Seth Rogen muses about Freaks and Geeks reboot
Vancouver actor turns director with This is the End
In the wake of the resurrection of Arrested Development, Seth Rogen has floated the idea of bringing back Freaks and Geeks.
The former TV comedy-drama series, which followed teens at a 1980s-era high school, has developed new followers on Netflix, not unlike Arrested Development, the defunct series revived this week by the online media provider.
Vancouver-bred Rogen, among the stars of the short-lived Freaks and Geeks, says he’d love to reunite the cast, which included James Franco, Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini. However, he wants the original stars, series creator Paul Feig and executive producer Judd Apatow to all sign on before making new episodes.
"If they were able to do that, I would be very open to doing more Freaks and Geeks," Rogen told the Canadian Press on Monday ahead of a special screening of his new comedy film This is the End in Toronto.
"I bet a lot of the people would do it."
Meanwhile, Feig isn’t so sure he wants a Freaks and Geeks reboot. Speaking to entertainment site Digital Spy last week, he said there are "too many pitfalls" to reviving the series.
"I've never seen a good reunion — in real life or on film," Feig said. "There's always something that's wrong. Half the time, you're just thinking, 'Oh, look how old they are.'"
Rogen's horror-comedy reunion
Rogen co-directed This is the End with his childhood friend Evan Goldberg, a Vancouver-born screenwriter and producer.
Opening June 12, the horror comedy follows a group of friends who find themselves fighting for survival as the end of the world approaches. Actors Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride join Rogen in the film, which features the cast of Apatow regulars performing as more extreme versions of their real-life selves.
It also marks screenwriter-actor Rogen’s first time directing — a process that involved being in front of as well as behind the camera.
"About half the movie’s improv — could be more," Goldberg told CBC News, adding that given the wit of the cast, "we’d be fools to stick to a script."
Rogen says some of the best jokes arose from the actors and longtime friends poking fun at each other.
"When you have them all together, they all just play off each other so well. They make fun of each other so well. We’ve used a lot of it."
With files from The Canadian Press