Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek

How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television

By: Thea Glassman, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong - foreword

Narrated by: Christine Lakin

The untold stories of seven revolutionary teen shows (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, and Glee) that shaped the course of modern television and our pop cultural landscape forever.

The modern television landscape is defined by influential and ambitious shows for and about teenagers. Groundbreaking series like Euphoria, Sex Education, and Pen15 dominate awards season and lead the way when it comes to progressive, diverse, and creative storytelling. So how did we get here from Beverly Hills, 90210?

In Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek, entertainment journalist Thea Glassman takes listeners behind the scenes of seven of the most culturally significant series of the last three decades, drawing on dozens of new interviews with showrunners, cast, crewmembers, and more.

These shows not only launched the careers of such superstars as Will Smith, Michael B. Jordan, Claire Danes, and Seth Rogen, but they also took young people seriously, proving that teen TV could be smart, revolutionary, and “important”—and stay firmly entrenched in pop culture long after it finished airing. And while many critics insist that prestige dramas like The Sopranos and Mad Men paved the way for television, some of the most groundbreaking work was actually happening inside the fictional hallways of high schools across America in teen shows whose impact remains visible on our screens today.

©2023 Thea Glassman (P)2023 Running Press Adult

Critic reviews

“As addicting as an afternoon bingeing your favorite TV show. In this book, Thea Glassman has written the definitive text on the teen shows that defined our popular culture. Insightful, smart, delightful. A must-read for all pop culture devotees.”—Dana Schwartz, New York Times bestselling author of Anatomy: A Love Story

“Freaks, Gleeks & Dawson’s Creek is as sharp, clever and full of heart as the seven iconic TV shows Thea Glassman so eloquently writes about within these pages. Thea takes us on a lovely behind-the-scenes tour of a glorious bygone era, when TV was a slow, seasonal burn, characters were old familiar friends and their relationships something to live and die for.”—Tom Kapinos, Showrunner and Executive Producer of Dawson’s Creek

“Thea Glassman has done her homework—I’m happy to be included in this fun and informative book.”—Winnie Holzman, Creator of My So-Called Life

Behind the scenes view

This was an interesting look back at the development and production of these tv shows. I definitely think you need to have seen most of them in advance to get the full picture. I enjoyed the perspectives of the show runners as they tried to convince studio executives to keep these shows on the air.

Top read of 2023!

This book is a gift to all who experienced
the joy of these series. Pure magic!

Memories

What a great way to spend a couple hours reading about, shows that you used to watch and how they relate to where we are today in television and entertainment.