It’s been said time and time again in every major, minor and obscure entertainment media. Judd Apatow is the king of comedy, and probably will be for a while. Since 2005, when he wrote and directed The 40 Year Old Virgin, Apatow has dominated the big screen as far as comedy goes. With only two other directorial efforts (2007’s Knocked Up and 2009’s Funny People), pretty much every good comedy in the past five years has had his name attached, as a producer. Here’s just a few to point out: Pineapple Express (also story), Stepbrothers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad and Talladega Nights: The Ricky Bobby Story, just to name a few.
Before his recent control of the comedy scene in Hollywood, Apatow achieved some critical success as a writer/producer of “Freaks and Geeks” and as creator of “Undeclared,” two shows that both got the ax after one season, despite fairly good ratings and even better reviews. These shows didn’t only launch the success of Apatow, but also featured several of his “regulars” in their early careers. Let’s take a look to see what the principles of these wonderful shows have done over the past few years.
First, “Freaks and Geeks:”
Linda Cardellini as Lindsay Weir: She was pretty much the main character in “Freaks and Geeks” and was in six seasons of ER and played the love-interest in Grandma’s Boy.
John Francis Daley as Sam Weir: Lindsay’s little nerdy brother, Sam. Daley has a recurring role in “Bones” and was probably best known for playing Mitch in Waiting…, the new guy who couldn’t say a word over Ryan Reynolds.
James Franco: Spider-Man 1-3 and Pineapple Express amongst several other successful roles for probably the biggest star to come out of the show.
Samm Levine: Most recently was in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, and has been in several shows as a small role.
Seth Rogen: Apatow’s go-to guy has enjoyed success as starring in several comedies and writing/producing others like Superbad and Pineapple Express.
Jason Segel: Starring role in the very successful CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother” and also wrote/starred in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He’s another Apatow main-stay and is doing pretty good these days.
Now, for “Undeclared.” Rogen, Segel and Levine all had parts in this show, too, so I won’t list them again.
Jay Baruchel: Remember the super Led Zeppelin fan in Almost Famous? That was this guy. He’s also been in Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder more recently.
Carla Gallo: Had a pretty big role in Season 2 of “Californication” and has appeared in very small roles in most of the Apatow collection.
Charlie Hunnam: After playing British pretty-boy Lloyd in “Undeclared” and several small big-screen and small-screen roles, Hunnam now stars in the FX show, “The Sons of Anarchy.”
Monica Keena: Hasn’t done much (very brief role in Orange County, one of my favorite movies). Appeared in six episodes of “Entourage.”
Timm Sharp: Also hasn’t done much. Actually, nothing really worth noting.
Some great cameos occurred in the show, most notably Will Ferrell as a speed-addict who writes college papers for a living. Hilarious. Ben Stiller also had a brief appearance in the series finale and look for “The Office’s” Jenna Fischer in an early episode as one of Lloyd’s many hookups.
Wow, over 500 words about shows that only last a season apiece. Next post, Ian needs to get a life. Thanks for reading.
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