The Goldbergs is an American television period sitcom that premiered on September 24, 2013, on ABC. The series was created by Adam F. Goldberg and stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jeff Garlin, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, and George Segal. The show is produced by Goldberg, Seth Gordon, and Doug Robinson. It is based on Goldberg's childhood and family in the 1980s, complete with a childhood version of himself. In May 2017, ABC renewed the series for a fifth and sixth season. The sixth season premiered on September 26, 2018.
Video The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)
Premise
The Goldbergs is set in the 1980s in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. The show is loosely based on the showrunner's childhood, during which he videotaped events, many of which are reenacted throughout the program. It shows the reality of the 1980s through a young boy's eyes.
The series stars Jeff Garlin as patriarch Murray and Wendi McLendon-Covey as matriarch Beverly. Their two older children are Erica (Hayley Orrantia) and Barry (Troy Gentile). The youngest child, Adam (Sean Giambrone), documents his family life with his video camera. Beverly's father, Albert "Pops" Solomon (George Segal), is frequently around to provide advice or to help out his grandchildren (often behind his daughter's back).
The present-day "Adult Adam" (Patton Oswalt) narrates every episode as taking place in "1980-something".
Many references to real-life Philadelphia-area businesses are made, including the Wawa Inc. convenience store chain, Gimbel's department store, Willow Grove Park Mall, and Kremp's Florist of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
Maps The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Wendi McLendon-Covey as Beverly Goldberg (née Solomon), the overprotective matriarch of the Goldbergs. She is often called their smother by the kids. She frequently injects herself into her children's lives, often to their embarrassment, and is supremely confident in their abilities.
- Sean Giambrone as Adam Fredrick Goldberg, the pop-culture obsessed youngest child of the Goldbergs. Smart and geeky, he often films his family's activities on a VHS camcorder. He often ends up having to use his middle initial to distinguish himself from another Adam Goldberg who attends the same school and is also an aspiring filmmaker.
- Patton Oswalt voices the adult Adam Goldberg, who narrates the show from the present day.
- Jeff Garlin as Murray Goldberg, the gruff, somewhat asocial patriarch of the Goldbergs. Unlike Beverly, he is realistic about his children's abilities and believes she smothers them too much. Despite his apathetic tendencies at home, he values hard work and has held various full time positions since his teenage years. Though he does not always show affection for his children, calling them morons when they make mistakes or behave in silly ways, he truly cares about them and wants them to learn how to fend for themselves. He runs his father-in-law's furniture business, loves sports, and is often seen lounging in front of his TV in his white briefs.
- Troy Gentile as Barry Norman Goldberg, the overconfident, slightly dim-witted middle child of the Goldbergs. Though seemingly untalented in every way (except in ice hockey and wrestling, at which he excels), he remains highly self-assured while trying to become popular in high school. He is determined to dominate everything he does, including sports; loves rap music; and is the leader of a crew called the Jenkintown Posse (abbreviated JTP, which fellow members repeat whenever the initials are spoken). In the fifth season finale, he proposes to Lainey and she accepts. By this point, he has also graduated.
- Hayley Orrantia as Erica Dorothy Goldberg, the somewhat bad-tempered oldest child of the Goldbergs. Smart and musically gifted but rebellious, she is popular in school and dominant over her younger brothers. In the fifth season, Erica left for college at DC. School of the Arts only to drop out at the end of the season to start a band with Lainey and Valley Erica. "Erica" is based on Adam's real-life brother, Eric Goldberg.
- George Segal as Albert "Pops" Solomon, Beverly's laid-back widower father. Though an elderly man with a number of comic eccentricities, he acts much younger than his age and often gives sage advice to his grandchildren. Adam considers him his best friend. He once owned a successful furniture store called Ottoman Empire that allowed him to retire comfortably, and he now lets his son-in-law Murray run the business.
- AJ Michalka as Lainey Lewis (Season 3-4; recurring 1-2, 5-present), Erica's best friend and one of the most popular girls at school, whom Barry has had a lifelong crush on. To the surprise of many, Lainey kisses Barry at a party in the first-season finale, the two slowly grow closer together in season two, and eventually become an unlikely couple. Following the fourth season, she has gone to attend fashion school in Savannah, Georgia and ended her relationship with Barry. In season 5, she returns to Jenkintown after dropping out along with Erica to start a band. In the final seconds of the season finale she and Barry agree to wed.
- Sam Lerner as 'Madman' Geoff Schwartz (Season 5-present; recurring 2-4), one of Barry's best friends. The nickname "Madman" is a form of ironic humor, given how well-behaved the character is, especially compared to Barry. He is infatuated with Erica and makes many futile attempts to win her affections. At the end of the third season, he begins dating Evelyn Silver just as Erica realizes she reciprocates Geoff's feelings. He later breaks up with Evey to be with Erica.
- Alison Rich as Erica "Valley Erica" Coolidge, Erica's Valley girl roommate at college; the two have the same first name, but decidedly different personalities. (season 6; recurring 5)
Recurring cast
- Troy Winbush as Puchinski, a police officer who sometimes runs afoul of the Goldbergs' craziness, and often sympathises with Beverly.
- Cedric Yarbrough as Vic, Murray's friend and co-worker from Canada.
- Ben Zelevansky as Dale, the manager of the arcade frequented by Adam, Barry, and Pops. (season 1)
- Natalie Alyn Lind as Dana Caldwell, Adam's classmate who becomes his girlfriend. In the season 2 finale, it is revealed Dana may be moving to Seattle. The season 3 premiere confirms she is now living in Seattle. Adam and Dana continue a long-distance relationship, but it ends when the two realize how different they have become. "Dana"'s real-life name is Amanda Caldwell; it was changed due to early legal concerns about the show's autobiographical quality. (season 1-3; guest season 4)
- Jackson Odell as Ari Caldwell, a popular student, a friend of Erica and Lexi, and Dana's older brother. (season 1-2)
- Virginia Gardner as Lexi Bloom, Barry's crush. (season 1, mentioned season 4)
- Kathryn Leigh Scott as Miriam Ferguson, one of Pops' lovers. (season 1)
- Jennifer Irwin as Virginia Kremp, Chad's mother, neighbor to the Goldbergs.
- Jacob Hopkins as Chad Kremp, Virginia's youngest son and a close friend of Adam.
- Tyler Stokes as Drew Kremp, Chad's older brother and Erica's ex-boyfriend. (season 1 and 3)
- Dan Fogler as Marvin Goldberg, Murray's carefree, unreliable younger brother. He moves in with the family near the end of season four, living in their basement.
- Tim Meadows as Jonathan "Andre" Glascott, a disenchanted teacher who also delivers pizza and gives guitar lessons for extra money. He serves as the school's hapless guidance counselor.
- Barbara Alyn Woods as Mrs. Caldwell, Dana and Ari's mother. Woods is the real-life mother of Natalie Alyn Lind, who portrays Dana. (season 1)
- Stephanie Katherine Grant as Emmy "Muscles" Mirsky, a girl in the neighborhood with whom Adam likes to spend time. Because they grew up together, she and Adam treat each other like siblings, and she behaves like "one of the guys" in the company of Adam and friends.
- Kenny Ridwan as Dave Kim, an awkward classmate and friend of Adam's, who is always addressed by both his first and last names, even by his own mother.
- Cooper Roth (season 1) and Zayne Emory (season 2-3) as J. C. Spink, a bully who torments Adam. The original film producer who inspired the character portrays a school bus driver.
- Mason Cook as Tyler Stansfield, a puny but fierce classmate of Adam.
- Dustin Ybarra as Nitrous, a university student who occasionally interacts with Beverly. Usually Beverly has to make a demand of Nitrous, which he will agree to, but only after trying to coerce her into showing him her breasts or giving him $1 million. (season 1 and 3)
- Bryan Callen as Rick Mellor, the high school's no-nonsense gym teacher and coach.
- Joey Luthman as Roger McFadden, a nerdy classmate of Barry's. (season 1)
- Stephen Tobolowsky as Principal Earl Ball, the principal of the Goldberg children's high school. Beverly frequently confronts him when she knows something has gone wrong in her children's classes or school activities. (season 2-present)
- Ana Gasteyer as Susan Cinoman, a music teacher at the Goldberg children's high school and love interest of Rick Mellor. (season 2-present)
- Noah Munck as 'Naked' Rob Smith, one of Barry's best friends who goes shirtless at any opportunity. (season 2-present)
- Matt Bush as 'Ladies' Man' Andy Cogan, one of Barry's best friends who is frequently teased for his short stature. (season 2-present)
- Nathan Gamble as Garry Ball, the Principal's rebellious son and Adam's only cool friend. (season 2-3)
- Dan Bakkedahl as Mr. Woodburn, Adam's lonely and depressed science teacher. (season 2)
- Suzy Nakamura as Mrs. Kim, Dave Kim's mother and the owner of a Chinese restaurant frequented by the Goldbergs. (season 2)
- Rob Huebel as John Calabasas, an opportunistic businessman with several careers. (season 2-3)
- Judd Hirsch as Ben "Pop Pop" Goldberg, Murray's cantankerous, opinionated father. He frequently fights with Murray, with whom he has trouble communicating, and he views Pops as a rival. (seasons 3-present; Pop Pop first appeared in one season 2 episode, and was portrayed by Paul Sorvino)
- Allie Grant as Evelyn "Evey" Silver, a girl Beverly tries to set up Barry with. Erica is deeply disturbed by this, because Evey is eerily similar to Beverly. She later becomes Geoff Schwartz's girlfriend, albeit briefly. (season 2-present)
- David Koechner as Bill Lewis, Lainey's father who is raising her as a single parent. To Murray's dismay, Bill is a major fan of the Dallas Cowboys, starting a rivalry between the two. Bill and Murray eventually become good friends as they discover that, outside of football, they have a lot in common. (season 2-present)
- Nate Hartley as Dan, a nerdy punching bag, who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. (season 2-present)
- Charlie DePew as Anthony Balsamo, a popular, good-looking student and Lainey's ex-boyfriend. (season 2-3)
- Sam Kindseth as David Sirota, Adam's goofy friend and classmate. In the present he is an American political commentator and radio host. (season 2-3)
- Michaela Watkins as Ms. Taraborelli, a socially awkward Spanish and sex education teacher. (season 2)
- Christopher Avila as Raji Mitra, an intelligent student Beverly hires to tutor Lainey. (season 3)
- Sean Marquette as Johnny Atkins, a ponytailed, saxophone-playing troublemaker who, much like Barry Goldberg, has a high opinion of himself. He is always seen wearing a Rush tour t-shirt. In addition to saxophone, he also plays the drums. Erica dated him briefly. (season 3-present)
- Niko Guardado as Rubén Amaro, Jr., a highly popular student and champion athlete. In adulthood, he will become a major league baseball player and General Manager of Philadelphia Phillies. (season 3-present)
- Alex Jennings as Carla Mann, a vaguely popular student and friend of Erica and Lainey who is a bit of a troublemaker. She is also an on-off girlfriend of Johnny Atkins. (season 3-present)
- Froy Gutierrez as Benjamin "Handsome Ben" Bauman, a highly popular student whom Adam sees as his rival, though Ben is always friendly to him.
- Quincy Fouse as Taz Money, a popular friend of Adam. (season 3)
- Lucky: Lucky is an actual dog introduced in season 3 as the Goldberg family pet.
- Shayne Topp as Matt Bradley; a punk rocker-turned-Deadhead who becomes the newest member of the JTP, over Barry's initial objections. Adult Adam's voice-over later confides that Matt would become Barry's closest friend after high school. (season 4-present)
- Rowan Blanchard (seasons 4-5), Alexis G. Zall (season 6-present) as Jackie Geary, Adam's girlfriend who shares his love of science fiction.
- Jackie Geary as Jackie's mother
- JC Spink as Joe the Bus Driver
- Ken Lerner as Lou Schwartz, Geoff's father. (season 5)
- Mindy Sterling as Linda Schwartz, Geoff's mother. (season 5)
- Brec Bassinger as Zoe McIntosh, a girl Adam had a crush on. (season 1, episode 1 and season 4, episode 3)
- Bill Goldberg as Nick Mellor, Coach Mellor's brutish brother. (Season 5)
Guest cast
- Tom Cavanagh as Charles Kremp, Chad's father. (season 1, episode 8)
- Martin Starr as Andre, the local video store clerk who bans Murray after an excessively late rental. (season 1)
- Thomas Lennon as Taun-Taun Todd, a Star Wars fan that Erica and Adam meet while waiting in line to see Return of the Jedi. (season 1, episode 22)
- David Spade as Gus, a sketchy manufacturer of fake IDs. (season 2, episode 1)
- Charlie Sheen as the man in the police station, reprising his iconic role from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. (season 2, episode 14)
- Nick Swardson as Rick, a sketchy black market toy dealer. (season 2, episode 15)
- Chuck Norris as himself (voice only), who is heard from offscreen reading a letter to Barry. (season 3)
- Weird Al Yankovic as himself. (season 3, episode 15)
- Chad Coleman as Leon, a manager of Spencer's Gifts store. (season 4)
- Martin Kove as Master John, reprising his role as Cobra Kai dojo sensei. (season 4)
- Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Mr. Connelly, the science teacher in the fifth-season premiere episode "Weird Science." Mitchell-Smith portrayed Wyatt Donnelly in the film Weird Science.
- Mike Quick as Coach Fast, an assistant football coach at William Penn. (Season 5)
- Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet (voice only), reprising his role from the movie Spaceballs. (Season 5)
Cameos from real-life counterparts
- "Handsome" Ben Bauman and "Regular" Amy Gross as Double Dare Producers
- Chad Kremp as a deli worker (season 1), and as his father (season 4)
- R. D. Robb as a photographer
- Michael C. Levy and Michael Z. Levy as Computer Technicians
- Rubén Amaro Jr. as Rubén Amaro Sr.
- Beverly Goldberg, Essie Karp, Virginia Kremp, and Linda Schwartz as a group of elderly friends that Beverly longs to be like
- The real-life members of JTP (Barry Goldberg, Matt Bradley, Andy Cogan, Geoff Schwartz, and Rob Smith) all appear at the end of the episodes "Hail Barry" and "Colors"
- Eric Goldberg (credited as "My Brother") at the end of "MTV Spring Break"
- Emmy Mirsky as the Emmy character's mother in "Flashy Little Flashdancer"
Episodes
Production
Casting
The project originally received a script commitment from Fox in August 2011. After Adam Goldberg's previous show, Breaking In, was canceled, he did not want to wait for another pilot season to arrive and moved it to ABC, who agreed to immediately produce it. On January 11, 2013, Wendi McLendon-Covey was cast as the pilot's lead; later, Jeff Garlin and George Segal joined the cast.
Filming
The pilot episode was directed by Seth Gordon. On May 10, 2013, ABC picked up the show to series to air in the 2013-14 American television season. It was later picked up for a full season order on November 1, 2013. The program is filmed on a series of stages at Sony Pictures Studios.
Music
The show's theme song, "Rewind," was written at Goldberg's request by I Fight Dragons, his favorite band, specifically for the show. A soundtrack, featuring songs performed on the show by the cast members, was released on December 6, 2017.
Reception
Critical reception
The Goldbergs first season received mixed reviews, averaging a score of 52% on Metacritic based on reviews from 26 critics.
Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter called it "one of the rare freshman comedies to deliver", giving credit to the show's "outstanding writing" and "strong cast". David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "you'll immediately like everyone in the family and the jokes derive from credible situations".
Hank Stuever of The Washington Post said the show was "obnoxiously loud". David Hinckley of The New York Daily News said the show is "just awful". Tierney Bricker of E! News gave a more positive review, saying that the show is "like Modern Family mixed with A Christmas Story".
The Goldbergs was included in TV Guide's 2013 Top Twenty "Best Shows of the Year", along with The Hollywood Reporter and Today. In addition, SpoilerTV awarded The Goldbergs with the honor of Best Comedy of 2013-2014.
The second season had a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100% fresh with five reviews, and there were many calls from both critics and the public to renew the show for a third season. The show continued to be well received, with Entertainment Weekly calling the season two premiere "the best of any family comedy on TV in the way it eschews dysfunction for its more appropriate, real-world term: love".
After the series was renewed for season 3, ABC network chief Paul Lee stated that both he and ABC believed that the show will be around for "a long time".
Nielsen ratings
Broadcast
The Goldbergs originally premiered on ABC on 24 September 2013. The pilot was made available on Hulu and ABC.com before it premiered on television.
In Australia, the show airs on the Seven Network. It has been broadcast in the United Kingdom on E4 since 20 April 2015, in Ireland on RTÉ2 since 19 October 2015 and in Turkey on DiziSmart since 2015. In France, the series began broadcasting since 17 October 2015 on Comedie+.
The show has been broadcasting on Neox TV channel in Spain since May 8, 2016 (2016-05-08). In India, the series is aired on Star World. In Germany, the series is aired on the Disney Channel since February 16, 2016. In Portugal, the series is aired on Fox Comedy, while in Italy on Italia Uno, Mediaset.
Syndication
The show went into syndication in September 2017 and began airing on local stations on September 11, Nick at Nite on September 18, and Pop on September 24.
Spinoff
In November 2016, it was first reported that ABC was developing a spinoff that would centre around recurring character Rick Mellor, played by Bryan Callen. On January 10, 2017, Wendi McClendon-Covey's character was reported as appearing in the script in a guest appearance. The script was ordered to pilot on February 2, 2017.
On March 16, 2017, it was confirmed that Nia Long had been cast as the female lead in the role of Lucy Winston. At the same time it was confirmed that Tim Meadows would reprise his recurring role from The Goldbergs as Andre Glascott. Jay Chandrasekhar was also confirmed to direct.
On May 17, 2017, ABC passed on the spin-off, despite it reportedly testing very well - going as far to test better than the pilot of the original series. At the same time, Adam F. Goldberg revealed the title of the failed spin-off - "Schooled".
On January 8, 2018, it was announced that the pilot would air as a special episode of The Goldbergs on January 24, 2018, under the episode title The Goldbergs: 1990-Something. Along with Nia Long as Lucy Winston and Tim Meadows as teacher-turned-principal Andre Glascott (who is also revealed to be Lucy's brother), the pilot also starred Rachel Crow as Lucy's rebellious teenage daughter Felicia, and Summer Parker as Felicia's bubbly younger sister Gigi, with Octavia Spencer narrating as the present-day Felicia.
After the pilot aired, Goldberg had expressed hope that the airing would prompt discussions with ABC that could lead to the series being picked up for the 2018-19 TV season. Three months later, on April 16, 2018, it was announced that ABC had officially picked up the spinoff, Schooled, for a 13-episode season slated to air in 2018. It was also announced that AJ Michalka would reprise her role as Lainey Lewis from The Goldbergs in the new show, but Nia Long will not return to the spinoff due to being a regular cast member on the CBS drama series NCIS: Los Angeles.
References
External links
- Official website
- The Goldbergs on IMDb
- The Goldbergs at TV Guide
Source of the article : Wikipedia