Hit TV comedies aren't quite as common as they used to be, so when a show hits audiences in a big way, it's only smart to try and build upon that fanbase as much as possible. Such a thing is happening over at ABC, where the acid-washed wheels are turning on a spinoff of the pop culture-embracing sitcom The Goldbergs. And it's going to be about that most morally something-or-other of characters, Coach Rick Mellor.
A spinoff dedicated to Coach Rick has earned itself a script commitment with penalties attached at ABC, which isn't a guarantee of a series order by any stretch, but it's a good sign. The plot would shift forward to the 1990s, where two male high school teachers end up as unlikely parent figures for the three misbehaving children of the school's secretary. It sounds like a sitcom right out of the 1990s - or the 1980s if we're solely looking at the My Two Dads aspect - and I'm totally on board. Bring in HBO's Vice Principals and I'm even more into it.
The 1980s-geared comedy The Goldbergs has been winning over audiences for more than three seasons now, and its focused approach to that bygone decade lends itself well to an expanded universe. Especially with such a big change as far as the central characters go. It seems like only good things could come from taking his brand of humor outside the family home and inserting it into the world of the manners-challenged coach, as played by Bryan Callen of madTV and tons of other shows and movies. He can lead a comedy.
According to THR, Goldbergs creator and namesake Adam F. Goldberg is writing the script for the new project alongside Goldbergs executive producer Mark Firek. Happy Madison execs Doug Robinson and Seth Gordon would be executive producing, just as they do on the flagship series. Goldberg also has Jenna Elfman's return to network TV, Imaginary Mary, coming in the midseason, so it's tough to say when this potential new comedy would go into high gear.
The Goldbergs has been pretty solid on the ratings front, keeping more steady with previous seasons than many other network shows, and its DVR numbers are also consistently winning. And it's perhaps not all that surprising that Bryan Callen's Coach Rick is at the center of a potential spinoff. He started showing up more in the back end of Season 3, and he's already been in two of Season 4's five episodes that have aired, so the writers definitely like him, and all signs point to viewers agreeing. Check him out in action in the clip below.
The Goldbergs is known for devoting episodes to beloved segments of the entertainment spectrum, such as Stephen King and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, among many other things. One can only guess (and repeatedly dream about) how the 1990s will enter into this new project.
While we wait to hear what will happen to Coach Rick's future on network TV, you can find The Goldbergs airing every Wednesday night on ABC. And for everything else coming to the small screen, our schedules for fall debuts and midseason premieres should help you out.
