List of Freaks and Geeks characters

Lindsay Weir—played by Linda Cardellini—is the elder of the two Weir siblings and the protagonist of the series. As a child, Lindsay was close friends with Millie Kentner. Early in her scholastic career at McKinley High School, she would be recognized as a bright and thoughtful student, as well as a brilliant member of the Mathletes. However, when her grandmother dies, she begins to question religion (she became an atheist after her grandmother, who was the most decent and good person she knew, said she saw "nothing" right before her death), social structure and the general direction of her life. She begins hanging out with a gang of less academically minded friends (known commonly as "burnouts" or "freaks") which worries both her family and her old friends (Millie in particular). She starts out being very deferential to the freaks and ignoring their rudeness towards her—mostly from Ken Miller and Kim Kelly—but she loses any fear of them as the series progresses, and after she calls them out for being selfish and exploitative in their relationship with her, her ties to the group were solidified on a level of mutual respect. Despite her new social situation, she remains an intelligent and considerate person. She is continually questioning the world around her in order to find a place to fit in. She wears her father’s old army jacket most of the series.

Samuel Harold Weir—played by John Francis Daley—is Lindsay's younger brother. Like his sister, Sam has an excellent sense of morals and manners, though he's somewhat shy outside of his circle of friends and is often picked on for being somewhat shorter and less physically developed than his peers. He shares many interests with his close friends Bill and Neal, including television shows like Saturday Night Live, comedic actors such as Bill Murray and Steve Martin, and science fiction. Being so into such subjects while at the same time being somewhat socially impaired has left Sam and his friends labeled as "geeks". Though he enjoys being with his friends, he struggles continually to be seen as more than a geek (especially while trying to impress his school crush, Cindy Sanders), and does seem to be better-regarded by popular students like Cindy and Todd Schillinger than his friends are. Unfortunately, the constant bullying by kids such as Alan White often leads Sam to feel more embarrassed than cool. Entertainment Weekly selected Sam Weir as the son for "The Perfect TV Family".[1]

Harold Weir—played by Joe Flaherty—is the head of the Weir household. Harold is usually stern and strict in his role as the dominant male in the family, but is also a loving father who is always trying to look out for the best interests of his children. Though Harold is frequently yelling at the dinner table about bad role models and dealing out sometimes unreasonable punishments, he has a good sense of humor and enjoys seeing his family happy. He works hard to support his family by running his A1 Sporting Goods store, though he is worried about the possible impact that megastores will have on his business. Harold's biggest concern with his children lately is that Lindsay is falling in with a bad crowd, and he has a strong distaste for her "burnout friends" although he later takes a shine to Nick after he gets kicked out of his house, by letting him stay at the Weirs' house and encourages him to practice drumming. Harold tells Lindsay that he is more helpful to Nick than to her because he expects more from her, and says that Nick's father is a "hard man" who reminds him of his dad; it's also strongly implied that Harold's father physically abused him. It is shown often that he is very proud of Lindsay for her intelligence and maturity and Sam for his kindness and morals. In the episode "Girlfriends and Boyfriends", Harold reveals to Lindsay that he lost his virginity to a prostitute while he was a soldier in Korea. Harold regrets that his first time was not special and comments that it was the "worst five dollars I've ever spent".

Jean Weir—played by Becky Ann Baker—is the caring homemaker of the Weir family. Jean is frequently making wholesome meals for the Weirs and trying to give her children helpful advice about school while they have discussions at the dinner table, although at times she appears blissfully aloof to the realities that her children are experiencing. Though she wouldn't mind more appreciation now and again, Jean is always kind and generous to everyone and loves nothing more than her family.

Daniel Desario—played by James Franco—is a cool and charismatic burnout. Daniel is usually known at McKinley High School for doing one of two things: being with his girlfriend Kim Kelly and/or skipping class. He is somewhat selfish and very manipulative but often pulls through to help his friends, and is the leader of the freaks. Daniel hides the fact that he is eighteen years old and has been held back two grades in school. Also, Daniel plays guitar. His rebellious and anarchistic view of society often lead him into trouble. Though he is socially confident and acts apathetic towards his schoolwork, Daniel is secretly insecure about the fact that he does not do well in school, and doesn't think he is smart enough to succeed. Daniel has an older brother who is a drug addict, and lives with his two parents; he is taking care of his (never seen) father, who is an invalid, and his mother is an understandably stressed-out wreck who has no confidence in his scholastic abilities, once saying she wouldn't much mind if he dropped out of school altogether and began working a "crummy" minimum-wage job to bring cash home to the family.

Nick Andopolis—played by Jason Segel—is a member of the gang of freaks. He is friendly, mild-mannered, and kind, offsetting the somewhat caustic sense of humor that some of his friends share. Nick frequently uses marijuana; he was once a basketball player (a part of his backstory that comes from real life, as Segel was a star on his high school team) but was kicked off his team for drug possession. These days, Nick's overwhelming passion is music - more specifically, his 29-piece drum kit. Much to the objection of Nick's strict military father, Nick practices drumming frequently, usually neglecting schoolwork in the process and eventually leading his dad to simply sell off the entire drum set. Nick also has a tendency to smother his girlfriends with too much affection, which Lindsay Weir discovers firsthand after they begin dating.

Ken Miller—played by Seth Rogen—is wise-cracking and sarcastic. Whenever Ken opens his mouth, it is usually to let out a biting quip at the expense of someone around him. He has been friends with Daniel Desario since elementary school and later develops a relationship with Amy Andrews. He is very stubborn and doesn't back down from fights (in one episode, when asked if "he wants to go," he replies "I always wanna go!" as well as moshing enthusiastically in "Noshing and Moshing"). He is also very smart, considering the kind of people he hangs out with. At the party in episode 2, he quickly catches on when the beer is switched with non-alcoholic beer, but instead of telling everybody, he decided to make some money in the game of quarters ($87.00, in total). He is shown to have a softer side in the later episodes of the series, particularly in his relationship with "tuba girl" Amy, who matches him wit for wit, prompting Ken to fall for her. In episode 17, it is revealed that Ken's parents are very wealthy and that he was raised by a nanny. He also says his post-high school plans involve inheriting his grandfather's business when he dies, selling it off for a huge profit, and retiring to a lazy life in the tropics.

Kim Kelly—played by Busy Philipps—is Daniel's on-and-off girlfriend throughout the series. Kim is a tough, short-tempered girl and is known by the other students only for having sex and doing drugs. Because of her hostile nature, she is often at odds with Daniel, usually accusing him of infidelity, causing their relationship to be in constant disarray. However, despite their relationship troubles, over the course of the show it becomes apparent that both hold a deep affection for one another. She was originally mean to Lindsay and was reluctant to allow her to hang out in their group, but as the series progresses, they eventually forge a friendship. By the end of the series, Kim and Lindsay were best friends and spent most of their free time together. Kim lives with her disapproving mother, her illiterate stepfather, and her brother, a peculiar young man named Chip who sleeps on the living room couch. She doesn't get along with her parents, who criticize her for not getting good grades and for the company she keeps.

Bill Haverchuck—played by Martin Starr—rounds out the geek trio, and is the geekiest of the geek gang. Bill is tall for his age, skinny and wears large glasses. Bill is unpretentious and child-like, with an understated but hilarious sense of humor, but remains the most mild mannered and introverted of the three Geeks. He occasionally makes keen observations of other characters, usually in speaking to Sam and Neal. In addition to being a loyal friend, Bill is an avid fan of the television soap opera Dallas. He lives with his single mother Gloria Haverchuck. He is extremely allergic to peanuts and almost dies after Alan White plants some of them in his sandwich as a prank in the episode "Chokin' and Tokin'". The reason for his serious medical problems is explained in the episode with his mother explaining how she used drugs and alcohol while pregnant with Bill.

Neal Schweiber—played by Samm Levine—is a self-proclaimed comic genius and ladies' man. Unlike his friends Sam and Bill, Neal is usually very outgoing and often wants to be the center of attention. He is in love with his best friend Sam's sister, Lindsay Weir. He has an abundant amount of confidence and charisma, though it garners him no more respect or reputation than Sam or Bill. Neal is somewhat in denial that he is just as geeky as the rest of his friends. His father is a dentist and his mother a homemaker. His family is fairly well-to-do. Early in the series, Sam and Bill thought that Neal's father was "cool" because he enjoyed the same television programs that they did and shared a similar sense of humor, but their opinions of him–as well as Neal's–changed when they discovered that he was having an affair. He is Jewish, and humorously notes that he was once elected Treasurer of his class when "I didn't even run!"