For the last few months, the Independent Film Channel has been airing reruns of "Freaks & Geeks" and "Undeclared," the two short-lived Judd Apatow TV series about high school students and college students, respectively, that ran for one season each between 1999 and 2002. And as a fan of the shows when they were originally on the air, who identified strongly with "Freaks" as a high school student and then with "Undeclared" as a college student, it's been fun to kind of grow up with the shows casts and watch them take on adult roles and develop successful careers. Given that its most famous alumnus has no less a gig than hosting the Oscars this weekend, it seems like a good time to take stock of the casts of both shows and see where their careers are at in 2011, from most successful to least:

James Franco
Franco, the rebellious Daniel Desario from "Freaks & Geeks," always cut the most dashing movie star figure out of the show's cast, so it's no surprise that that's exactly what he became. But after a few years of being famous mainly for a supporting role in the Spider-Man trilogy, he recently reached a career peak with the unusual distinction of being nominated for an Academy Award, for 127 Hours, the same year that he hosted the Oscars telecast, although his kind of mediocre hosting performance has kind of resulted in a backlash, so maybe this is his peak and it's all downhill from here.

Seth Rogen
Until Franco's recent resurgence, Rogen was generally considered head of the class for "Freaks & Geeks" kids, with Apatow taking the young Canadian under his wing as a writer and cast member for “Undeclared,” some small film roles, and then the star turn in the blockbuster Knocked Up. Co-starring in hits like Superbad and The Pineapple Express (with Franco) followed, as well as a number of commercial misfires like Funny People and Observe And Report, but his recent superhero starring vehicle The Green Hornet did well enough that he’ll probably remain a headliner for a while.

Jason Segel
Like his fellow freak Rogen, Segel was encouraged by Apatow to write as well as act, and penned his first starring vehicle, the moderate hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And that movie's hilariously bizarre puppetry segments led to Segel's most intriguing project to date, co-directing a new Muppets movie due out later this year. Along the way, Segel has also carved out a niche on TV on "How I Met Your Mother," and has had a great opportunity to flex his dramatic chops on the show’s current sixth season, following the death of his character Marshall’s father.

Charlie Hunnam
Hunnam has undergone and impressive transformation from the pretty boy Brit he played in "Undeclared" to beefing up and mastering his American accent to play the head of a California motorcycle gang in the top-rated cable drama "Sons of Anarchy."

Jay Baruchel
"Undeclared" star Jay Baruchel is pushing 30 but still usually plays neurotic, nerdy high school or college-age characters in whatever movies Shia LeBeouf and Michael Cera pass on, with his two biggest hits being the family flicks The Sorcerer's Apprentice and a voice role in the animated How To Train Your Dragon.

Busy Philipps
The exceptionally admired Busy Philipps parlayed her small role on "Freaks & Geeks" into a couple seasons on the inferior but far more popular teen drama "Dawson's Creek." Currently, she's arguably the funniest member of the ensemble cast on ABC's "Cougar Town."

Martin Starr
After playing Bill Haverchuck, the geekiest character on "Freaks & Geeks," Starr has played an assortment of other dorks and losers, most memorably in Adventureland and on the hilarious, sadly short-lived cable comedy "Party Down."

John Francis Daley
After playing Sam Weir on "Freaks & Geeks" and having a few awkward years as a teenager, Daley eventually landed back on primetime TV, joining the cast of "Bones" in 2007.

Linda Cardellini
Cardellini, who played the main character on "Freaks & Geeks," Lindsay Weir, has had perhaps the most depressing career trajectory since the show went off the air. At first, she took thankless roles in two over the hill franchises, playing Velma in two live action Scooby-Doo movies, and then cranking out six seasons on "ER" long after everyone stopped caring about that show. And in the five years since a small role in Brokeback Mountain, the most notable thing she's done was probably providing the inspiration for Forgetting Sarah Marshall by dumping Jason Segel.

Monica Keena
After a run of roles in theatrical films like Freddy Vs. Jason and Man of the House following her stint on "Undeclared," Keena has lately been reduced to TV movies and direct-to-DVD flicks.

Samm Levine
Since playing Neal Schweiber on "Freaks & Geeks," Levine has racked up dozens of film and TV credits -- no big juicy parts, but enough funny small roles that he's on his way to a respectable career as a character actor.

Timm Sharp
Like Samm Levine, "Undeclared" co-star Timm Sharp has an extra "m" in his first name and a variety of TV credits, most notably with recurring roles on "Six Feet Under" and "'Till Death," but it looks like his best days may still be ahead of him as a cast member on the upcoming HBO series "Enlightened."

Carla Gallo
Many critics have pointed out that Judd Apatow has nurtured the careers of a lot of male actors, but hasn't done much for female performers. The argument to the contrary is Carla Gallo, the female lead from "Undeclared" who Apatow has cast in such memorable film roles as 'Toe-Sucking Girl' in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, 'Period Blood Girl' in Superbad, and 'Gag Me Girl' in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. OK, maybe that’s not a good example, nevermind.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 5:26 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.