Blast from the past! The casts of Freaks and Geeks and The Wonder Years are always game to hang out with each other, and they took the opportunity to reunite once again as the shows were honored at the 2015 TV Land Awards in Beverly Hills this past Saturday, April 11.
Freaks and Geeks alums Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, Martin Starr, Samm Levine and Busy Philipps joined creator Paul Feig and executive producer Judd Apatow to commemorate the 15th anniversary of their cult favorite series, while Fred Savage, Josh Saviano, Alley Mills, Danica McKellar, and Olivia d’Abo gathered to accept TV Land’s Impact Award for The Wonder Years.
“Oh, it is so special. The Wonder Years was a huge part of my childhood,” McKellar — Winnie Cooper! — told Us Weekly on the red carpet before the ceremony. “Every day people still come up to me and say we love the show, we watch it with family, we love your character. It’s wonderful. People get recognized every day and it’s not as pleasant, I guess — but for me it’s just love.”
Both retro-minded shows already have an inherent nostalgia factor. The Wonder Years, which ran from 1988 to 1993, followed preteen Kevin Arnold as he came of age in the late 1960s, and Freaks and Geeks, which ran for a single season from 1999 to 2000, followed misfit high schoolers in the early 1980s. The Wonder Years gang reunited to film commentary for a series DVD set in 2014, and the Freaks and Geeks alums collaborate frequently.
The one-season wonder was the launching pad for now-megastars James Franco, Rogen, and Segel, who all began writing their own projects on the advice of EP Apatow.
“Everyone is so talented. I always tell them to write their future,” Apatow told Us on the carpet. “I encourage everyone to try to write projects for themselves.”
Accepting the award onstage, Rogen joked, “We keep getting reasons to hang out with each other and get free alcohol. So thank you so much for having us.” Added fellow freak Segel, “I’m just so lucky to have met these guys and it changed my entire life. So I’m very happy to be here.”
Another sweetly emotional speech came from Calista Flockhart, who took the stage with her castmates Peter MacNicol, Greg Germann, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Lisa Nicole Carson, and Gil Bellows to accept the Groundbreaking Award for Ally McBeal, which ran from 1997 to 2002.
“Watching the clips kind of blew me away. It was amazing, and I have to say we had a really great time shooting the show,” said the actress, who has been helping husband Harrison Ford recover after a plane crash in early March. “I have to say what I remember the most are the friendships, truly. Thank you very much. This is really an honor and I’m grateful and happy.”
Tell Us: Which cast were you most excited to see reunite?
