A clip from The Goldbergs went viral this week, and not in a good way, as people started realizing how the show has been handling Jeff Garlin’s absence after he left the show. Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays Beverly Goldberg on the ABC sitcom, has responded with details about what the show has been dealing with behind the scenes.
In the now-viral tweet showing the extremely awkward methods being used to massage Garlin into scenes, journalist Noel Murray wrote, “They should either cancel The Goldbergs or kill off Jeff Garlin’s character because the workarounds they’ve been using this season ain’t working.” Apparently, McLendon-Covey couldn’t agree more and proceeded to lay out the difficulties the production has been having with Garlin, complete with a dollop of sarcasm.
“Thanks for the great suggestion Noel!” McLendon-Covey replied. “This season threw us for a loop because a.) it’s hard to incorporate someone who doesn’t want to be there and wants to leave mid-scene, and b.) we werent about to re-write the 2nd half of the season. We’re doing our best.”
https://twitter.com/wendimclendonco/status/1503803913874464769
As you can see in the Garlin video, it’s jarringly obvious that he’s not filming with his co-stars. His character, Murray Goldberg, appears on the opposite side of the room or he’s only shown from the shoulders down to hide the use of a stand-in. When Garlin does appear with the other characters, the end result is basically horrifying.
The face of my nightmares pic.twitter.com/oUO4ckvxBN
— Gianni Damaia (@gianni_damaia) March 14, 2022
Garlin exited the series in mid-December following the reporting of several allegations of on-set misconduct, which also revealed his lack of interest in filming The Goldbergs. Unfortunately, the other actors on the show like McLendon-Covey are forced to bear the brunt of Garlin being completely checked out of the show both mentally and now literally, and it seems like they’re done being quiet about it.
