Why was the tv show Freaks and Geeks canceled in 2000?

Question of the Day - August 7, 2008

Why was the tv show Freaks and Geeks canceled in 2000?


Nobody knows for sure why Freaks and Geeks was canceled in 2000 after only 12 episodes, but it seems that it didn't get a lot of love from tv programming and was aired sporadically rather than on a consistent schedule:

According to Brilliant But Canceled, "First it aired on a Saturday – “hope you’re staying in.” That lasted two weeks, then it was yanked off the air completely for three weeks to make room for the World Series. It finally came back on for three weeks… only to be pulled off for two months. When it was resurrected from that hiatus, it moved to Monday night – for two weeks!"

Also, I think it was a little ahead of its time. If it came out during the "Napoleon Dynamite" era I think it would have been a much bigger hit - as the Freaks and Geeks DVD was when it was released in 2004

Check out the Freaks and Geeks article on Brilliant but Canceled for more insight.