There are many sitcoms amongthe best TV shows of all time, and one of them should have been a hit when it aired, but it ended up quietly becoming a cult classic. No matter how much potential a TV show can have or the hype around it, there have been manyTV shows that should have been hugebut, sadly, failed.
As popular as they are, sitcoms don’t often succeed with the audience. It’s hard to say what the formula for a successful sitcom is as it varies, but relatable characters, a good sense of humor, and consistency are a big part of the key to success. However, there have been some cases where a sitcom didn’t succeed due to external reasons.
Creative differences with the studio, budget problems, bad marketing, or bad scheduling are some of the reasons why a TV show, regardless of the genre, can fail, as happened toFreaks and Geeks, which should have been a huge hit when it aired, but found its audience after its early cancellation.
Freaks And Geeks Should Have Been Huge When It Was Aired, But The Sitcom Blew Up Later
Freaks And Geeks Aired On NBC In 1999
Created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow,Freaks and Geeksis a teen comedy-drama TV show.Freaks and Geekspremiered on NBC in 1999, but it only ran for one season, with a total of 18 episodes.Freaks and Geekstakes the audience to William McKinley High School in the fictional suburb of Chippewa, Michigan.
Set during the 1980-1981 school year,Freaks and Geeksfollowed siblings Lindsay (Linda Cardellini) and Sam Weir (John Francis Daley).Lindsay joins the group of “freaks” at school, formed by Daniel (James Franco), Ken (Seth Rogen), Nick (Jason Segel), and Kim (Busy Philipps), while Sam joins the “geeks”, Neal (Samm Levine) and Bill (Martin Starr).
Freaks and Geekssaw Lindsay doing her best to fit in while also finding her own identity as she tried to go from a “mathlete” into a rebel, while Sam and the geeks did what they could to survive high school and attempt to fit in with the rest of the social sphere. Unfortunately,Freaks and Geekswas canceled after 15 of its 18 episodes aired.
Its “erratic scheduling” and poor time slots doomed Freaks and Geeks despite its good quality and potential.
Freaks and Geekswas canceled due to its inability to find an audience, but this has been blamed on the network. Its “erratic scheduling” and poor time slots doomedFreaks and Geeksdespite its good quality and potential, even more so as it was competing withWho Wants to be a Millionaire.
In addition to that,the network and the writers ofFreaks and Geeksdidn’t have the same vision for the show, and so it was canceled even though it didn’t deserve it.Freaks and Geekswas relatable and funny, but even though it was canceled too soon, it eventually found success.
How Freaks & Geeks Quietly Became A Cult Classic Over Time
Freaks & Geeks Eventually Found Its Audience
Freaks and Geeksdidn’t have the chance to succeed during its original run, but with time, it proved that it was always meant to be a hit.Freaks and Geekscaptured the struggles of being a teenager but added enough comedy to balancethe dark parts of that process.
Freaks and Geeksdelivered a realistic portrayal of high school life with relatable characters, while exploring topics like identity and friendship. Showing two different groups was key toFreaks and Geeksreaching a wide audience (after its cancellation, of course) and making it feel more real, and, ironically, its early cancellation fueled curiostiy and interest in the show.
Freaks and Geeksis part of the list of TV shows that were unfairly canceled too soon, but at the same time, it’s on the list of TV shows that found success after they ended.Freaks and Geekshas earned a spot in TV history, and it would have been great to see what else it could have brought had it been given a chance.
