As one of TV's longest-running sitcoms that's still currently in production, ABC's The Goldbergs has had a lot to celebrate over the years, obviously outside of creator Adam F. Goldberg stepping down after Season 6 and co-star George Segal's death in the midst of Season 8. The latest high-profile setback behind the scenes of the comedy series was the exit of series regular Jeff Garlin in December 2021, but that doesn't mean the network didn't still have some good news to dish out, as ABC confirmed an additional four episodes have been added to The Goldbergs' Season 9 run.
Star Wendi McLendon-Covey was the one to deliver that great news to fans, which she did via Instagram with some especially appropriate imagery to go along with the update.
If only Wendi McLendon-Covey's message guaranteed that Tim Meadows would be rocking legwarmers and short-shorts for all four additional episodes. Ah, I suppose one can dream.
As far as reality goes, the four-episode boost will bring The Goldbergs to a full 22-episode season, which matches the totals for Seasons 5 and 8, while other seasons have clocked in at 23 and 24 episodes. In that specific respect, hearing about ABC's decision to extend the current season is not a major surprise, to be sure. But following the news about Jeff Garlin's not-exactly-a-firing, which resulted after apparently long-held disagreements about the actor's on-set behavior, it wasn't entirely clear what the series' future would look like, nor whether ABC would choose to cancel it.
Following the actor parting ways with the sitcom, it was reported that The Goldbergs would still be keeping Garlin’s character Murray around through previously unused takes as well as utilizing other unused audio as off-camera dialogue. Beyond that, a stand-in has been used for Murray in scenes where his face isn’t required to be shown. To give the creative team some credit, they haven’t yet diverted to simply killing the character off, which would probably feel strange in the same season that bid a heartfelt farewell to Segal’s Pops.
Fans shouldn’t expect to see any tragic turns in the additional four episodes, either, as THR reports the extra eps won’t be used to address Jeff Garlin’s absence, and presumably won’t feature Murray falling down a well or taking a trip to Mars. But fans can expect for The Goldbergs’s total episode count for Season 9 to match up with those of its Wednesday night counterparts The Wonder Years and Home Economics, which earned additional orders back in October. At this point, it’s not yet known how filled out The Conners Season 4 will be, but that’ll no doubt get worked out in the near future.
The Goldbergs airs Wednesday nights on ABC, with half of the season still left to air after its January 12 installment, titled "Hip-Shaking and Booty-Quaking." Be sure to check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows will be hitting the small screen in the months to come!
