Jeff Garlin exiting The Goldbergs following an HR investigation regarding his behavior on set

Last Updated on December 18, 2021

The Goldbergs is about to be down a family member. Following an HR investigation regarding multiple complaints about his behavior on the set, Jeff Garlin, who has played family patriarch Murray Goldberg for eight-plus seasons, has exited the series.

The cast and crew were notified about Garlin’s departure during production on Wednesday when a producer on the series informed them that the decision was a mutual one between Garlin and Sony Pictures Television. Garlin was expected to continue filming the current ninth season of the 1980s-set comedy but it appears the situation was serious enough that the decision was made for him to no longer complete work on the show. It’s uncertain how the series will address his exit but it should be noted that it was already decided early on that Garlin was not expected to return for a potential 10th season should ABC decide to renew the series for the 2022-23 season.

Garlin’s tenure on the show came into question after a Vanity Fair investigation into/interview with Garlin in which he addressed an alleged pattern of very and physical conduct that made staffers on the long-running series uncomfortable. Garlin said in the interview that, “there has been an HR investigation on me for the past three years. HR has come to me three years in a row for my behavior on set.” Garlin continued, “[A]s a comedian, if somebody is offended by what I say, all I can say is, I’m sorry. Okay? I have never physically come at anyone, for any reason, so that I find terribly confusing and untrue.”

Garlin has been on The Goldbergs since the series began and, at the time of the interview, there were only seven or eight episodes left to shoot in the season. The actor also noted that he didn’t want to come back for the current ninth season due to the HR complaints but ended up changing his mind because the show truncated his shooting schedule.

The Goldbergs is a semi-autobiographical comedy based on the childhood of series creator Adam F. Goldberg. The series stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, and Sam Lerner. The comedy had to bid farewell to another series regular, George Segal after he passed away back in March.

Do YOU think The Goldbergs can go on without Jeff Garlin?