What to Watch on Netflix: Undeclared

We’ve made it through 2014! Congrats. We live another year to spend copious amounts of time wasting away in front of our televisions while we browse the Netflix library.

Our experiment, What to Watch on Netflix or Netflix Pick of the Week, whichever cool title you prefer, was designed to ease that burden and help you find the right show to devour in the middle of the night. Because those are peak binging hours, right? Who needs sleep? 

Our rotating cast of writers all had turns picking and sharing some of Netflix’s hidden gems with our readers. I want to thank them for having fun with it and making this a worthwhile experiment for us in 2014… and here’s to helping each other pick new series to watch in 2015. 

For me personally, I had a hell of a year in binging. I mowed through Dawson’s Creek in January before it was sadly taken off Netflix later in the year, which led me to Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 (with frequent Netflix POTW Daniel Kurland on the review). I finally finished LOST (and kind of liked the finale…), I fell in love with the cast of New Girl, I tried to filled the void The X-Files left in my life by watching Gillian Anderson in The Fall and realized, if Dawson’s Creek didn’t tip you off, that I’m a huge pussy and I’m a little scared of the campy 90s Goosebumps series. 

It was a pleasure to suggest shows to you and I can’t wait to do it again in the new year. So here we are. My final pick for 2014: the short-lived Fox comedy, Undeclared. 

Backstory: 

Undeclared is considered the de facto spinoff of another network television castaway and newfound Netflix darling, Freaks and Geeks. After Paul Feig and Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks was cancelled by NBC, Apatow graduated from the high school dramedy and moved on to FOX where in 2001 he debuted this college-set comedy.

Premise: 

The first day of college is the perfect day to reinvent your image. That transition doesn’t go as expected for nerdy freshman Steven Karp (Jay Baruchel), who has to deal with his bro roommates, a dad who’s in a mid-life crisis, and the aftermath of landing his first sexual encounter.

Seasons: 

One season, 17 episodes.

Why You Should Watch It: 

Young, raw talent. Future comedy stars. Amazing guest spots. This scene with Will Ferrell: 

If nothing else, Undeclared should get your attention for names attached to it. Jay Baruchel, Charlie Hunnam, and Carla Gallo star and though they play different characters from Freaks and Geeks, Seth Rogen, Busy Phillips and Jason Segal came along with Apatow. The guest stars are plentiful with Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Fred Willard, and Jenna Fischer stopping by, just to name a few. The directing credits are impressive too, with Apatow, Feig, Greg Mottola, Jay Chandrasekhar, and Jon Favreau all helming an episode.  

This Series Is For You If: 

You enjoy any Apatow/Seth Rogen flick. You rented The Interview. You’re excited for Jay Baruchel’s new series Man Seeking Woman. Your first day of college was scary, awkward and your parents were embrassing. You miss getting random weirdos to write your Psych 101 papers in the middle of the night. 

Den of Geek Editor Chris Longo is the conductor of the Twitter follow train. Hop on here as he tweets about whatever Netflix binge he’s currently obsessed with.