Star Wars: 'The Goldbergs' Spinoff 'Schooled' Gets 'Phantom Menace'-Themed Episode

For more than 40 years, Star Wars has been influencing countless audiences, with the galaxy far, far away constantly inspiring fans. One fan of the franchise, Adam F. Goldberg, has found inspiration in the saga since he was a kid, with the films' mythology, characters, and lessons being a major part of his life. Now that Goldberg is delivering his own stories for viewers, he has found ways to honor the saga in different projects. Goldberg serves as an executive producer of Schooled, a spinoff of The Goldbergs, which will honor Star Wars: The Phantom Menace with this week's episode. Schooled airs Wednesday, March 20th at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

"I owe my entire career to George Lucas and the Star Wars franchise," Goldberg shared in a statement. "Our movie Fanboys was the script that put us on the map. It's about four die-hard Star Wars fans who try to break into the Skywalker Ranch to see The Phantom Menace. The moment Schooled was picked up to series I said, 'Now that I have a show set in the '90s, I have to revisit Star Wars: Episode I.'"

In the episode, entitled "Darth Mellor," CB (Brett Dier) and the student Star Wars club bring Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) to the premiere of The Phantom Menace, but Mellor's thoughts on the movie cause the club to dissolve.

"My insane Star Wars obsession continues to be featured heavily in everything I've ever written," Goldberg added. "My relationship with Lucasfilm spans 15 years now. I am grateful that they always give me such amazing access to Star Wars."

The autobiographical The Goldbergs takes place in the '80s, which has allowed the series to incorporate Star Wars on a regular basis. With Schooled taking place later on in the saga's history, Goldberg is not only able to address the state of fandom at the time of the prequel trilogy, but also use that premise to address contemporary culture.

"I was so passionate about this Schooled episode that I wrote the script myself," Goldberg admitted. "I really wanted to talk about the toxic fandom that happens with beloved movies. Star Wars isn't about one movie being great or not working. It's about the community and how the movie unites us all over our love of the franchise. That's what I wanted to say with this episode."

Tune in to the new episode of Schooled on Wednesday, March 20th at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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