You’ll Never Guess Which TV Show was Inspired By 1999's ‘Freaks And Geeks’

Freaks and Geeks turned 15 years old today and we are still grateful for everything it has given us. For starters, the cult classic, which premiered in 1999, launched the careers of actors we couldn't imagine the industry without. It also inspired and paved the way for one of the greatest cult classic TV shows ever... Veronica Mars.

The NBC show had one season (we still aren't over this) and was created by Paul Feig who is now known for bringing the world Bridesmaids. The lead actors on the "Freaks" side were James Franco (who played Daniel Desario), Seth Rogen (who played Ken Miller), Jason Segel (played by Nick Andopolis), Linda Cardellini (who played Lindsay Weir) and Busy Phillips (who played Kim Kelly). The "Geeks" were played by Martin Starr (as Bill Haverchuck), John Francis Daley (as Sam Weir) and Samm Levine (as Neal Schweiber).

The launch of the modern day Brat Pack made up of James, Jason and Seth is just one of the reasons we still love this show 15 years after its creation. The cult classic, which was produced by Judd Apatow, has so many guest stars that are now famous we can barely keep track.

Parks and Recreation's Rashida Jones makes an appearance as a mean girl who fools around with Daniel. Leslie Mann makes a cameo as one of the high school teachers and Chauncey Leopardi from The Sandlot plays a geek-turned-bully.

In addition to the amazing actors Freaks and Geeks produced, it was a huge influence on Veronica Mars. Rob Thomas, creator of Veronica Mars, told E! News that watching the show influenced the creation of his own show.

"That show just wipes me out. There are many things about that particular show. For one thing, I was exactly that age. I think the show opens in 1979 and the younger kids are freshman in high school in 1979 and so that is my time. All the music in that show was right on for me," Rob told the network.

Even though the show only ran for one season, it was long enough to make an impression on Rob. The cancelation of the series is what ultimately sparked the creation of Veronica Mars and what shaped it into the cult classic it is today.

"The thing about ... the cancellation of that show is I felt like it was the death of small story television. When I wrote the Veronica Mars pilot, it was sort of a response to the cancellation to Freaks and Geeks," Rob said.

"I felt if that show can't make it then no show doing small stories, slice of life ... these stories where the characters grow by inches without sort of a big hook line, like a big logline that will pull you into the show. If that can't make it, I better do something else."

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