By Dustin Rowles | TV | January 24, 2018 |
By Dustin Rowles | TV | January 24, 2018 |
ABC viewers tuning in on January 24, 2018 to watch The Goldbergs may have been surprised to find a “special episode” of the series set in the 1990s and set in the high school the Goldberg children attended. That spin-off stars Nia Long, Tim Meadows, and Bryan Callen, reprising his role as the coach of the high school.
Unfortunately, that spinoff — pitched last year to ABC — was passed over during pilot season. However, with spin-offs Young Sheldon and Grown-ish succeeding, ABC decided to air the pilot episode as a “special episode” to see how well it goes over.
“We just thought a spinoff was a slam-dunk,” Adam Goldberg, creator of The Goldbergs told the NYPost. “It tested higher than The Goldbergs pilot and we were excited about taking two of the most popular side characters and spinning them off into their own show. It had all the elements, all the nostalgia I do well, and is kind of like a family show.”
Goldberg is hopeful that fans of The Goldbergs will connect with the 1990’s spin-off and that ABC will reconsider its decision not to pick up the pilot. “I got my heart broken once already and don’t want to get my hopes up, but maybe it will find another life with some fresh eyes,” Goldberg told the Post. “If not at ABC, then at [sister cable network] Freeform … And if not, I think [‘The Goldbergs’ producer] Sony is going to go out and look for a place for it to land.”
Its success will most likely depend upon viewer reception to the pilot. It’s actually pretty good — a similar sensibility to The Goldbergs but with 1990s music (including Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” in the pilot, as well as The Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”), familiar characters and some great new ones, as well.
Tommorrow at 8! The Goldbergs: 1990-something Spin Off Special! Will the fans do the impossible and bring this back from the dead!?!?!? https://t.co/6M0t8VXBVC
— Adam F. Goldberg (@adamfgoldberg) January 24, 2018