The characters of Freaks and Geeks attend school in Clinton Township .
The show centers on teenage Lindsay Weir ( Linda Cardellini ) and her younger brother Sam ( John Francis Daley ) , who both attend William McKinley High School during the 1980–1981 school year in the town of Chippewa , Michigan , a fictional suburb of Detroit ( named after Chippewa Valley High School , which series creator Paul Feig attended ) .Lindsay 's friends constitute the `` freaks '' — Daniel Desario ( James Franco ) , Ken Miller ( Seth Rogen ) , Nick Andopolis ( Jason Segel ) , Kim Kelly ( Busy Philipps ) — and Sam 's friends constitute the `` geeks '' — Neal Schweiber ( Samm Levine ) and Bill Haverchuck ( Martin Starr ) — of the title .
Freaks and Geeks