Lindsay:''' ''(angrily)'' I thought Kim was too tough to have her feelings hurt.
-->'''Daniel:''' Yeah, right. Kim? She's like, the rawest nerve there is.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/{{Undeclared}}''. The two shows even shared several actors, namely Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps, Samm Levine, and Martin Starr.

** [[TeensAreShort Sam]] was often made fun of for being short for a 14 year old. Cut to adulthood where Creator/JohnFrancisDaley is 6 foot, and now ''towers'' over most of the cast. This actually happened very shortly after the show was cancelled, meaning it would have had to deal with it if there was a second season.

** Creator/JohnFrancisDaley has done a number of movies and TV shows, most notably ''Series/{{Bones}}'' and has also written the screenplays for box office hits ''Film/HorribleBosses'', ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', and ''Film/GameNight''.

** Creator/SethRogen and James Franco have gone on to star in many films. Rogen starred in ''Film/KnockedUp'', ''Film/FiftyFifty2011'', ''Film/FunnyPeople'', ''Film/TheGreenHornet'', and ''Film/SteveJobs'', and, and was brought back by Apatow for his other (failed) TV venture, ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'', becoming part of Apatow's ProductionPosse. Franco, meanwhile, got recognition in the Creator/SamRaimi ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'', ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', and was nominated for an Oscar in ''Film/OneHundredAndTwentySevenHours''. The two were reunited in ''Film/PineappleExpress'', and would go on to work together in ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'' and ''Film/TheInterview''.

** Samm Levine made cameo appearances in Apatow's next show, ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'' and used ''Freaks and Geeks'' to convince Creator/QuentinTarantino (a fan of the show) to cast him in ''Film/InglouriousBasterds''. Later on, he became a regular in podcasting, serving as the sidekick in ''Kevin Pollak's Chat Show'' and making frequent appearances on ''Podcast/DougLovesMovies''.

** Busy Phillips would join ''Series/DawsonsCreek'' for its last few seasons. She would end up gaining greater acclaim as part of the main cast of ''Series/CougarTown'', for which she won a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
** On the production end of things, Creator/PaulFeig's later directorial credits include episodes of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'', ''Series/MadMen'', ''Series/NurseJackie'', and major films ''Film/{{Bridesmaids}}'', ''Film/TheHeat'', and ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}}''. He had only one other directing credit prior to Freaks and Geeks, although he'd been acting for years.

** Creator/LindaCardellini played Velma in the live-action ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' movies and has had roles in ''Series/{{ER}}'', ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', ''Series/{{Bloodline}}'', ''Series/MadMen'', and ''Series/DeadToMe'' (the latter two earned her Emmy nominations). She also has a supporting part in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse and appeared in the Oscar-winning films ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' and ''Film/GreenBook''.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* LesYay: A lot of fans think Millie has the hots for Lindsay.

* WhatAnIdiot: Sam really only has himself to blame for getting in trouble in health class, as he just keeps on telling Bill and Neal to shut up no matter how many times he's the only one who's noticed talking.
** NBC qualifies as a RealLife example for cancelling the show after one season.

** While unintentional (they probably would have been brought back if there'd been a second season), Coach Fredericks and Millie disappear after the episodes that give them the most CharacterDevelopment and focus.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The show was never going to last in network television. The period setting, mixed with the hour-long length (most American sitcoms clock in at under 30 minutes) and subdued, quirky humor, completely turned off most viewers. It didn't help that the show had the bad timing to air before '80s nostalgia really got into gear later in the 2000s. Plus, beginning the series at the very start of the '80s meant that the setting was culturally still very much the '70s, which might have also been confusing to viewers.

* {{Moe}}: Laurie provides a good real-life example.

* {{Moe}}: Millie, given her insecurities about maintaining her lifelong friendship with Lindsay, the times where she's TheComicallySerious, and her overall nature of being a naively wholesome [[MoralGuardians Moral Guardian]] who's generally more concerned than judgmental.

** Creator/SethRogen and James Franco have gone on to star in many films. Rogen starred in ''Film/KnockedUp'', ''Film/FiftyFifty'', ''Film/FunnyPeople'', ''Film/TheGreenHornet'', and ''Film/SteveJobs'', and, and was brought back by Apatow for his other (failed) TV venture, ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'', becoming part of Apatow's ProductionPosse. Franco, meanwhile, got recognition in the Creator/SamRaimi ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'', ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', and was nominated for an Oscar in ''Film/OneHundredAndTwentySevenHours''. The two were reunited in ''Film/PineappleExpress'', and would go on to work together in ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'' and ''Film/TheInterview''.