1. The only actor who was the same age as his character was John Francis Daley, who was 14 during the time of filming.
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And he was only 13 when he auditioned.
2. Linda Cardenelli, who played Sam Weir's 16-year-old older sister, was actually 24 during the time of filming.
3. In contrast, Sarah Hagan, Lindsay Weir's on-screen mathlete friend, was 15 during the time of filming.
4. Even though they were a couple on screen, James Franco and Busy Philipps actually hated each other.
5. Linda Cardellini still has the camo jacket she wore throughout the series.
6. Jesse Eisenberg was a second choice when casting the role of Sam Weir.
7. Shia LaBeouf also auditioned for the role of Neil Schweiber.
8. Busy Philipps originally auditioned for the part of Lindsay Weir, but was asked by the producers to try out for the role of Kim Kelly instead.
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9. The pilot was filmed in a real school, which was also the same school that Clueless and numerous other films used.
10. The rest of the series was actually filmed in a set that was made to look exactly like the real, original school.
11. James Franco and Seth Rogen were on a strict vegan diet throughout filming, because Seth wanted to lose weight.
12. Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini dated as characters on the show, and then for five years off-screen after the show ended.
13. Linda and Busy share the same birthday – June 25th – only four years apart.
14. Paul Feig said that if the show had a second series, he'd have wanted Sam Weir and Cindy Sanders to become mortal enemies, running against each other for Student Body President.
15. Also in that season-that-never-was, Kim Kelly would've gotten pregnant, Bill Haverchuck would've become a jock, and Lindsay might've dealt with drug addiction.
16. Paul Feig also said that he imagined the show eventually becoming a story about the whole town; who got out of it and who didn't.
17. Busy Philipps and Linda Cardenelli were friends and classmates at Loyola Marymount University before the show.
18. The show was set in Michigan, but filmed in California, so the crew avoided shooting outside as much as possible so as not to get any tell-tale palm trees in shot.
19. The stories in the show are based on the real experiences of the writers.
20. In fact, the infamous ~Parisian night~ disco jumpsuit that Sam Weir wears is something that happened to Paul Feig.
21. The crew and cinematographer were under strict instructions to use green and grey lighting to make the show look drab and overcast.
22. Lizzy Caplan (of Mean Girls fame) auditioned for the roles of both Lindsay Weir and Kim Kelly, before eventually being cast as Sara.
23. Judd Apatow and Paul Feig told Linda Cardenelli and Busy Phillips not to lose weight for the show (unlike what most actresses would've been told at the time) because they were so adamant that the characters should look like real, believable kids.
24. It was the lowest rated TV show on NBC for weeks when it was first broadcast.
25. Judd Apatow often sees the movies he makes as continuations of characters of Freaks and Geeks, which is why he often casts the actors from the show.
26. Ben Stiller appeared in the 17th episode as a favour to Judd Apatow in an effort to prevent the show being cancelled. However, by the time that episode aired, the show had already been cancelled.
27. In that timeless, perfect scene in which Martin Starr's character is eating dinner and laughing at Gary Shandling on the TV, he is actually laughing at Apatow and another series writer shouting dirty jokes at him because Starr didn't actually find Shandling funny.
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28. Paul Feig dreams of turning the series into a stage musical.
