And then the show was canceled after one season, as were your later projects, Freaks And Geeks and Undeclared.

Judd Apatow: I’ve done many one–season shows, there seems to be some sort of pattern there. I think that what I do might not be what network TV is looking for. If I were to go back to television, I’d probably want to do something for HBO or Showtime.

The DVDs of the The Ben Stiller Show and Freaks And Geeks have sold tremendously.

Judd Apatow: Nobody wanted to release the Freaks And Geeks DVD, because it is certainly a risk to assume that a lot of people are going to buy a DVD of a show nobody watched on TV. The only way we were able to get it done was by putting a petition on our website saying, “Sign here if you would buy it.” Forty thousand people signed it. Since it has done very well, they’re going to release the Undeclared DVD.

Did your experience in TV lead you to film?

Judd Apatow: I tend to work in TV and do the best I can do, and if it ends horribly, I lick my wounds by working on a movie. If that goes bad, I lick my wounds by going back to TV. I just try to do stuff I won’t be embarrassed about later. What would be painful is if I sold out and the show was bad and it was canceled. If I like the work, and there’s any constituency for it, I’m happy. Home // CELEBRITIES // COMPLEX MEN // Judd Apatow