''FreakyLinks'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

series that combined elements of

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

, mystery, and

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

. It aired on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

from October 2000 until June 2001, for a total run of 13 episodes. The feel of the show closely modeled that of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'' and other supernatural-themed shows that were popular at the time.

Setting and plot

''FreakyLinks'' centered on Derek Barnes (played by

Ethan Embry Ethan Embry (born June 13, 1978) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his role as Mark in '' Empire Records'', Preston in '' Can't Hardly Wait'', The Bass Player in '' That Thing You Do!'', and as Bobby Ray in '' Sweet Home ...

), who, assisted by his friends Chloe (

Lisa Sheridan Lisa Sheridan (December 5, 1973 – February 25, 2019) was an American actress. Known mainly for her work on television, Sheridan was a regular cast member in cult favorites series such as, '' FreakyLinks'' and '' Invasion''. Life and caree ...

) and Jason (Karim Prince), ran a

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikip ...

called "FreakyLinks.com" that sought out the dark and forbidden truths behind

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. No ...

phenomena and

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

s. Derek took over the site after his twin brother, Adam, died under mysterious circumstances. The show's episodes revolved around Derek and his friends investigating supernatural claims for the website and uncovering clues that might reveal the truth of his brother's fate.

Cast

as Derek Barnes / Adam Barnes *

as Chloe Tanner * Karim Prince as Jason Tatum *

Lizette Carrion Lizette is a female given name that may refer to: *Lizette Alvarez (born 1964), American journalist *Lizette Cabrera (born 1997), Australian tennis player *Lizette Carrión (born 1972), American actress *Lizette Etsebeth (born 1963), South African ...

as Lan Williams *

Dennis Christopher Dennis Christopher (born Dennis Carrelli; December 2, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' Fade to Black'' (1980), '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981), '' It'' (1990) and '' Django Unchained'' (20 ...

as Vince J. Elsing

Production and marketing

''FreakyLinks'', originally titled ''Fearsum'' until a few months before airing, was developed by Haxan, the creators of the film ''

The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Josh ...

''. Haxan decided to follow a marketing strategy similar to Blair Witch's and created a website, long before the show was set to air, called "Freakylinks.com," which was cleverly designed to look like an amateurish, home-brew website made by real-life paranormal enthusiasts. The website was fairly successful and seemed to create some amount of "buzz," but this did not translate into high ratings when the show finally aired. The show went on hiatus for a few months before returning to the air to finish out the season, but it was not renewed for the next fall television season. An online

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offic ...

was created to ask the Fox Network to bring the show back for another season, however this was unsuccessful.

Episodes

References

''Los Angeles Times''''Entertainment Weekly''''NY Daily News''''The Western Courier''''Entertainment Weekly''''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present''

External links

Freakylinks.com
– The original Freakylinks.com website, now part of Haxan's portfolio * * {{David S. Goyer 2000 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American comic science fiction television series 2000s American horror comedy television series 2000s American mystery television series English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series created by David S. Goyer Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series created by Gregg Hale (producer) Fiction about urban legends Works about the Internet Television series by Haxan Films