The One Big Problem With A Freaks And Geeks Reunion, According To James Franco

TV news seems to be filled with reboots and reunions nowadays, but one reunion that plenty of us would love to hear confirmed is of the cast of Freaks and Geeks coming together for another go at the series. Cancelled by NBC far too soon despite a talented cast who have largely managed to make it big since losing the show, a Freaks and Geeks reunion would be pretty much guaranteed to be hilarious. According to original Freaks cast member James Franco, however, a reunion might not be possible for one big reason: age. Here's what he said in a recent interview:

Everybody’s kind of old.

Franco has a point. Most of the actors playing the titular “freaks” didn’t exactly look like they were in their teens back in 2000, so they presumably wouldn’t exactly look fresh as daisies for a reunion, even if the entire cast could get back together. With plenty of the key players currently busy with major projects at this point in their lives, coordinating a reunion could be rough. Still, Franco isn’t ruling it out in his interview with Rolling Stone.

I think for the most part we’ve had these little reunions just for photo shoots over the years, and everybody seems to still really like each other and still have a great love for what we did on that show. And obviously I still work very closely with Seth [Rogen] all the time. So, if somebody came up with an idea that didn’t totally suck, I’m sure it’s a possibility.

Photo reunions are always fun, but for those of us who are still bitter that we didn’t get a second season, we’d be more than happy for anything more in-depth that the cast and crew could throw together.

These recent comments certainly aren't the first time that the actor has touched on Freaks and Geeks since the show’s cancellation. In fact, he reprised his role as heartthrob Daniel Desario for his AOL web series Making A Scene.

Franco’s fellow Freaks alum Seth Rogen clearly isn’t entirely over the cancellation, either. When Rogen happened to run into one of the executives responsible for Freaks and Geeks' short lifespan, Rogen didn’t hesitate to call him out and demand to know why the series had only been given a single season.

Freaks and Geeks executive producer Judd Apatow isn’t averse to a reunion either. He has said that a reunion won’t be happening this year, but considering the fact that fans have been hoping against hope for any kind of reboot for the better part of two decades, another year or two of wait wouldn't be too daunting.

All in all, I’m more encouraged than discouraged by Franco’s interview. Actors aging didn’t stop the Wet Hot American Summer Netflix continuation from managing to regroup the cast to create something hilarious, and key players showing a willingness to come back is definitely promising. Maybe at some point this reunion will become more of a real, solid idea than just a dream.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).