The days of high-profile creators working on network TV series seems to be coming to an end. With streaming services like Netflix offering complete creative control, and cable networks like FX and HBO having similar freedoms, A-list writers, directors, and actors have been jumping into television series more now than ever before. Writer/director Judd Apatow knows his fair share about the difference between working with Netflix and the big networks, and unsurprisingly, he has zero interest jumping back into bed with a broadcast network.
“I’m not interested in broadcast networks because I feel their shows are too short, I do not like the commercial interruptions, and I do not like the waiting on ratings to determine whether you are going to survive. There is limitations on content, and I hated the idea that they waited to get the ratings the next day, and if they are bad, they might pull the plug,” said Apatow during his recent panel at TCA, where he’s promoting HBO’s upcoming “Crashing” starring comedian Pete Holmes (Apatow directed the debut and final episodes, and executive-produces).
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He continued, “I’ve been canceled midseason three times, and I’ve had enough of it. I like it at places like HBO where you get your season; I feel like the streaming services have created a world where there is a creative incentive to do amazing original work, and I don’t think the networks for all sorts of reasons could do it in a way that some other networks and streaming services can.”
After the cancellations of NBC’s “Freaks And Geeks” and Fox’s “Undeclared,” Apatow knows the ratings game all too well. Those two series were well-received by critics, and beloved by fans, but ultimately canceled due to the low ratings, with no chance to do a proper finale. However, due to the popularity of Netflix, “Freaks And Geeks” found new life and garnered huge a cult following. So would Apatow be interested in returning to “Freaks and Geeks”?
“I don’t want to do more ‘Freaks and Geeks’ because we liked how it ended, so I feel it’s unwrapping something and seeing if you can not screw it up; I don’t think we would do that,” Apatow said. “Also, the world has changed so much. Back then in 1999, we were talking about the pre-computer and cellphone age that was before YouTube, Google, Snapchat. I don’t close the door on anything but my inclination is that we said all we had to say.” [Deadline]