The cancellation of The Goldbergs didn’t come as a big surprise to fans earlier this year.
The series was in its tenth season, and numbers were falling, but given that Wednesday’s finale felt more like a season finale, there are questions about whether there was time to craft a conclusion.
Unfortunately, the cast learned the series was done four days after the final episode was actually filmed.
Wendi McLendon-Covey, who played Beverly Goldberg for all ten seasons, opened up about the news in an interview with TV Line.
They told us like four days after we wrapped our season. So, like, two days before our wrap party,” the star expressed.
“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 added.
Had the creatives been given more notice, the ideal finale would have included more closure.
“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 told the outlet.
“I think, truthfully, had we known it was really the final episode, we would have done a more full-bodied tribute to the show.”
Added 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.”
It’s always tricky when a show is canceled, especially a long-running show, because fans have invested years of their lives watching.
ABC confirmed the cancellation in February, but many observers believed there was still time to bring the show to a conclusive ending.
That was not the case here, but some moments brought things full circle.
The final season also starred Sean Giambrone (as Adam), Troy Gentile (as Barry), Hayley Orrantia (as Erica), and Sam Lerner (as Erica’s husband, Geoff).
What are your thoughts on the lack of finality?
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.