Here's Why You'll Still See Jeff Garlin In The Goldbergs After His Exit
Popular ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs" weathered a cast shakeup earlier this year following the death of George Segal, who played Pops for eight years. Now, another member of "The Goldbergs" cast is in the headlines, albeit for entirely different reasons. On December 16, we learned Jeff Garlin was let go from the show following an investigation into his behavior towards the other cast and crew members who worked on the ABC comedy. Garlin, who plays Goldberg patriarch Murray Goldberg, has been on the show for nine seasons. He made his first appearance as Murray in the ABC comedy's pilot, which aired in September 2013.
In an interview with Vanity Fair published on December 3, Garlin revealed he had been investigated by Sony Pictures Television HR regarding his conduct multiple times over the past three years. Garlin rejected allegations of a physical and verbal altercation with a stand-in on the set of "The Goldbergs," explaining to VF, "If someone misses a joke, that's unfortunate to me. I don't like it." He went on to say, "[A]s a comedian, if somebody is offended by what I say, all I can say is I'm sorry." Following the release of the interview, crew members from the show came forward under anonymity to Deadline, culminating in Garlin's exit from the show on December 15 in a mutually agreed-upon decision.
However, Garlin's exit doesn't mean the end of Murray's time on "The Goldbergs." Here's why you'll still see the actor on the ABC comedy after his exit.
The Goldbergs creative team will use a stand-in
Per a new report from Variety, while Jeff Garlin is no longer involved with "The Goldbergs," his character, Murray Goldberg, will continue to appear on the show. However, Garlin has immediately ceased participating in the filming of new episodes. The creative team will work around his absence by using a stand-in in place of the actor. Variety reports they will also use outtakes and things he has said while off-camera in previous episodes to stitch together his dialogue.
This is not the first time the show's creative team has had to employ this workaround. Variety notes that Garlin's stand-in has been previously used in promotional materials, with the actor's head on the stand-in's body, and the stand-in has experience doing group scenes as Murray. The report also points out that "The Goldbergs" creative team will not be employing deepfake technology or any sort of facial replacement in the remaining scenes with the character. This confirmation likely means audiences will be seeing the Goldberg family patriarch in some form for the remainder of the show's run.
The wrinkle in all this is that while Garlin is officially no longer part of the show, he will continue to get paid, as he is credited with these appearances. Per his IMDb profile, Garlin appears to retain credits for upcoming 2022 episodes. It remains unclear if he will actually be shown in these episodes or if he will be replaced using one of the aforementioned methods.
"The Goldbergs" is currently airing on Wednesdays at 8/7c on ABC.