The Goldbergs is set to enter a prestigious club of American TV shows that were on the air for over a decade after the show was renewed for another season. That puts the popular sitcom in the top 50 longest-running scripted primetime series alongside the likes of Friends.
Based loosely on showrunner Adam F Goldberg’s childhood in the ’80s, the comedy series has been a smash hit for ABC. In fact, it remains one of the network’s most popular shows even this late into its run averaging 0.8 rating in adults 18-49 and just over 4 million viewers per episode in the Nielsen Live+7 ratings.
It seems an obvious move to renew it then, but fans had been worried about the future of the show since 2020 when the spinoff Schooled was cancelled. Season nine was eventually signed off on though with the decision to axe the spinoff reportedly taken due to a lack of audience crossover between the two shows.
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The Goldbergs Will Go on Without Jeff Garlin
Last year it was revealed that Jeff Garlin who played series patriarch Murray Goldberg had a three-year span of misconduct allegations levied against him by fellow cast members. It was reported that Garlin has established a pattern of inappropriate verbal and physical conduct, including what was described as ‘unwanted physical contact.’
Garlin was promptly let go by the show with the production team resorting to recycling previously recorded footage and a particularly uncanny valley CGI recreation to complete the shoot for season nine. The showrunners have yet to announce how they intend to deal with the absence of Murray, but the show will indeed, go on.
According to reports, it’s likely Murray will be written off the show at the start of season 10, perhaps to be replaced by a new character. Following in the footsteps of another popular sitcom Two and a Half Men that managed to find its feet again with new lead Ashton Kutcher after real-life personal issues saw the show’s star Charlie Sheen unceremoniously killed off.
Two and a Half Men ran for another three seasons after Charlie Harper’s death, so there is a precedent that it can be done. Other notable comedy series such as Community and Silicon Valley also navigated similar situations successfully with Chevy Chase and T.J. Miller respectively in recent times.
The remainder of the main cast, including Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile and Hayley Orrantia, who make up the rest of the titular family, and narrator Patton Oswalt have all signed on for the new season. More details on future plans are sure to be announced for fans once the current season finishes airing.
Season nine has three more planned episodes set to air with the season finale scheduled for May 18th. The next episode, “Sunday Chow-Fun Day,” is currently slated for May 4th.
