The Goldbergs Star Wendi McLendon-Covey, EPs Break Down the Series Finale That Wasn't Meant to Be the End
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Wednesday’s The Goldbergs series finale. Proceed at your own risk!
The Goldbergs clan is officially out of videotape: The long-running ABC comedy wrapped up its 10-season run on Wednesday with a Back to the Future-themed series ender, appropriately titled “Bev to the Future.”
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In the finale, Adam accompanied his mom, Beverly, to her high school reunion, where she hit it off with her former boyfriend, George (played by Rob Corddry). Upset that his mom was moving on from his dad, Adam tried to thwart Bev and George’s potentially reignited spark so she wouldn’t end up with the wrong guy. But after an emotional heart-to-heart with his mom, Adam came around and invited George to baby Muriel’s first birthday.
In other relationship developments, Adam and his girlfriend Carmen drove off in his uncle’s DeLorean (hinting at a bright future for the pair?), and Barry and Joanne eloped to prove to everyone that they’re a serious couple!
If it felt like the episode gave some closure while leaving the door open for another season, that’s because it wasn’t originally intended to be the show’s swan song.
“We weren’t quite positive it was going to be our [series] finale when we wrote the final episode of the season,” co-showrunner/exec producer Alex Barnow tells TVLine. “I think, truthfully, had we known it was really the final episode, we would have done a more full-bodied tribute to the show.”
Adds co-showrunner/EP Chris Bishop: “We would’ve dug in with a more emotional story and had more flashbacks and seeing the characters and how they grew across the decade.”
The show’s cast, similarly, didn’t know the series was coming to an end until after they had already filmed their final scenes. “They told us like four days after we wrapped our season. So, like, two days before our wrap party,” star Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays matriarch Beverly Goldberg, shares with TVLine.
But the delayed news actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “In retrospect, I guess [it] was the best way for it to happen because if we knew ahead of time, nothing would’ve gotten done. We would’ve all been sobbing,” McLendon-Covey notes.
Plus, the writing was on the wall, seeing as how the show had enjoyed a long run and appeared to be nearing its finish line. “You got to know our time is not expanding. We’re going to be ending at some point,” the actress continues. “So I think we went into that last week, thinking this could be it, so let’s savor every moment. We were coming in on our days off and just walking through the set and taking pictures of every single thing, or stealing things, or telling people we loved them. Like I said, I think it’s best that we didn’t find out until we were all safely at home, ensconced in our beds, because I was a wreck.”
Below, the EPs and McLendon-Covey talk about what would have been in a Season 11, what they won’t miss about the show’s ’80s aesthetic and more. Plus, scroll down to grade the series ender!
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