The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)

The Goldbergs
First promotional poster
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Adam F. Goldberg
Starring	Wendi McLendon-Covey Jeff Garlin Sean Giambrone Troy Gentile Hayley Orrantia George Segal AJ Michalka
Narrated by	Patton Oswalt
Theme music composer	I Fight Dragons[1]
Composer(s)	Michael Wandmacher
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	69 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Adam F. Goldberg Doug Robinson Seth Gordon Alex Barnow Marc Firek David Guarascio David Katzenberg
Producer(s)	Dan Levy
Editor(s)	Jonathan Corn Ivan Victor Peter B. Ellis Kevin Leffler
Location(s)	Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, California
Cinematography	Joseph E. Gallagher Jason Blount
Camera setup	Film; Single-camera
Running time	20 minutes
Production company(s)	Adam F. Goldberg Productions Happy Madison Productions Sony Pictures Television
Distributor	Sony Pictures Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	720p (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format	5.1 surround sound
Original release	September 24, 2013 – present
External links
Official website

The Goldbergs is an American sitcom that premiered on Tuesday, 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.^[2] The show is produced by Goldberg, Seth Gordon, and Doug Robinson.^[3] It is loosely based on Goldberg's childhood and family in the 1980s, complete with a childhood version of himself. On May 8, 2014, ABC announced the second season renewal of The Goldbergs.^[4][5] It was also announced that the show would move to Wednesdays at 8:30 pm ET, following The Middle beginning September 24, 2014.^[6] On May 7, 2015, the show was renewed for a third season, which premiered on September 23, 2015.^[7] The series was renewed for a fourth season, on March 3, 2016.^[8]

Premise

The Goldbergs is set in the 1980s in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, but is filmed in Southern California. The show is loosely based on the showrunner's own childhood, during which he videotaped events, many of which are re-enacted throughout the program. It shows the reality of the '80s from a young boy's eyes and gives an inspiring look into four aspiring writers.^[9]

The series stars Jeff Garlin as patriarch Murray and Wendi McLendon-Covey as his wife, 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 family is Jewish but not observant.

The present-day "Adult Adam" (Patton Oswalt) narrates every episode as taking place in "1980-something." The series takes creative liberties with the time frame. For example, the second season episode "Just Say No" has references to both the Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro presidential campaign (which took place in 1984) and the TV shows American Gladiators and America's Funniest Home Videos (both of which debuted in 1989).

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Wendi McLendon-Covey as Beverly Goldberg (née Solomon),^[3] the overprotective matriarch of the Goldbergs. She frequently injects herself into her children's lives, often to their embarrassment, and is supremely confident in their abilities.
• Sean Giambrone as Adam Goldberg,^[3] the pop-culture obsessed youngest child of the Goldbergs. Smart and geeky, he often films his family's activities on a VHS camcorder.
  • Patton Oswalt voices the adult Adam Goldberg,^[10] who narrates the show from the present day.
• Troy Gentile as Barry Goldberg,^[3] 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.
• Hayley Orrantia as Erica Goldberg,^[3] the nonchalant oldest child of the Goldbergs. Smart and musically gifted but rebellious, she is popular in school and dominant over her younger brothers.
• AJ Michalka as Lainey Lewis (Season 3–present; recurring 1–2), Erica's best friend, whom Barry has had a lifelong crush on. To the surprise of many, Lainey kisses Barry at a party in the first season finale, and later becomes his girlfriend.
• George Segal as Albert "Pops" Solomon,^[3] Beverly's laid back father. Though an elderly man with a number of goofy characteristics, he acts much younger than his age and often gives sage advice to his grandchildren. Adam considers him as his best friend. He once owned a successful furniture store that made him wealthy and let's his son-in-law Murray now runs the business.
• Jeff Garlin as Murray Goldberg,^[3] 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. He's worked full-time since his teenage years, and wants his children 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 without wearing pants in his spare time.

Recurring

• 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.
• 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 later becomes his girlfriend. In the Season 2 finale "Goldbergs Feel Hard", it is revealed Dana may be moving because her dad has a job offer in 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 realise how different they have become.
• Jackson Odell as Ari Caldwell, a popular student and friend of Erica and Lexi. He is also Dana's older brother. (season 1-2)
• Virginia Gardner as Lexi Bloom, Barry's crush. (season 1)
• 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.
• Tim Meadows as Andre Glascott, a disenchanted teacher who also delivers pizza and gives guitar lessons for extra money. He also serves as the school's hapless guidance counselor.
• Barbara Alyn Woods as Mrs. Caldwell, Dana and Ari's mother. Woods is in fact the mother of Natalie Alyn Lind, who portrays Dana. (season 1)
• Stephanie Katherine Grant as Emmy Mirsky, a girl in the neighborhood with whom Adam likes to spend time. They have been best friends for several years.
• 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. J. C. Spink is a film producer in the present day, and also portrays the 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 Meller, the high school's no-nonsense gym teacher and coach.
• Joey Luthman as Roger McFadden, a nerdy classmate of Barry. (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 2-3)
• Ana Gasteyer as Susan Cinoman, a music teacher at the Goldberg children's high school and love interest of Rick Meller. (season 2-3)
• The Jenkintown Posse, a group of overly dramatic and moronic friends led by Barry (and briefly Erica). (season 2-3)
  • Sam Lerner as 'Madman' Geoff Schwartz.
  • Noah Munck as 'Naked' Rob Smith.
  • Matt Bush as 'Ladies' Man' Andy Cogan.
• 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)
• Paul Sorvino (season 2) and Judd Hirsch (season 3) as Ben "Pop Pop" Goldberg, Murray's cantankerous, opinionated father. He views Pops as a rival.
• Allie Grant as Evelyn Silver, a girl Beverly tries to set Barry up with. Erica is deeply disturbed by this, because Evelyn is very similar to Beverly. (season 2-3)
• 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 2-3)
• Nate Hartley as Dan, a nerdy punching bag, who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. (season 2-3)
• 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 band geek with a high opinion of himself. He also plays the drums in a Rush cover band called Speed Up. He is similar to her brothers Adam and Barry Goldberg. He had a crush on Erica, but she doesn't date geeks or outsiders. She did date him briefly in Rush, but she dumped him and realize that she doesn't date geeks and start her own band. (season 3)
• Alex Jennings as Carla Natali Mann, a vaguely popular student, friend of Erica and Lainey, and on-off girlfriend of Johnny Atkins. (season 3)
• Niko Guardado as Ruben Amaro, Jr., a highly popular student and champion athlete. (season 3)

Notable guest stars

• Brec Bassinger as Zoe McIntosh, a girl Adam had a crush on.
• Tom Cavanagh as Charles Kremp, Chad's father, who appears in season 1 episode 8, "The Kremps".
• Martin Starr as Andre, the local video store clerk who bans Murray after an excessively late rental.
• David Spade as Gus, a sketchy manufacturer of fake IDs.
• Charlie Sheen as the man in police station, reprising his iconic role from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
• Nick Swardson as Rick, a sketchy black market toy dealer.^[11]
• Chuck Norris as himself (voice only), who is heard from offscreen reading a letter to Barry.
• Weird Al Yankovic as himself

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		Nielsen ratings
			First aired	Last aired	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
	1	23	September 24, 2013	May 13, 2014	76	6.20[12]
	2	24	September 24, 2014	May 13, 2015	57	8.37[13]
	3	24[14]	September 23, 2015	May 18, 2016	TBA	TBA

Production

From left to right: Segal, Gentile, McLendon-Covey, Orrantia, and Garlin

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.^[15][16] On January 11, 2013, Wendi McLendon-Covey was cast as the pilot's lead;^[17] later, Jeff Garlin and George Segal joined the cast.^[18][19]

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.^[20] The show's theme song, "Rewind," was written at Goldberg's request by I Fight Dragons, his favorite band, specifically for the show.^[21] On November 1, 2013, ABC picked up the show for a full season order.^[22]

Reception

Critical reception

The Goldbergs pilot received mixed reviews, averaging a score of 52% on Metacritic based on reviews from 26 critics.^[23]

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."^[24] David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "you'll immediately like everyone in the family and the jokes derive from credible situations."^[25]

Hank Stuever of The Washington Post said the show was "obnoxiously loud."^[26] David Hinckley of The New York Daily News said the show is "just awful."^[27] Tierney Bricker of E! News gave a more positive review, saying that the show is "like Modern Family mixed with A Christmas Story."^[28]

The Goldbergs was included in TV Guide's 2013 Top Twenty "Best Shows of the Year",^[29] along with The Hollywood Reporter^[30] and Today.^[31] In addition, SpoilerTV awarded The Goldbergs with the honor of Best Comedy of 2013-2014.^[32]

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.^[33] The show continues to be well received. "Entertainment Weekly" called 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."^[34]

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”.^[35]

Nielsen ratings

Season	Timeslot (ET)	# Ep.	Premiered			Ended			TV Season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere Viewers (in millions)	Premiere 18-49 rating/share	Date	Finale Viewers (in millions)	Finale 18-49 rating/share
1	Tuesday 9:00 pm	23	September 24, 2013	8.94[36]	3.1/8[36]	May 13, 2014	4.26[37]	1.5/5[37]	2013–2014	#76[38]	6.20[38]
2	Wednesday 8:30 pm	24	September 24, 2014	7.31[39]	2.4/6[39]	May 13, 2015	6.70[40]	2.0/7[40]	2014–2015	#57[41]	8.34[41]
3		24[42]	September 23, 2015	7.62[43]	2.4/8[43]	May 18, 2016			2015–2016	TBA	TBA

Broadcast

The Goldbergs originally premiered on ABC on 24 September 2013.^[6] The pilot was made available on Hulu and ABC.com before it premiered on television.^[44]

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+.

In Germany, the series is aired on the Disney Channel since February 16, 2016.^[45]

References

1. "Announcementsauce: We did the theme song for The Goldbergs on ABC!". Ifightdragons.com. September 30, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
2. Lynette Rice (May 10, 2013). "ABC renews 'Nashville,' 'Scandal, 'Grey's Anatomy' and more". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
3. "Goldbergs, The (ABC)". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
4. Kondolojy, Amanda (May 8, 2014). "'The Goldbergs', 'Once Upon a Time', 'Castle', 'Scandal', Grey's Anatomy', 'Revenge', 'Marvel's Agents of SHIELD' & 'Resurrection' Renewed by ABC". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
5. Michael O'Connell; Lesley Goldberg (May 8, 2014). "ABC Renews 'The Goldbergs'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
6. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 15, 2014). "ABC Announces Fall Premiere Dates". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
7. Kimball, Trevor (May 8, 2015). "The Goldbergs: Third Season for ABC Retro Sitcom". TV Series Finale. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
8. Abrams, Natalie (March 3, 2016). "Grey's Anatomy, Quantico, and more renewed at ABC". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
9. Pfefferman, Naomi (September 6, 2013). "Meet ‘The Goldbergs’: Adam Goldberg mines his family’s mishegoss for new sitcom". Jewish Journal. TRIBE Media Corp. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
10. Lowry, Brian (September 17, 2013). "TV Review: The Goldbergs". Variety.
11. Joyce Eng (28 January 2015). "Goldbergs Exclusive: What '80s Toy Is Beverly Trying to Buy From Nick Swardson?". TVGuide.com.
12. "Full 2013-2014 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline. May 22, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
13. de Moraes, Lisa (May 21, 2014). "Full 2014–15 TV Season Series Rankings: Football & ‘Empire’ Ruled". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
14. Andreeva, Nellie (November 17, 2015). "ABC Ups Orders For 'Middle', 'Goldbergs', 'Blackish', and 'FOTB', 'Modern Family' next". Deadline. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
15. Nellie Andreeva (August 24, 2011). "Fox To Bring Back 'Breaking In' With 13-Ep. Order, Buy New Adam Goldberg Comedy". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
16. Nellie Andreeva (September 7, 2012). "Adam F. Goldberg '80s Comedy Moves From Fox To ABC With Production Commitment". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
17. Nellie Andreeva (January 11, 2013). "Wendi McLendon-Covey To Star In Adam Goldberg's 1980s Comedy Pilot At ABC". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
18. Nellie Andreeva (January 28, 2013). "Jeff Garlin To Star In Adam Goldberg's 1980s Family Comedy Pilot At ABC". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
19. Nellie Andreeva (February 19, 2013). "Maya Kazan Cast In CW Pilot 'Company Town', George Segal In ABC's 'How The Hell'". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
20. Cynthia Littleton. "ABC Orders 7 Dramas and 5 Comedies, Axes 'Happy Endings'". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
21. Michael Schneider (November 1, 2013). "How The Goldbergs and Other New Shows Kept Their Theme Songs". tvguide.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
22. "ABC Orders Full Seasons of 'The Goldbergs,' 'Trophy Wife'; 'Super Fun Night' Gets 4 More Episodes". The Hollywood Reporter. November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
23. "The Goldbergs - Season 1 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
24. Goodman, Tim (September 24, 2013). "The Goldbergs: TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
25. Wiegand, David (September 22, 2013). "Snarky 'Mom' seems hip, but 'Goldbergs' funnier". San Francisco Chronicle.
26. "‘The Goldbergs’: Back to the ’80s and totally gagging on ABC". The Washington Post. September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
27. "'The Goldbergs' and 'Trophy Wife': TV reviews". The New York Daily News. September 24, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
28. "The Goldbergs Review: We Totally Want to Be a Part of ABC's Retro Family". E! News. September 24, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
29. "The Goldbergs Pictures - Photo Gallery: The Best TV Shows of 2013". Tvguide.com. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
30. "Tim Goodman's Best Comedies of 2013". The Hollywood Reporter. 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
31. Maggie Furlong (2013-12-21). "11 breakout hits of the fall TV season - Entertainment". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
32. "Last Week in TV - Week of May 18 - Season Awards and Reviews - Mega Version". SpoilerTV.
33. "The Goldbergs: Season 2". rottentomatoes.com. 24 September 2014.
34. "'The Goldbergs' season 2 premiere react: Same love, new mixtape". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.
35. http://renewcanceltv.com/the-goldbergs-season-4-abc-eyes-long-future/
36. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 25, 2013). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.', 'The Voice' & 'NCIS' Adjusted Up; 'The Goldbergs' & 'Chicago Fire' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers.
37. Bibel, Sara (May 14, 2014). "Tuesday Final Ratings: 'The Voice', 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' & 'The Goldbergs' Adjusted Up; 'The Originals', 'Supernatural', & 'About a Boy' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
38. "Full 2013-2014 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline. May 22, 2014.
39. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 25, 2014). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'The Middle', 'The Goldbergs', 'Modern Family', 'Law and Order: SVU', & 'Red Band Society' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
40. Bibel, Sara (May 14, 2015). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Law & Order: SVU', 'Survivor, 'The Middle' & 'American Idol' Adjusted Up; 'Supernatural', 'black-ish' & 'Nashville' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
41. de Moraes, Lisa (May 21, 2015). "Full 2014-15 TV Season Series Rankings: Football & ‘Empire’ Ruled". Deadline. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
42. Andreeva, Nellie (November 17, 2015). "ABC Ups Orders For 'Middle', 'Goldbergs', 'Blackish', and 'FOTB', 'Modern Family' next". Deadline. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
43. Kondolojy, Amanda (September 24, 2015). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Survivor', 'Modern Family' & 'Law and Order: SVU' Adjusted Up; 'Nashville' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
44. Spangler, Todd. "Watch ABC Shows Free Online Fall Comedies". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
45. "DIE GOLDBERGS - Trailer - NEU im DISNEY CHANNEL". February 1, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• The Goldbergs at the Internet Movie Database
• The Goldbergs at TV Guide
• The Goldbergs at History vs. Hollywood