The Goldbergs is returning for its 10th season on Sept. 21, but the popular ABC sitcom will look very different than it has in the past. After actor and comedian Jeff Garlin, who starred as patriarch Murray Goldberg for the better part of nine seasons, exited the series last year due to on-set misconduct allegations, it was confirmed Tuesday that his character will have been unceremoniously killed off between seasons.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-showrunners Alex Barnow and Chris Bishop explained that the coming season will feel like a huge reboot, with “tons of momentum” rolling in. Not only will the family be adjusting to their new normal without Murray incessantly complaining from the comfort of his recliner, but Erica (Hayley Orrantia), who got married last season, will be welcoming a new baby.
“‘This is going to be a family that has not reconciled the fact that their father’s gone but has sort of moved on and has dealt with a lot of that,’ co-showrunner Alex Barnow tells EW of the decision to kill off the character played by Garlin, who left the show in late 2021 after complaints about his conduct on set. ‘So we’re starting with optimism about a baby coming and looking forward to the future. It’s an opportunity for this interesting emotional basis for the way people are behaving.’”
After Garlin’s ousting, the series dealt with his untimely departure for the last few season 9 episodes that had yet to be filmed by employing some stealth editing tricks, such as using stand-ins and GCI along with Garlin’s voice from unused takes from previous episodes. When asked how they’re dealing with the cast dynamics going forward, Barnow explained that the family will have largely moved on from the character’s death.
“Well, [Garlin is] not going to be on the season, obviously. [Murray] will have passed, and we are sort of starting from a place of multiple months removed from his death. The family has already grieved, unlike Pops [George Segal] and the premiere of season 9 where they’re dealing with it sort of very freshly. This is going to be a family that has not reconciled the fact that their father’s gone but has sort of moved on and has dealt with a lot of that. So we’re starting with optimism about a baby coming and looking forward to the future. It’s an opportunity for this interesting emotional basis for the way people are behaving. But Jeff won’t be in the series this year, and so far the stories have been largely about looking forward rather than looking back.”
Ouch. Though, you really can’t blame them for doing what they need to go to get the show back on track.
Garlin left the show in December 2021 after allegations of his misconduct surfaced following a piece published by Vanity Fair. Apparently, Garlin had been the subject of a three-year human resources investigation, after some some staffers complained that the 60-year-old’s verbal and physical conduct could be disrespectful and demeaning at times.
“As a comedian, if somebody is offended by what I say I, all I can say is, ‘I’m sorry.’ Okay?” Garlin commented at the time. “I have never physically come at anyone, for any reason, so that I find terribly confusing and untrue.”
And yet, here we are, with Murray Goldberg, dead and buried.