Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. The show is set in a suburban high school near Detroit during 1980–81. The theme of Freaks and Geeks reflects "the sad, hilarious unfairness of teen life". With little success when it first aired, due to an erratic episode schedule and conflicts between the creators and NBC, the series was canceled after airing 12 out of the 18 episodes. The series became a cult classic, and Apatow continued the show's legacy by incorporating the actors in future productions.

Martin Schienle, known professionally as Martin Starr, is an American actor. He is known for the television roles of Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived comedy drama Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), Roman DeBeers on the comedy series Party Down, Bertram Gilfoyle on the HBO series Silicon Valley (2014–2019), for his film roles in Knocked Up (2007) and Adventureland (2009), and as Roger Harrington in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films The Incredible Hulk (2008), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).